- Burnley Mechanics
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Coordinates: 53°47′16″N 2°14′40″W / 53.7878°N 2.2445°W
Burnley Mechanics 
Location in Lancashire
City Burnley Designation Listed building Grade II* Architect James Green (1854–55)
William Waddington (1888)Opened 1855 www.burnleymechanics.co.uk/ The Burnley Mechanics is a theatre and former Mechanics' Institute in the market town of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It was built 1854–55 and converted to a theatre in 1979. English Heritage has designated the theatre a Grade II* listed building.
Contents
History
The Mechanics' Institute was built 1854–55 to a design by Todmorden architect James Green. Sir Charles Towneley opened the institute in 1855.[1] It was a club for "reading and discussion by an 'earnest few'".[2] As the town grew, the institute increasingly became a social and cultural community centre.[1] Architect William Waddingtone enlarged the building in 1888.[3] Burnley Borough Council bought the building in 1959 and leased it to companies for a variety of leisure purposes.[1][4] In 1979, the interior was reconstructed as a theatre.[3][4]
Burnley Mechanics was designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage on 29 September 1977.[3] The Grade II* designation—the second highest of the three grades—is for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".[5] It is described by Hartwell and Pevsner as "one of Burnley's best buildings".[3] John Champness calls its façade "certainly the finest Classical façade in Burnley and among the very best of its date in the country".[6]
Architecture
Bunley Mechanics is built in the Palazzo style in sandstone ashlar.[3] Green's original construction is on a rectangular plan with five bays at the front; it is on two storeys.[4] The ground floor has Venetian-style windows with round, rusticated arches.[4] Waddington's extension at the rear of the building is on a slightly lower level.[4] Its design matches that of the rest of the building, but the newer windows have architraves with pilasters.[3]
On the second floor, there are central windows flanked by Corinthian columns and pilasters.[4] The entrances to the building have coupled Corintian columns.[4]
See also
- Listed buildings in Lancashire
References
- Footnotes
- ^ a b c "Burnley Mechanics — Outline", www.burnley.gov.uk (Burnley Borough Council), http://www.burnley.gov.uk/site/scripts/services_info.php?serviceID=690, retrieved 13 June 2011
- ^ Tylecote, pp. 112–113
- ^ a b c d e f "Burnley Mechanics", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1244905, retrieved 13 June 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g Hartwell & Pevsner, pp. 180–181
- ^ "Listed Buildings", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/, retrieved 13 June 2011
- ^ Champness, p. 134
- Bibliography
- Champness, John (1989), Lancashire's Architectural Heritage: An Anthology of Fine Buildings, Lancashire County Planning Dept., ISBN 0902228714
- Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0300126670
- Tylecote, Mabel Phythian (1957), The Mechanics' Institutes of Lancashire & Yorkshire Before 1851, Manchester University Press, OCLC 458433074
External links
Categories:- Buildings and structures completed in 1855
- Buildings and structures in Burnley
- Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
- Theatres in Lancashire
- Grade II* listed theatres
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