Memorial Hall, Ancoats Lads Club

Works comprised the renovation of the existing club and the construction of a new memorial hall to the late Arthur Taylor at a cost of approximately £5,000. [Builder 6 March 1925 page 399]

Lord Derby came into Ancoats yesterday to reopen the Ancoats Lads' Club. Quite an extensive crowd assembled in the narrow streets around the building to welcome him, and to wait patiently until the ceremony was over for the pleasure of giving a parting cheer as he drove away.  …   The extensive alterations and improvements which the club has undergone have been carried out in the name of the late Mr. Arthur Taylor, its founder. It was rightly felt when he died that this would be the most fitting sort of memorial to his work. The opening ceremony took place in the new gymnasium, which has been given his name. On the wall is his portrait, flanked by two bronze tablets designed by Mr. Hubert Worthington, the one commemorating the founder of the club and the other its 192 members who fell in the war. [Manchester Guardian 23 January 1926 page 13]

For some time, the work of the (Ancoats Lads) club has been suspended while renovations and repairs were carried out. Most of the work has been done inside. Floors have been taken out and re-laid, obstructing pillars have been removed. and the whole aspect of things has been brightened and refreshed. Outside, the fabric has been cleaned and strengthened. All this has been done as a memorial to the club's founder, the late Mr. Arthur Taylor. The chief room on the ground floor, used as a gymnasium and for meetings and dances, will henceforth be known as the Taylor Memorial Hall. [Manchester Guardian 19 January 1926 page 11]

Reference        Builder 6 March 1925 page 399
Reference        Manchester Guardian 19 January 1926 page 11
Reference        Manchester Guardian 23 January 1926 page 13
Reference        Manchester Guardian 21 January 1926 page 10 - photograph interior of hall