Location: Irwell Terrace

Irwell Terrace is Bacup’s principal public events space, a paved area that has hosted markets, gatherings and community activity for generations. Sitting directly on its edge is the former Conservative Club, widely known locally as “Th’ Owd Conservative Club”, which occupies a highly prominent position within the Bacup Town Centre Conservation Area. The building is identified in council documentation as a significant heritage feature, with strong local feeling attached to its role as a visible, public-facing landmark rather than something inward-looking or anonymous.

Architecturally, the Old Con Club is a substantial stone-built town-centre building with a formal frontage addressing Irwell Terrace, originally designed to project solidity and civic confidence. Historic photographs show that the building once stood a full storey higher than it does today, giving it a much stronger vertical presence within the street. At some point in the 20th century this upper level was removed, likely due to structural or practical considerations, altering the building’s proportions but allowing it to remain in use. One particularly distinctive surviving feature is the white glazed brick gable on the exposed side elevation, a practical period solution to bring light into a narrow space, and a detail that now forms part of the building’s character. Together, these changes tell a familiar Bacup story – not of demolition, but of adaptation – with the Old Con Club remaining one of the town centre’s key visual anchors despite its altered form.