Re: The Con club
 

Lots of famous bands did the rounds in those days - performing at places like Accrington Con, Blackburn's King George's Hall, Nelson Imp, Rawtenstall's Astoria, etc., etc., and all for the same price of admission as the usual Saturday night. No extra charge for dancing to the famous. Boy! those were the days.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/i...le/theband.gif

Re: The Con club
 

Don't think the band in the link was one of um:D

Re: The Con club
 

You had to be there......

Re: The Con club
 

Have you checked that link:rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

It's called poetic license - and before you say you've never heard of them that's NOT the name of the band. (Actually I have to admit I was trying to be clever by adding this to my message but somehow it didn't work properly - oops!).

Re: The Con club
 

Exactly:rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

Looking at that picture depresses me as I am 16 years old so I had never been there when it was open. But being a kid, me and a couple of my friends often go in there as it is a beautiful building and webalways try to picture what used to happen there. But the ballroom looks nothing like this now, it looks like hell. It is destroyed - probably the work of mindless yobs. I am hoping to get a professional camera for christmas and then I can go back there and take a few shots and post them here. None of you will like what you will see though. Its in a dreadful state. I bumped into the owner and he is a lovely guy. He paid me to do a little weeding out the front and plant some flowers in pots. I just wish he would save the place. If anyone has ANY more photos of when the place was open then please email them to me. Ive looked everyewhere for photos, the internet, library, parents, my neighbour who used to work there. But i have had no luck. So please email me some photos, [email protected]

Re: The Con club
 

Can anyone tell me which room was tge snooker room please and which floor it was on as it is very hard to tell as the building is empty now. cheers.

Re: The Con club
 

Hi, the door on the right leads to a spiral staircase that goes down to a fire exit. The door on the left leads to another fire exit which leads down to the next floor with the small stage and bar and what looks to be a kids bedroom as it says Rory Campbell's Room on the door and it has lots of posters and pictures of bart simpson. When you walk up the stairs and into the ball room there is a small door on the left leading to the attic and some toilets. Were thse staff or public toilets? Also the door next to the big bar in the ball room which says toilets is no longer accessible as the floor has collapsed. Does anybody know what was in the small room inside these toilets? The cellar is very hard to get to as both sets of stairs leading to it have collapsed. The roof is broken so the water damage is horrific. I tell you the place looks like a bomb hit it. I will take some shots and post them around Christmas Time.

Re: The Con club
 

How could they fit a soft drinks bar behind THAT stage. Was the stage in a different place before or something??

It would be really good if somebody who went here during the 50's/60's/70's/80's/90's/early2000's would take me around this building and tell me the history because I really want t find out what it used to be like.

Re: The Con club
 

Yes you are correct it is privately owned. I am not willing to give out the name of him for moral reasons but I can say he is a lovely friendly man. He is currently awaiting planning permission to demolish the back end of the building including the Majestic Ballroom. I would prefer for it to stay though and be repaired.

Re: The Con club
 

I will post some recent photos of the interior and exterior around Chritmas time.

Re: The Con club
 

I cant understand all this interest that you have in the Con Club. You say you are 16. but your profile say,s you are 22. And in another post you are doing a survey in the New Year for the owner. I take it that its a Paid Survey. Whats going on then. !!!!!!!

Re: The Con club
 

Recent postings seem to have been scattered over a number of threads. I may be doing Ewoodsambo3 an injustice but if he is 16 or even 22 years of age, he just wouldn't have the experience and/or qualifications to carry out a survey on an outside long drop never mind the remains of the Con Club

Re: The Con club
 

I think if you read his post on one of the other threads he is talking about a questionnaire type survey rather than an architectural one. Still a bit weird though.

Re: The Con club
 

We've had "bods" in the past who've been excessively fixated on various subjects, shops, cars .................Hmm.

Re: The Con club
 

'buzz' in

Re: The Con club
 

.
I've come late to this thread and remember when we arrived here by train circa 1970 we were impressed by the beautiful architecture as we walked along that side of town.

It's an absolute shame that the Council hasn't made sure this beautiful building is protected. The window wasn't missing - if you look at these photos you'll see it was inside the room. Once kids or thieves get into a place there's bound to be more damage, such as the fire or as seen in the pictures

Urban Exploration (Urbex) of Accrington Conservative Club

Re: The Con club
 

What is wrong with me trying to do a survey?
Whats wrong with me being interested in things other than drugs and violence like a lot of people my age.
Why cant I do some research of my own? It keeps me busy, surely you would prefer me to be interested in things like this rather than me just being a yob?
Im not trying to get into anybodys bad books but I don't see how me doing a little research and survey about the place will harm anybody?

