The North(ish) Lass

Explore the North.

Tag: visit lancaster

  • Lancaster Grand Theatre: A Brief History

    Lancaster Grand Theatre: A Brief History

    As Christmas comes ever close and the Theatre becomes a hive of activity once again with not one, not two, but THREE pantomimes (Footlights, Schools’, and Adult), I thought I’d take a look at the historic venue that they will be taking place in. Having “trod the boards” in this historic theatre, I can say that it is a wonderful place to perform, and I can’t wait to get the chance to do so again.

    Lancaster Grand Theatre is a Grade II listed building built in 1782, and has been a mainstay of Lancaster’s cultural scene since then. Originally just called “The Theatre” and part of the Northern Circuit of theatres, where touring groups and players would make the rounds with their shows. The Grand is now the only surviving venue in it’s original state. The Grand Theatre is the third oldest working theatre in Britain, and it has been in near continuous use since it was built, apart from the odd year here and there when it has been dark. Pretty good going for a theatre approaching it’s venerable 250th birthday!

    In the first summer it opened, the theatre put on Hamlet, with Lady Macbeth being played by Sarah Siddons, a relation of one of the men who opened the theatre. Other performers included Ira Aldridge, who was the first Black British actor to appear on a UK stage.

    There is a pervasive theatre myth that the ghost of Sarah Siddons haunts the venue. I mean, what would a theatre be without a good ghost story and a residential spirit? As someone who has spent quite a bit of time there, I have yet to meet her, although if I do, I do hope she’s friendly. After all, this was a place she loved to be! Hopefully she would appreciate everything the volunteers and players do to keep The Grand going and vibrant.

    Ira Aldridge (1807?-1867) in the character of Othello

    Theatre performances at the theatre declined through the 1830s and 1840s, but it was reopened in 1849 as a music hall with a focus on classical music, as well as having a space for a museum for the Natural History Society, and was increasingly used for lectures. Charles Dickens appeared twice in 1860s, reading from A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers.

    In 1897 the theatre was modified, including a new stage, by architect Frank Matcham, but the work of this architect was lost in 1908 when the building was badly damaged by fire. It reopened the same year, after significant restoration, as The Grand Theatre. In it’s currently form it seats 457 over two levels and is owned by Lancaster Footlights, an amateur dramatic group, who have been performing since the 1920s, but bought the theatre in 1951 for £7,000 to save it from demolition in the remodelling of the Canal Quarter in the city. This “remodelling” involved mass demolition of streets of old housing, in order to rebuild for “healthier,” more spaced out, housing.

    Tours of the theatre that explore it’s history, both older and more recent, are available throughout the year, hosted by extremely knowledgeable volunteer tour guides. Check out Lancaster Grand’s website for more information of when you can visit and take a tour.

    There is also very exciting things planned for the theatre’s future, and a major fundraising operation is ongoing to raise money for an extension to make a new foyer, and to make the building more accessible for all.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive more updates, please sign up for free below to get weekly updates on fabulous things to do around the North!

  • Weekly Recommendation: Spider’s Web at Lancaster Grand

    Weekly Recommendation: Spider’s Web at Lancaster Grand

    Lancaster Footlights presents Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web at Lancaster Grand from October 3rd – 11th 2025.

    Clarissa, married to a top diplomat, loves to spin tales just like a spider spins a web. However, when someone is murdered right in her drawing room, that’s another matter! Live drama is so much harder to cope with! Her house guests help her try and dispose of the body before her husband gets back but they are interrupted by the arrival of Detective Brown who was told there has been a murder! Hilarity ensues […] “Spider’s Web” is Christie’s second most successful play (744 performances), surpassed only by the record-breaking “The Mousetrap”. 

    Christie is well known as one of Britain’s best loved authors, with her own estate claiming the title of ‘Queen of Crime’ for the writer. Her characters of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are known across the globe. Spider’s Web, however, was written for a specific actress, Margaret Lockwood, who had appeared in many films, but wished to increase her theatre repertoire, asking Christie to write a play for her. Must be nice to have that sort of clout and for a request like that to bear fruit!

    The cast have been having a lot of fun rehearsing, and are excited to bring the play to the stage.

