The City With A Story – Celebrating Lancaster Day
HPA’s home, the city of Lancaster, is “The City With A Story” – a place where history, character, and everyday life are shaped by the buildings and spaces around us.
Lancaster Day – celebrating the signing of the city’s Royal Charter on 12th June 1193 – is the perfect opportunity to reflect on that identity. It’s a moment to look beyond the surface and think about the stories that make Lancaster what it is today.
This year, we marked Lancaster Day by turning to our own team and asking…what are your favourite places in Lancaster – and what stories do they hold for you?
Director, Planning Consultant & Architect, Richard Wooldridge, who originally hails from Stoke, chose Ashton Memorial, saying:
“We always used to pass Lancaster on the way up to the Lakes, and as a small child in the back of a four-gear Ford Escort, I’d wonder what that magnificent white building on the hill by the (then empty) M6 could be – a church, a seat of power, or even Thunderbird 1’s hiding place.
Years later, I learned it was the Ashton Memorial, built in 1909 as a tribute to Lord Ashton’s wife, Jessy. Designed by Sir John Belcher, a former RIBA president, it has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner as ‘the grandest monument in England’.
Its opulent Baroque style feels more at home in Italy than Lancashire, yet somehow it works. Every inch is richly detailed, with intricate stone carving completed by hand in just two years. From the viewing platform, there are sweeping views across Morecambe Bay, the Lakes and into Bowland. For many years we lived nearby, and Williamson Park became somewhere we spent countless hours – and still do. No matter how often you visit, there’s always something new to discover. We’re incredibly lucky to have this remarkable building on our doorstep here in Lancaster.”
Next, we chatted with Architectural Assistant Holly Bate, who suggested Charter House in Dalton Square, noting,
“The refurbishment of Charter House was a HPA project, so may be a bit of a biased choice, but I love how it is in keeping with the traditional character of Dalton Square, while still reading as a modern intervention. A refined example of balancing modern and traditional detailing, it is a positive and well-considered addition to a particularly busy area of Lancaster city centre.”
Finally, Architect Jia Yang told us Palatine Hall in Dalton Square was his choice,
“Not only for its architectural presence but for the story held within its walls. Whilst working with this building, I uncovered a rich – and at times foreboding – history, revealing layers of architectural change and adaptation. The building has assumed many guises, originating as a Roman Catholic chapel, later utilised as a cinema, linked to the Buck Ruxton murders before latterly becoming commercial space, giving the building a richness that goes beyond its physical form, and I am inspired by the dialogue between heritage and intervention that resonates most strongly with me”
Discover The Lancaster Heritage Trail
To discover the story of Lancaster through its heritage buildings, Lancaster BID have created this Heritage Guide. Because in Lancaster, every building has a role to play – and every place has a story to tell.