I am sincerely sorry though if I have upset or annoyed anybody.
Thanks for your honest thoughts and replys though.
Sam.

Re: The Con club
 

You're quite free to talk about what you want on here, mate. It just seems a little curious that all 14 of your posts have been on one subject so far, but it's a free country (relatively speaking), so that's up to you. Personally, I'm far more concerned about your user name which leads me to suspect that you might be an unbeliever in the one true faith! ;)

Re: The Con club
 

The most annoying thing for me is his posts are spread over several threads. How nice if he had started a fresh thread with his first post!

Re: The Con club
 

Yeah, sorry, im just trying to find out as much info/history about the building as I can.
My neighbour worked there.
A Blackburn Fan.

Re: The Con club
 

A traitor then? 'nuff said. Strange how you think some things in Accy are worth preserving and not others. :rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

Sorry, i dont understand? What team do you support and why am a a traitor? And whatdo you mean i want some things preserving and others not?Cheers.


EDIT: I get it now. I dont know why i dnt support stanley, i have been there a couple of times but im just not a true fan, sorry.

Re: The Con club
 

There you are then, the penny's dropped. Other lads your age support their home town club. See plenty of 'em on the Clayton End. Still, if you've no loyalty to your home town, so be it. :rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

Steady on Wynn, with the user name he's got who's to say he isn't from or a supporter of (A) The Rovers (B) Tusker FC ? :idunno: ;)

Re: The Con club
 

Just had to look Tusker FC up. You learn summat new everyday! ;)

Re: The Con club
 

I was born in Blackburn

Re: The Con club
 

save accrington conservative club

WHY

Re: The Con club
 

Why Not, jeez its like talking to kids from my school. Why why why.WHY NOT? Because it is a beautiful buiding and deserves better that be left to rot.

Re: The Con club
 

demolish it, pull it down before it falls down

Re: The Con club
 

Lets get real here, yeh it was a beautiful building, now its a complete sodding wreck, Fact, unless some good fairy comes along P.D.Q. wi millions, then whats left of it will drop to bits, its that simple.

Re: The Con club
 

Which school do you go to Sam?

Re: The Con club
 

So what? Everyone's born in Blackburn these days, as there's no maternity unit in Accy. You're in Accy now, so you should be spending your time usefully, supporting your local club, instead of bothering about an old wreck of a building that's now beyond saving.

Re: The Con club
 

not unless your born at home in accy,for gods sake leave the lad alone,its not a crime to come on here and not support asfc,and as the lad was born in blackburn maybe he is a rovers supporter,but it should not make any difference who you support when you post on here,so give the lad a break.

Re: The Con club
 

Seriously people, can you not just grow up! Im guessing you are all nearly double my age but yet u get the pleasure of trying to wind me up by telling me that Churchills is rubbish and I should support accy. You are the type of people that make most kids my age turn to drugs and violence, and if that does happen to me, I know whose house I will be smashing up first!
Just shut up and let me try and learn about my Local History, what is wrong with that?
NOW, INSTEAD OF KEEP POSTING NEGATIVE COMMENTS HOW ABOUT WE MEET UP AND HAVE A 'LITTLE CHAT'?

Re: The Con club
 

Re: The Con club
 

i as a mature adult did years ago go to churchills in accy,i found the place buzzin and a good night out even better than la de da's if fact i used to do the doors there with ian britcliffe,nuff said and it was a tragedy when that lad was killed,i think thats when it went down the pan,it was a beautiful building and its a pity its being left like this,as a listed building it should by law be saved,

Re: The Con club
 

Have been looking on Google Earth, noticed that graffiti has been sprayed on two of the windows ... says 'Sam' ... just wondered like ? lol.

Re: The Con club
 

Perhaps its the drugs we made him turn too?:rofl38::rofl38::rofl38::rofl38::rofl38:

Re: The Con club
 

Now then young man. The last thing you want to do is to fall out with people who question you in a genuine way. Also if somebody questions you in any way shape or form and that makes you come up with a statement that they could make you turn to drugs and violence and you threaten to smash their houses you must be a very weak person in the first place. Your interests in a dilapidated building for one so young in this day and age appears somewhat bizarre. The Con club was the best place to be in the 60s. I used the place between 1962 to 1968/9 on many occasion. I met and courted some of the nicest young ladies from Accrington, Haslingden, Clayton, Great Harwood, Blackburn etc. I had some of the best mates that anyone could wish to meet in the place and I also spent some of the best times of my youth in the dance room and the bar. I think that I may not be double you age I may even be treble or quadruple depending upon the ages that you have on your profile. You say that you have access to the whole building and therfore the owner must have given his permission for you to wander around willy nilly in a building that is falling apart all around you. This is a dangerous place to be in. I ask the question. Is the building open to everybody. ie are the doors open for all to enter. Do you wander around by yourself and if you fall or are involved in any collapse of the building, does anyone know your whereabouts. If the owner has given you permmision to enter a building that is in such a state of disrepair, I would question his professionalism. If you have not got permission, I would advise you to stay away from there. If you would like to meet up and chat with some of the guys who have shown an interest in your posts. then there are two meeting places that some of the guys go to on a Saturday. One is a pub and the other is Accys football ground. Sam be safe and take care and mind where you tread.

Re: The Con club
 

Just a correction, he states in his profile that he is 16; in his D.O.B., he just enters his birthday as August 22 ... not the year or his age. That's the way I read it anyway.

Re: The Con club
 

so Sam, which school do you go to?

Re: The Con club
 

if he was born on August 22nd, he wouldn't still be in school, Reece is one of the oldest in his school and his Birthday is September 11th, Sam would have left school earlier this year....he could come up with the excuse he is in sixth form....but i don't know one child who is in sixth form that refers to it as 'school' they usually want to get away from saying 'school' in order to make themselves sound more mature

like i said earlier....'buzz' in

lets not turn this into a bitching thread, i really don't understand why people lie about things, they always get found out in the end

anyway....Churchills, didn't someone die getting thrown down the steps a few years ago?

Re: The Con club
 

Just another correction, his profile has been altered.:rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

I know I shouldnt of be going in there. But its what kids do. Im not going in there to trash the place like lots of people have the impression I do. I have helped the owner of churchills out a lot, i noticed one day that someone had cut the padlock off so i went to the shop, bought a new padlock and put it on, i then left a notice on the door telling the owner to phone me or email me and i would bring the key back. Just as I was leaving the owner turned up and thts how i met him. He is a lovely man. He appreciated what i had done and just like you he was confused and questioned why somebody my age would be so helpful and interested in the place. I then told him of how i love the building. We then exchanged details and the next day I came back and spent all day there weeding, clearing out debris from the entrance, planting flowers in pots on the bay windows,sweeping the steps outside and raking in leaves.
He then came later on and thanked me and payed me even though I insisted I wanted no money and wanted to do it out of the good of my heart. (I enjoy helping people out, im not a bad person, i also do voluntary work for the RSPCA.)
Im not trying to cause anyone harm or greif. Please just understand that. Thanks.
(P.S. I have not been back inside the building since I met the owner.)

Re: The Con club
 

And my school is Hollins. (Why do you ask.)

Re: The Con club
 

What's that mean ?

Re: The Con club
 

Cryptic clue nr.1 Rimsky-Korsakov

failing that ;)

Flight of the Bumblebee - YouTube

Re: The Con club
 

Ah a good friend of mine is a teacher at Hollins, so your birthday isn't August 22nd then, either that or you're not 16

Re: The Con club
 

So, anyway, are you going to start showing a bit of local loyalty by turning up at Stanley more often? I'll even give you special dispensation to carry on going to the chicken farmers whenever you want. Can't say fairer than that! :D

Re: The Con club
 

whats their name then?

Re: The Con club
 

sir

Re: The Con club
 

Hang in there, Ewoodsambo3, but please please do take notice of Mogs post 141 and his cautioning you about the danger of entering derelict buildings unaccompanied. Say’s me who used to climb up into Christ Church steeple before it was demolished back in the day, sneaked into the cellars under old Wesley and Oak St Congregational churches, so I do know.
As I say Ewoodsambo3 “hang in there”, the trolls on here will soon be back under the rickety rackety bridge waiting for another tethered goat, lame gazelle, somebody from the wrong tribe or simply someone different, to post more ad hominem insults of a posters mental status, age, looks, intellect, or typing skills.
"All Things Must Pass" sing Mr Harrison

Re: The Con club
 

Now be told! Much healthier for you out in the open air on the Clayton End and there's no danger...well not unless you bump into Cashy anyway! ;)

Re: The Con club
 

Judging from the report in last nights Telegraph not sure Mr Harris is correct on that one Ewoodsambo. They are not all locked up yet.

Accrington Stanley fan groomed schoolboys at match (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Re: The Con club
 

Ha ha, yeah I know.
I deliver tht paper.
I too was about to post that article on here.