    “The Spider’s Web has been great fun to rehearse and the cast have all been brilliant to work with. The show itself has all of the usual murder mystery trappings – secret passageways, invisible ink, and more than a few red herrings! What I’ve particularly enjoyed is the humour, as there is much more to be found in The Spider’s Web than in most other Christie plays!” – Ian Brown, Inspector Lord

    Tickets are selling fast. Get yours at Lancaster Grand – Spider’s Web.

  • Massive Wagons @ Lancaster University Great Hall

    Massive Wagons @ Lancaster University Great Hall

    Massive Wagons is Lancaster’s very own hard rock band and one of the city’s biggest music exports, with their latest album from 2024 Earth to Grace reaching number 4 on the UK album charts, and their last four albums having reached number 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Album Charts. Formed in 2009, the band have been steadily growing a following, both UK based and internationally, for the last sixteen years, releasing seven albums and consistently touring to support those albums and get their music out there.

    Lancaster, the hometown of the band, has a great music culture, with lots of indie artists on the circuit regularly throughout the year, and there’s always music to be found somewhere. The city hosts the Lancaster Jazz Festival in September, the Music Festival (sadly not on in 2025, but hopefully returning next year!) and up until last year, Highest Point (again, hoping this will return with vengeance soon), as well as a huge amount of musical artists performing at Lancaster Grand, The Dukes, Kanteena, the Town Hall, and many other great venues throughout the city, supported by organisations such as Lancaster Music Co-op.

    But back to Massive Wagons!

    Right up front I’ll admit, when I bought the ticket to see Massive Wagons at Lancaster University, the most I knew about this Lancaster band was the enormous mural on the side of The Pub in the centre of town, and one popular song that I’d put on my playlist from Spotify… but by the time I left the gig on Friday night, I was definitely a fan. They are a fantastic live band, really tight musically, along with great crowd interaction, and Barry Mills has incredible energy and connection with the audience. I didn’t know too many lyrics, but I was able to pick it up and was soon singing along/hollering with everyone else. My early favourite was the song ‘Asshole’ where Barry had the crowd competing in an impromptu spelling bee; shouting “A-SS-HO-LE ASSHOLE” throughout the bridge of the song, as well as some light roasting of the crowd (“just dim the lights on that side of the crowd, especially the bald fella with the big head… super ugly”)… got to love it!

    Photo courtesy of Massive Wagons website

    The band also touch on some really important topics through their music; ‘Night Skies’ deals with mental health, particularly men’s mental health, and encouraging men to talk to each other/speak out if they’re struggling. This is so important, particularly in the era of the “men’s loneliness epidemic.” This is a little off topic, but I believe that it is other men who are going to be the driving force in helping their friends through that, and men need to see good role models and calls to action, like this song, to look out for each other; confirming that men confiding in other men is not weakness in any way, and it needs to be encouraged. It’s great to see a Hard Rock band embracing this, and firmly aligning men’s mental health with strength, hard rock, and acceptance.

    ‘I’m impossible to make unhappy
    ‘Cause I’m the happiest of happiest guys
    But I struggle trying to find a smile that fits my life    …’ – Night Skies by Massive Wagons

    Another important issue the band have tackled is bullying. The song ‘Forget The Haters’ (or F**k The Haters in the non radio friendly version!) was written by Barry and lead guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite about their own struggles with bullies when they were at school. They’ve been visiting schools throughout Lancashire to spread the message to children that bullying is not okay, and what to do if they are experiencing bullying. Again, seeing positive male role models encouraging open communication, empathy, and strength through kindness is so so important, as kids (especially boys) are being exposed to a lot of other foul content that tells them the exact opposite (I refuse to mention his name on here, but hopefully you get the gist of who I’m talking about). Barry and Adam are also ambassadors for Metal For Good, a charity that aims to use the positive energy of UK music subcultures to change communities for the better; promoting mental health campaigns, representing minority voices, and advocating for positive change.

    “If we can help one child then the last few years has been a success” – Barry Mills, Massive Wagons lead singer

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    Barry and Adam as Metal for Good Ambassadors. Photo courtesy of the Massive Wagons website.

