illawalla

the man · **Posted:** Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:36 pm

brian do you have any pictures of the illawalla,would be great if you have some,thanks..

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:01 am

Mark,

I have somewhere. I think. I'm almost certain I have at least one that I took some years ago before digital cameras were invented. Trouble is, I'm not sure where it is now. I'll dig it out (along with any others I can find) and scan it in. Hopefully somebody else will have a few on their hard drive that they can post as well.

The Actor · **Posted:** Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:23 pm

The only one that I could find.

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:52 pm

Martyn...that'd be the Illawalla as it stands now. Not exactly the grand old Edwardian pile it was back in my youth.

Somewhat annoyingly I can't find any of the photographs Michelle and I took of the building before it was torn down. I know we've got some, somewhere, but I suspect they're transparencies and I can't find the slide album. Not that it'd make any difference because I can't scan slides in anyway.

However...we're never ones to disappoint (not intentionally anyhow) so here are a few older, black and white shots that we managed to pin down from various sources:

The next one's of the rockery...apparently...I don't remember the rockery myself. Mind you, it was a nightclub when I managed to finally wrangle my way into the grounds...and it was about three o'clock in the morning after a night of hedonistic alcholol abuse, so I didn't particularly see much of anything other than a close-up of the gravel drive.

Now this next one's how I remember the place proper...only it was in colour when I used to haunt its precincts. I really will have to dig out those slides that we took before the building was demolished...and then figure out how to scan them in.

And now the interior...obviously it looked a bit different when Boddington's owned it. Not even sure which room this is/was...probably the one from the ceiling of which they hung pink drapes during its less tasteful 'nightclub' years, so that it resembled a Turkish brothel.

One last one for now.

I've got more of these if anybody's interested, including a couple of 'artists impressions' of the 'Illawalla Village Hotel', which, despite the best assurances of the property developers and the civic planners etc, it never actually became. I'll need to scan them in though, so let me know.

The Actor · **Posted:** Sat Oct 13, 2007 5:49 pm

Brian, what can I say ? I took it from an estate agents site.

That aside, I have a scanner that can be used for scanning slides although I've never scanned or indeed owned a slide.

If I can be of further use please advise.

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:46 am

Martyn,

Ta very much. I'll take you up on that slide scanning offer...just as soon as I've found my slide album and checked that I've an Illawalla photograph in it. I'm sure I've got one. I distinctly remember taking it just before the building was demolished. Some security guard bloke told me to go away because it was private property and he wasn't interested in my explanations. His actual words were considerably more colourful, of course, most of them consisting of four letters and the appropriate number of syllables for somebody with such a low IQ.

Anyhow...here's what the Illawalla was supposed to end up looking like and never actually did:

It ended up as a small huddle of private houses. Can't help wondering whether anyone on the planning committee, possibly one of their relatives, bought one of them.

A couple more photographs from various newspapers, magazines etc before I bugger off for breakfast:

That last one's absolutely pathetic, isn't it? Third generation scan of a photocopy of a photocopy of a newpaper article that wasn't very well printed in the first place, I'm afraid. Still got a few more on the hard drive yet...but it entirely depends on how bored people are with these things as to whether they remain there or not.

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:31 pm

Er...is Image Shack on the blink...or is my computer up the spout again? I keep seeing 'This Image Doesn't Exist' signs all over the forum.

the man · **Posted:** Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:19 pm

thanks for these brian,suprised they didnt build a hotel on there,what i do know that i believe a solicitor bought the land and built houses on there..

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:39 pm

Mark,

Here's a clipping for you...if you can actually read it. (The words might be a bit on the small side.) It was written, I notice, by Anthony Coppin who now works for the Garstang Courier. Good man! He gave our books some excellent reviews, so he obviously knows what he's talking about.

Still haven't found that slide album yet. I will do eventually though and then Martyn can scan the Illwalla photograph/s in. The place looked better in colour. If memory serves (which it frequently doesn't) there were some prehistoric red deer bones dug up near the place...probably related to the Bronze Age/Iron Age settlement at the gymkhana field at Skippool creek.

At some point I'll throw a bit of history in with this lot as well...bit busy tonight, as always. There's whiskey to be drunk and toast to be burnt. But stay tuned...

the man · **Posted:** Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:25 pm

thanks mate.

wyrearchaeology · **Posted:** Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:52 pm

No probs.

Jayne · **Joined:** Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:01 am **Posts:** 79

Just saw a mention of the Illawalla on Melanie's Thornton Through Time blog and had a hunt to find out what the Illawalla actually was - How on earth did such a lovely building get trashed ?!
Don't worry, twas a rhetorical question as it happens here in Oz with everyone left scratching their heads in bemusement, too.

Tanguy · **Joined:** Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:44 pm **Posts:** 13

My wife grew up in Blackpool and one of her best friends was the granddaughter of Sir J F (Fred) Emery, who owned the Illawalla as a private house before it became a nightclub. She was brought up in the house. It was thought to be the largest bungalow in Europe at the time.

Sir Fred made his fortune from Cinemas during their boom years in the 20s and 30s and his chain Emery Cinema Circuit still gets a few hits on the internet, thanks to Cinema buffs and local history groups.

He was also active in public life and was MP for Salford for many years. I think this was as a Tory, which in Salford was quite a tribute to his personal vote.

After the war he was a member of the Beveridge Committee, which set up the NHS and the modern 'welfare state'.

He gets a mention in this web site dedicated to Frank Randle:

http://www.itsahotun.com/Frankrandle.html

There were further cinematic connections.

Several of the interior scenes for the film 'Valentino' were shot in the Illawalla. Apparently, Nureyev and Sir Fred were both amused by the fact that they were wearing identical 'correspondent' shoes - Sir Fred's were original, he had bought several pairs in the 20s - but Nureyev's were props.

Sir Fred's granddaughter married one of the heroes of Wigan's great rugby team of the 60s. He featured in a famous film 'This Sporting Life', in which he appears in the playing sequences. He died at a tragically early age.

It sounds like a good candidate for a blue plaque - if only there was somewhere to put it...

pftmonojetman · **Joined:** Sat Jan 03, 2009 7:05 pm **Posts:** 10

I remember a Plaster frieze on the wall in one of the rooms depicting wading birds along the river wyre. Being a plasterer myself i was mortified it could'nt be saved.

Jayne · **Joined:** Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:01 am **Posts:** 79

Crikey, those plaster friezes are expensive and, sometimes, irreplaceable.
Did they manage to save anything from the original house or was it all trashed? How sad if little was rescued.

Sir Fred Emery sounds like a nice chap from your description, Tanguy

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illawalla

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