Great Harwood's Mercer Hall wins £60k Arts Council grant

Great Harwood’s historic Mercer Hall has been given a £60,000 grant to develop a new arts and culture programme.

Hyndburn Leisure secured the cash from Arts Council England to boost the recently re-opened building following the completion of the first £500,000-plus phase of its repurposing.

The funding will enable the trust to pilot a range of creative activities at Mercer Hall.

The new programme includes:

Opera North will work with two local primary schools to deliver the In Harmony music programme, culminating in an invitation-only finale concert at Mercer Hall in July. A series of live music events will also be piloted across summer and autumn.

A new annual Book Festival will take place form May 14 to 17, featuring author talks, interviews and writing activities in partnership with Lancashire County Council Libraries.

DanceSyndrome will deliver an 18-week Everybody Dance programme for children, alongside summer holiday taster sessions. Family-friendly performances will also launch with Young McDonald Had a Farm on Saturday May 2 priced at £3 including a drink.

Free music lessons will support local musical talent while Ossy Fest will host a free music festival at Mercer Hall on May 23 and 24. Cathedral Studios will also support live music workshops.

 Lyndsey Sims, chief executive of Hyndburn Leisure, said: “We’re delighted to receive this funding from Arts Council England.

“Mercer Hall is an important building for Great Harwood, and this project will help bring it back to life in a way that reflects what local people want and need.”

A spokesperson for the Mercer Hall Repurposing Group said: “Mercer Hall means a great deal to local people. It’s exciting to see funding that will help turn ideas into action and make the hall a place everyone feels welcome.”

Mercer Hall officially reopened last month after a four-month closure for refurbishment work.

Works included reinstating a floor in the main hall, redecoration, and accessibility improvements to make the venue more inclusive for all users.

Hyndburn Leisure is now looking for suitably contractors with experience in stage installation, venue seating, and recording studio soundproofing and acoustic design for the next stage of its revamp.

Mercer Hall, built between 1913 and 1921, has been the subject of bitter controversy since Hyndburn Council decided in 2022 to confirm the permanent closure of its swimming pool in favour of the new purpose-built £12 million Cath Thom Leisure Centre at Wilson Playing Fields in Clayton-le-Moors.