    The two shows on 19th/20th September 2025 were also part of a long legacy of music at Lancaster University. Sadly, this legacy had well passed it’s heyday by the time I attended in the early 2010s but, if you can believe it, the Great Hall once played host to rock titans such as Pink Floyd, U2, Queen, The Kinks, The Jam, Blondie, The Who… all of which is documented in the excellent book ‘When Rock Went to College’ by Barry Lucas and Paul Tomlinson. It would be incredible to see the Great Hall back as a go-to venue for rock bands on the UK circuit, as once it was, and Massive Wagons choosing to record their live DVD there at the weekend could be a step in that direction. Terri Chapman, of Rock People Management, is leading the charge in the hope that this vision could become a reality.

    Massive Wagons are on tour later this year in Europe on the Blood and Bone Tour 2025. As for me, I’ll be waiting eagerly for them to come back to the North West or to play a hometown show again – see you there!

  • This Week’s Recommendation

    This Week’s Recommendation

    One More Bite Food Festival!

    One More Bite Fest is on for the whole Bank Holiday weekend and it looks like it’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to go and see all the different vendors who are attending!

  • Lancaster Grand Theatre: A Brief History

    Lancaster Grand Theatre: A Brief History

    Lancaster Grand Theatre is a Grade II listed building built in 1782, and has been a mainstay of Lancaster’s cultural scene since then. Originally just called “The Theatre” and part of the Northern Circuit of theatres, where touring groups and players would make the rounds with their shows. The Grand is now the only surviving venue in it’s original state. The Grand Theatre is the third oldest working theatre in Britain, and it has been in near continuous use since it was built, apart from the odd year here and there when it has been dark. Pretty good going for a theatre approaching it’s venerable 250th birthday!

    In the first summer it opened, the theatre put on Hamlet, with Lady Macbeth being played by Sarah Siddons, a relation of one of the men who opened the theatre. Other performers included Ira Aldridge, who was the first Black British actor to appear on a UK stage.

    There is a pervasive theatre myth that the ghost of Sarah Siddons haunts the venue. I mean, what would a theatre be without a good ghost story and a residential spirit? As someone who has spent quite a bit of time there, I have yet to meet her, although if I do, I do hope she’s friendly. After all, this was a place she loved to be! Hopefully she would appreciate everything the volunteers and players do to keep The Grand going and vibrant.

    Ira Aldridge (1807?-1867) in the character of Othello

    Theatre performances at the theatre declined through the 1830s and 1840s, but it was reopened in 1849 as a music hall with a focus on classical music, as well as having a space for a museum for the Natural History Society, and was increasingly used for lectures. Charles Dickens appeared twice in 1860s, reading from A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers.

    In 1897 the theatre was modified, including a new stage, by architect Frank Matcham, but the work of this architect was lost in 1908 when the building was badly damaged by fire. It reopened the same year, after significant restoration, as The Grand Theatre. In it’s currently form it seats 457 over two levels and is owned by Lancaster Footlights, an amateur dramatic group, who have been performing since the 1920s, but bought the theatre in 1951 for £7,000 to save it from demolition in the remodelling of the Canal Quarter in the city. This “remodelling” involved mass demolition of streets of old housing, in order to rebuild for “healthier,” more spaced out, housing.

    Tours of the theatre that explore it’s history, both older and more recent, are available throughout the year, hosted by extremely knowledgeable volunteer tour guides. Check out Lancaster Grand’s website for more information of when you can visit and take a tour.

    There is also very exciting things planned for the theatre’s future, and a major fundraising operation is ongoing to raise money for an extension to make a new foyer, and to make the building more accessible for all.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive more updates, please subscribe for free below to get weekly updates on fabulous things to do around the North!

  • The Exchange Lancaster – Vintage & PreLoved Clothing

    The Exchange Lancaster – Vintage & PreLoved Clothing

    What does The Exchange stock?

    Situated on the corner of Common Garden Street and King Street, The Exchange Lancaster (Instagram Link) is a beautifully curated preloved boutique store where the sustainability conscience fashion lover can find designer gems and unique pieces to suit all styles and price points. The vintage and preloved shop has been in business since 2010, showcasing sustainable style for a decade-and-a-half.