(Also, I never go into derelict buildings on my own, I go in with friends, just incase there is some druggy or squatter in there. I feel safer when I go in with somebody. But as I say I havnt been in Churchills in a long time!)
Our next planned visit is to Whittingham Mental Asylum in Preston.
It looks like a great place to get some really good pictures. And it will probably look even nicer covered in snow which is why I am going at this time of year.

Re: The Con club
 

Very Apt.:D

Re: The Con club
 

Can't deny it, unfortunately we do seem fated to get a wrong 'un every few years, although I would dispute the Telegraph's description of him as a "Stanley fan". He was just an opportunist who used the setting of the club for his own nefarious purposes. However, he's out of the way, so nowt to stop you coming along now!

Incidentally, Ewood, going in derelict buildings on your own is no guarantee of safety. Just ask anyone who went into the Hippodrome in the 60's. :(

Re: The Con club
 

Or the Empire up Ossy !!

Re: The Con club
 

Don't recall that one, D, but I'm assuming you're a similar age to me, so I'm sure you recall the tragedy that occurred in the Hippodrome back in the 60's. It could quite easily happen elsewhere in any derelict building!

Re: The Con club
 

Was a young mate of mine.:(

Re: The Con club
 

Exactly, mate, could've been you if you hadn't been unwell that day.

So, be warned, Ewood, not going in the Con on your own (as my previous post should've read) is no guarantee of safety. Rotten staircases and the like can give way.

...and just for once, I'm being serious!

Re: The Con club
 

If my grandsons spoke to anyone in the manner you are - this family would consider we've failed them.

Let's be clear - nobody "makes" kids turn to drugs and violence.
Youngsters "choose" to dabble in drugs which could lead to violence. Violence, is a sign of weakness.

Re: The Con club
 

No Mr H don't recall the tragedy will confer with my Uncle..

The Empire Ballroom a salubrious joint (NOT) ..on google earth locate the Empress Garage on Union Road near the station.... down the alleyway between Country Kitchens and a pub whose name I forget....Empire Ballroom *smirk* a sort of Joe Mort's Lite !!

Re: The Con club
 

Correction there Mr W... Country Kitchens was the pub...the building on the opposite side of the alley was I think a bank?

Re: The Con club
 

Yep twas the Royal a Thwaites House, did disco yon in 80s. also supped in it in 60s.

Re: The Con club
 

The Empire was a small cinema in my teens, pub on one corner of the alley and I think a bank on the other corner

Re: The Con club
 

Yeah, remember seeing the place from Union Road, but never went in it. As for the Hippodrome, when it closed down, it became a regular haunt for inquisitive kids in the 60's. One such inquisitive kid fell off the roof and died. :(

Re: The Con club
 

mm I think the cinema closed down and they put on Sunday night Dances at the "Emp"
All this talk about old buildings, I wonder what state the Palladium is is these days, I suppose with "the travelling community" living behind it will be pretty much stripped out by now.

Re: The Con club
 

Have to disagree, have known quite a few of those families since mid 60s, They have always lived yon since i was a lad, But still if that line of thought suits yer bias.:rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

Fair enough Mr c I have no evidence to support my cognitive bias.

Re: The Con club
 

We used to play in there on rope swings across the stage

Re: The Con club
 

Did yeh ever use the trapdoor that brought yeh up onto the stage.?:D

Re: The Con club
 

Well I spent a lot of time in the con up to it being sold in the early nineties, the chap that bought it was going to do it all up, but I had my doubts at the time it needed around half a million spending on it then, and that was just to cure the dry rot, the basement and cellars where riddled with, I honestly don't think anything was even attempted to cure the dry rot, it must be a very very dangerous place to go unaccompanied, especially if your only a youngster

Re: The Con club
 

yeah, i know. and dont worry, i never go in on my own.
And as i said in my first post, i dont go in there to trash the place up, I go in to get good pictures and to look at and 'feel' the history of accrington.
I will upload some recent pics of accy con club in the next hour or so. Cheers.

Re: The Con club
 

Have a good Christmas everyone!

Re: The Con club
 

*EDIT - Will hopefully upload them tomorrow.

Re: The Con club
 

Not had time to upload the photos yet. BUT I can tell you all tht there is currently a squatter in Churchills as i found out today when i went in. Crappped myself. I will report it to the owner. but do ya think i should tell the police too?



I will be attending my first ever accy stanley match tomorrow. Pilkingtons bus driver gave me 2 free tickets for plymouth vs stanley as he cant go cuz hes working tomorrow.
Main stand.
They better impress me or i will never go again.

