Newly unearthed tales shed light on Swinton’s Lancastrian Hall

A local historian has uncovered decades’ worth of old stories from one of Swinton’s most decisive buildings – The Lancastrian Hall. 

Built in the early 1970s, The Lancastrian Hall was once a centre of entertainment and community life, but has now become a shell of what it once was. But in a newly released book, long-term resident David Roughley presents a catalogue of the history, hoping to preserve some of its historic moments. 

David states, “I’d describe it as a coffee table book that you just pick up, flick through, and it draws you in. It is a book you can just put down and then pick up again as and when.

“It’s a part of Swinton’s history and we’ve got a generation now that’s never seen it open and it’s just a dump. It is sad because it was an absolutely brilliant building.”

The book called ‘Remembering the Performers of Yesteryear at The Lancastrian Hall’ recalls the past performers and events that took place over its tenure as a venue. 

David hosts regular talks for history groups about the hall as he breaks it down into three sections: the 70s, the 80s and the 90s. During the 70s, the hall leaned into the entertainment side as they had lots of performances from various artists. The 80s became private functions, and dinner dances as the entertainment side slowly began to die out. Finally, in the 90s, it stayed alive for local amateur dramatics and other small events. 

David’s book describes the slow decline of The Lancastrian Hall as the entertainment side officially closed in 2001 and the library in 2015, bringing an end to the hall’s long life, as David says, “everything just got wiped away”. 

“It is looking like a leftover Cold War relic and it’s sad because it was an absolutely brilliant building.” 

David recalls when DJs were on, “there were 700 kids upstairs and it was absolutely rocking”, as it labels it a ‘phenomenal’ moment to experience. 

Even when he walks past it now, he states, “Thanks for the good times.” 

The book is available to buy for £12 at Critchley Cafe. When David sells a book, he gives £2 to Age UK and £2 to the Swinton and Pendlebury History Group. This puts him at a loss as the fee to create the book costs £13.48, but David doesn’t care about the loss as his main interest is preserving the history of the hall.