Satterthwaite Parish Room


HOMEPAGE \| HISTORY \| FACILITIES \| HIRING THE PARISH ROOM \| PANORAMIC VIEWS INSIDE \| LINKS

History
of Satterthwaite Parish Room

The Parish Room was designed by Grundys of Ulverston and built
during the summer of 1883. It consisted of a small porch giving
access to a single large room, which was open to the rafters, had a
suspended wooden floor, and was heated by a solid fuel stove in
one corner. Four windows, arched at the top and with Y shaped
tracery, lit the room, three along the south wall and one to the west.
A lean-to privy was provided outside. The building was surrounded
by a gravelled yard, entrance to which was via a wrought-iron gate
placed between stone pillars set back in a curve from the road.
Inside, it was furnished with basic wooden forms, a few seats, and
teaching equipment for the Sunday School. The total cost was
£300.
		Although no major building works have been carried
In approximately 1900, the building was extended on the northern		out on the Parish Room or Reading Room since this
side to provide a Reading Room, again open to the rafters, fitted		time, there have been many internal alterations. In the
with a stove, two bookcases, 70 books, three round tables and a		1970s the Reading Room was converted into a
dozen chairs. It was lit by a three-panel window in the east wall and		kitchen, and low ceilings were fitted to both rooms to
had another window high up in the north gable above the stove,		conserve heat. New interior toilets replaced the
and could be accessed directly from the yard as well as through		outside facilities. In the late 1980s the wooden floor of
the Parish Room. Later, a billiard table was added to the		the Parish Room was renewed and at the same time
furnishings.		the heating stove was replaced with oil-fired central
		heating. Modern plastic-and-metal chairs and tables
The gallery in the Parish Room was probably installed at the same		have replaced the cumbersome pews and heavy
time as the Reading Room was added, and the combined building		wooden fittings of yesteryear. The summer of 2006
became the focal point for a wide range of parish activities. These		saw the toilets redesigned to allow for disabled
included: billiards, darts and dominoes competitions, bring and buy		access.
sales, jumble sales, whist drives, birthday parties and dances as
well as Parish Council and Church Council meetings. After the		This elaborate community building, with its arched and
demolition of old Satterthwaite Church in 1914, the Parish Room		leaded windows and internal gallery, is now more than
was fitted with the unwanted pews.		125 years old.