Parr Hall

Parr Hall is a public hall dating from 1895, designed by William Owen for J Charlton Parr, who provided both the building and the site. Later alterations occurred in the 20th century. The hall is constructed of brown brick with red brick, terra cotta, and ashlar dressings, covered by slate roofs. It has two storeys and a 1-5-1 bay arrangement. The windows are mainly original glazing bar sashes. A single-storey lean-to entrance features three pairs of double doors beneath a canopy supported by scroll brackets, flanked by two-light windows. All these openings are topped with three-light stone-mullioned overlights. Two-storey end pavilions have hipped roofs. The central block features windows divided by pilasters, and incorporates a square-domed belvedere enclosed by a balustrade.

The main hall includes a curving balcony on three sides, cantilevered from the outer walls, with a coved ceiling and Grecian decoration underneath. The original windows are now blocked but retain eared architraves. The ceiling is coved with plain panels. The stage is flanked by panelled wooden staircase enclosures, approached by curved staircases with turned balustrades. At the rear of the stage stands an elaborate, two-tower organ case in a Decorated Gothic style, featuring fielded, quatrefoil panelling, and crocketed pinnacles. This houses an organ originally built in 1870 by the notable French organ-builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll for Bracewell Hall in Yorks. It was enlarged in 1875 and moved to Ketton Hall, Rutland, in 1883. The organ was purchased by Warrington Corporation and installed in Parr Hall between 1923 and 1926. It is the only example in England of a Cavaille-Coll instrument retaining its original specification and is considered a significant work by this major French builder.

Ground floor corridors around the hall provide access to staircases, exits, and meeting rooms, largely refitted in the late 20th century. Parr Hall forms part of a group of listed buildings in Palmyra Square, along with numbers 9 to 21 (odd), the Museum and Art Gallery on Bold Street number 10, Egypt Street numbers 5 to 13 (odd), and numbers 1 and 15 Suez Street.