Re: The Con club
 

Dear oh dear, Ewood, 'ave you been tellin' us porkies? ;)

Re: The Con club
 

Re: The Con club
 

Yeh know the old saying? A good liar needs a good memory.:D:rolleyes:

Re: The Con club
 

Gentlemen please, a bit of decorum, our Sambo 3 maybe labouring under dissociative identity disorder, the use of the number 3 within his user name could infer 3 persona. His style somewhat similar to prior contributors to these pages one of which was purportedly female, another belonged to the Apidae family plus various other incarnations. To give to much credence to this latest transmogrification merely encourages him somewhat & as such should cease forthwith. ;) :)

Re: The Con club
 

Sorry, my posts were confusing.
'I have never been to a -MATCH- at Stanley until now'
But I have been to the ground before with school around 2007. And I also went to a party there, it was either a birthday or a wedding. - AGES AGO
:S

Sorry Mr H. :D

Re: The Con club
 

Ha ha ha. I KNEW you'd pull that one - "when I said I'd been to Stanley, I didn't mean I'd actually been to a match". Maybe you've a future as a politician?

Anyway, more importantly, did you enjoy the match? Sounds a good 'un, by all accounts. I know results aren't going our way, but it's got to be better than the fare currently being served up down at the poultry. ;)

Re: The Con club
 

it was at ok. stanley goal keeper got sent off though.

Re: The Con club
 

...through a blatant piece of cheating from a Plymouth player I believe, but anyway hopefully you'll return as the charms of Deadwood lose their appeal.

Thread wander over! ;)

Re: The Con club
 

I know I keep going on and on about this building but it is just making me so depressed whenever I see it.
After seeing the photos on The View From The North taken in 2007 and then seeing it today, it is just unreal how badly damaged it has got since then. THE ROOF IS THE MAIN THING THAT NEEDS REPAIRING! Its like going for a shower when you walk inside because it is so badly leaking. The more it leaks, the more it will rot and the less likely it will be possible to repair it, but with a lot of time, effort, love and apreciation (and money) this building CAN be saved!!! The ballroom floor is in a fine condition (must be some really good wood.) The beams and floorboards just need changing in the rest of the rooms, and the stairs need replacing. - The whole building doesnt need to be teared down, just the inside of it stripped. PLEASE! I will help and I am pretty sure many other people will help voluntary if you let them know that you will repair it!
I cannot plead any more for this buildings life!!
It is beautiful Historic Building.

PLEASE SAVE IT! - Make that your new years resolution! - To save Accrington Conservative Club (Churchills Nightclub)!
PLEASE!!!!!!!

Re: The Con club
 

There's more chance of Stanley winning the European Cup mate, its a white elephant and has beed for years, as I stated previously it needed over half a million quid spending on dry rot back in the early nineties, it will be way past redemtion now its only fit for being pulled down before somebody gets killed

Re: The Con club
 

But the interior is just so beautiful (rotting but beautiful) , I admit the exterior rear isnt that attractive but the interior is! If they pull it down they will never be able to make anything anywhere near as nice. (They really knew how to make buildings back in the olden days. I mean a glass atrium would look nice but the atmosphere of the building would be so different, it would be lost history. They would never beable to make a ceiling as beautiful as the ballroom ceiling in this day and age. Mr B (owner) just needs to preserve and repair as much as possible.. :(

Re: The Con club
 

Whatever they do to that building, the interior will not be saved. It's probably far too damaged and also whatever use the building is put to will not want to keep those features. All that will be left of the old building will be the fine elevations.

It's a shame, but there it is. I am lucky enough to remember it in its heyday and I can tell you love old buildings. My best suggestion for you is to move on from this one but keep up your enthusiasm. There must be plenty of other buildings out there to look at and admire without emoting over their demise. Just accept that you win some and lose some - if that weren't the case, our built environment today would look very different and would probably not be half so interesting, encompassing as it does the good, the bad and the ugly.

Re: The Con club
 

Well I suppose so. But the main thing that is botherig me is the fact that nothig is being done with it. It has been nearly 10 years. If they are going to knock it down they just need to do it then. Dont let it give in itself. Please put it out of its misery. And if its because you have not got planning permission yet then just keep pestering them for permission. But definetly keep the facade.
Mr B has ownedit since 2008. I just want to see some good done. Dont leave the poor building to rot.

Re: The Con club
 

No body this day and age has money to spend on this type of project, the council certainly can't help, nor could you get a lottery grant to use on a reneal program, that is unless it was earmarked for a refuge for asylum seekers or the like then the money would be there in abundance