Explore the hidden secrets of Lancaster Town Hall this Christmas

Lancaster Town Hall will be opening its doors to the public this Christmas for a guided tour of the building followed by tea and mince pies with the mayor.

On Thursday, December 14, the afternoon guided tour will set off at 2pm and explore parts of this fine Edwardian Grade II* listed building which are normally out of bounds to the public.

The tour is a must-do for all Lancastrians and everyone interested in architecture, fine furniture and local history.
 
Highlights include a visit to the imposing Council Chamber where you will be able to sit in the grand Mayor’s chair and the opulent Mayor’s Parlour with its fine collection of civic silver and Gillow furniture and fascinating centrifugal table. The newest addition to its collection is an authentic Olympic Torch from the London 2012 Games.

You will also be taken to the city’s majestic Ashton Hall with its magnificent concert organ and fine collection of heraldic art which adorns the vast ceiling and the former Magistrate’s Court Room which has remained relatively untouched since its retirement as a working court room in 1985.  From the prisoner’s dock, visitors will be ‘sent down’ the foreboding staircase into the town hall basement to visit the atmospheric subterranean police cells, which in 1935 held Lancaster’s notorious double murderer, Dr Buck Ruxton.

At the end of the tour visitors will be able to enjoy Atkinsons Coffee or Lancaster Blend Tea and a homemade mince pie with the Mayor of Lancaster, Coun Roger Mace in his official parlour.

The cost of the tour which lasts for approximately one hour is £6.50 and can be pre-booked online at www.lancaster.gov.uk/VICticketbox or via Lancaster Visitor Information Centre – tel. 01524 582394.

Last updated: 29 November 2017