The club was not the only one in Greater Manchester celebrating good news.
Crossley House in Openshaw, Manchester, which was formerly the Crossley Lads’ Club, has been added to the National Heritage List for England at Grade II.
Built in 1912 as a memorial to industrialist and philanthropist Sir William Crossley, HE said it was a “rare and important survivor” and its architecture and innovative construction made it nationally significant.
Designed by John Broadbent, it combines an Edwardian Baroque front with a rare early reinforced-concrete frame and still has many of its original features, including its gymnasium, lecture theatre, running-track gallery, parquet floors and decorative concrete structure.
HE said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s decision to list and upgrade the clubs, which followed its advice, recognised two rare surviving examples of purpose-built lads’ clubs.
HE’s Emma Squire and Claudia Kenyatta said the “two remarkable buildings tell the story of a movement that transformed opportunities for generations of young people”.