    I will be honest here, I am on a bit of a personal campaign against fast fashion and fashion waste (along with many other people and organisations!), and I have an intense dislike for companies such as T*mu and Sh*in (asterisked to stop flagging on search engines), among others. Fast Fashion is one of the biggest polluters on the planet; cheap clothes come with an astronomical environmental and human cost and I really hope that the more people learn about the terrible practices and costs of these companies, the less they will use them. We already have enough clothing on the planet to clothe everyone for the next sixty years, we do not need more unethical and wasteful fast fashion that will collapse after you wear it once. Anyway, this article wasn’t supposed to be a piece about how terrible fast fashion is; it’s about the beauty of reusing and re-loving the clothing that is already out there. Because this is such a soapbox issue for me, I really love solutions such as The Exchange which encourage reusing good quality high street clothing, and finding vintage pieces to love for many years to come. Creating this circular fashion economy is the best way to stop waste entering landfill and also having unique and interesting outfits to choose from whenever you open your wardrobe!

    How does it all work?

    The Exchange takes in seasonal pieces from members of the public, and takes in those that are in good condition and that they think will resell. There is a huge selection of clothing and it’s wonderful to go searching through the rails to find pieces you love. This selection can range from high end high street brands like Whistles, Reiss, and All Saints, to labels such as Versace, Saint Laurent, Chanel, and Mulberry. All designer pieces are professionally authenticated by the highly knowledgeable staff who have been collectively working in the fashion space for decades. Reflecting this range of options, the price points range from £10 up to several hundreds for designer bags (that would originally have retailed for £1000s).

    The Exchange isn’t just a place for fashionistas looking for a good buy; it’s also a good place for those whose wardrobes have gotten a little full, and want to make some money in reselling. Of course there are apps for that kind of thing, but The Exchange takes all the work out of it and will almost certainly get you a better price than you could sell it for in-app. The way it works is you take in what you want to sell (it must be in good condition/well-made), the shop will take the pieces they like the look of – agreeing a price that you’d be happy to sell it for – before taking it off your hands. The shop will then keep the pieces for six-ten weeks (depending on what it is/stock turnover/discussion etc.) and try and sell it. Once it’s sold, you will get 50% of the sale price back. Some customers take this as a payment, others prefer to leave it as a store credit on their account for the next time they’re searching for a preloved treasure of their own!

    A couple of my favourite pieces came from The Exchange, including a Radley bag with tags still on that would have retailed for £250 that I picked up for £60. I also wanted to find something sparkly for when I went to see Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour last year, so The Exchange was my first port of call to look for something unique. If you’re prepared to go digging, there’s some amazing things to find!

    The collection is constantly changing. The dedicated and knowledgeable staff in the shop are always rotating the stock, looking for exciting new items and curating different looks for the displays. If you have an account and let them know the kind of things you like/are looking for they’ll get in touch if something comes in that they think you’ll love!

    The shop is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-5pm. Tel 01524 65456 or message the shop on Facebook/Instagram to get in touch.

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    The Northish Lass: Building a Northern Network of great places, people, and products across the region. If you’d like to get in touch email bryony@thenorthishlass.co.uk or follow/message on Instagram for more information!

  • Weekly Recommendation: 6th June 2025

    Weekly Recommendation: 6th June 2025

    To Do

    Go see: Bad Girls at Lancaster Grand Theatre – the first week of shows kicks off on Friday 13th! Buy tickets here.

    To Eat

    Try Holm’s Chocolate Cronuts – very naughty, but very nice!

    It’s Holm’s 5th Birthday celebration today and tomorrow and they’re doing some fun giveaways to celebrate!

    Added Bonus

    King Charles III is visiting Lancaster Castle on Monday June 9th. If that’s your kind of thing, you can go and see the royal party arrive/leave the castle, and part of the ceremony of the keys.

    Even if it’s not your thing, be aware that there will be road closures/car park closures on the day and in the days leading up to the event, so if you’re planning to be in/around Lancaster 6th-10th June, make sure you check your route/parking/access etc.

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  • Frank Turner @ Lancaster Town Hall (Benefit Concert in aid of Citizen’s Advice Bureau North-West) – 01/03/2025

    Frank Turner @ Lancaster Town Hall (Benefit Concert in aid of Citizen’s Advice Bureau North-West) – 01/03/2025

    No one was more surprised than me to see one of my favourite artists was going to playing in my hometown. Apparently, I’ve been living under rock, as he has played in Lancaster before, the last time in 2018, when I was most definitely here (so why didn’t know about it?). Anyway, I didn’t then, but thankfully, this time, I did.

    The tickets sold out very quickly, with all profits from that, the merchandise, raffle, and bar were all going towards Citizen’s Advice Bureau North-West (from herein CAB NW). The charity helps thousands of people every year, with issues on everything from housing, to employment, to benefits. Last year, they helped put £13M into the pockets of people who needed it from the local area. They are an essential resource (that I have used in the past for advice on employment matters) from people looking for help and advice, and any money raised for such an institution is excellent. You can find out more information about the CAB here.

    By the time you’re reading this, it will be quite a while after the gig, but I had such a good time, I wanted to write about it anyway.

    I was blown away by Lancaster Town Hall as a venue itself – I don’t know for sure, but I imagine it could probably get around 2,000 people in there standing on the floor level, with a lovely wraparound balcony for limited seating above. The room had a full bar, and everything I would expect from a “proper” gig, including a solid barrier screwed into the floor, a lighting set up (with another barrier around it), a 5ft high stage, and good access. It reminded me of other medium sized venues I’d been in, such as the O2 Academy in Leeds, or Shepherd’s Bush Empire in North London, and I immediately wondered why a) I hadn’t heard of this venue in Lancaster before, and b) why wasn’t it being used as a proper touring stop for bands going round the country? Upon looking at their website, the answer to the latter might be because it only seems to get used as a venue on Saturday night, as I imagine actual city council business needs to get done during the week, so perhaps that severely limits what they can put on. As an aside, Lancaster used to be a stopping point for some seriously big bands – and this is a whole ‘nother story – but at one time the uni played host to bands such as The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Kinks and others. It would be beyond cool if we could get Lancaster back on the map as a “place to go” to play on a tour, not just as a random town halfway between the stops of Manchester and Glasgow.

    Getting inside was quick and efficient, and the first support act Amy Rae (Spotify profile) came on at about 7.30pm. She had a lovely clear and soulful voice, singing folk/singer-songwriter type music, with easy melodies and repeatable choruses that the crowd could begin to learn quickly and get into. One particular song, ‘Gin & I’, with the refrain “I think I’ll have another gin, and make it a double…” has been going around my head as an ear worm since the gig. The second support, Joe McCorriston (Spotify profile), had a bit more of a rock and roll sound with moodier lyrics to go alongside, but he got the crowd singing along on a particularly repeatable chorus (I think he said there was exactly one word we had to learn in order to sing the chorus: do (as in do doo do do dooo do do)).

    Amy Rae

    Then at around 9pm, it was time for the main event. I was surprised to find that people had actually travelled a long way to come to this gig (I don’t why I should be, I’ve done it. I guess just the idea of people coming to Lancaster for such thing seems strange to me). The guy next to me had travelled from somewhere in Bedfordshire. And they were all here to see Frank Turner (Spotify profile).

    Frank Turner on stage at Lancaster Town Hall

    Frank was introduced by his sister, the CEO of CAB NW, as “my little brother who’s going to play some songs for you all.” Frank entered, wearing a Counting Crows t-shirt (that would become prescient later on), picking up his guitar and began with ‘If I Every Stray’ from the album England Keep My Bones (my favourite FT album). At some point, earlier in the evening, a small human of no more than 7 years of age had appeared next to me on the barrier, straining on his tippy-toes to try and see. I wanted to pick him up and sit him on the top of the rail, but I was pretty sure security wouldn’t let me do that, so instead as we reached the chorus of ‘If I Ever Stray’ which goes “So come on everybody, sing a 1, 2, 3, 4!’ I leaned down and counted out the beat to the small one, to try and get him involved. He seemed hyped by it all anyway.

    For the most part he stuck to older well known singalongs such as ‘Long Live the Queen’ (heartbreakingly about a friend who died of cancer), ‘Wessex Boy,’ ‘Love, Ire & Song,’ and ‘I Still Believe.’ I love the last one especially because it just rings so true with the bridge:

    ‘And I still believe in the sound

    That has the power to raise a temple and tear it down

    And I still believe in the need

    For guitars and drums and desperate poetry

    And I still believe that everyone

    Can find a song for every time they’ve lost and every time they’ve won…’

    Any music lover will totally identify with those words; that music really does have the power to “save us all.”

    Other highlights of the evening included a denouncement of fascism (‘if anyone tries to give you simple answers to deep questions, they’re lying,’) and a duet with his sister of Counting Crows’ ‘Sullivan Street.’

    All in all it was an excellent night. I danced, jumped around, sung my heart out, and I can’t wait for him to come back so I can do it all over again.