Recreation Centre – Modern Mooch

Holme Rd Burnley BB12 0RT

Photo – Robert Wade

William Thompson was born at Richmond Yorkshire, the son of John and Catherine Thompson. William came to Burnley in 1908 and gained a place at Burnley Grammar school. Later he learned the trade of cotton weaving at his uncle’s shed. In time he was to become the managing director of this firm. William lived at Oak Bank Todmorden road, where in spite of his great wealth, he led a remarkably simple life. He had neither television nor radio, and his greatest pleasure appeared to be strolling in the nearby Towneley Park. About 1970, ill health forced William to move to his sister’s house at Ingleton Yorkshire. His illness became worse, and he was removed to a nursing home at Silverdale, near Lancaster, where after a prolonged infirmity he died on 18, August 1972. It was William and his sister, Sarah Witham who donated the £333,000 that was eventually used to build the Thompson Recreation Centre. William was never to see the gift he bestowed upon the town, for his death came just a few days before the official opening of the centre. It was his sister, Sarah who performed the opening, and she too was to die a short time afterwards on 8, December 1975. She was the last link in the Thompson family of Burnley.

Many thanks to local historian and author Jack Nadin

The Thompson Recreation Centre was decorated by a large concrete frieze by Scottish artist Charles Anderson.

Town Architects 1975

Formed from precast concrete panels against expanded polystyrene moulds – it stands 150ft long and 9ft high.

It was gifted from funds provided by the estate of local Cotton Manufacturer and major town benefactor, William Thompson. The building was a flagship symbol of progress for Burnley in 1973, it was demolished in 2006.

Fortunately, the frieze was carefully dismantled, stored and reinstated by Andrew Brown.

Mr Brown said:

This frieze has a massive place in our community. It gives me enormous pleasure to give this magnificent artwork a new home. It breathes new life into the legacy of William Thompson who did so much for Burnley.

It is now located at the Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort. walked from the to

Charles Anderson designed the sculpture over months at his studio in Paisley said:

I was a young man of 34 when I was approached by Burnley Council to design a frieze for the centre.

It’s one of my proudest pieces of work and definitely one of the most challenging. I was inspired by the sculptures of the Parthenon so perhaps this is Burnley’s own Elgin Marbles. It features the Three Graces from Greek mythology as well as sporting scenes such as wrestling, weightlifting, fencing, archery, football, tennis and cricket.

I walked from the town centre along Princess way in search of the work – it’s at the rear of the site, just turn right before you reach the hotel.

Rooley Avenue Bradford West Yorkshire BD6 1EZ

Named for local lad pugilist Richard Dunn, the ambitious imagining of architect Gordon Elliott – the sports centre opened in 1978.

The Richard Dunn Sports Centre, originally Odsal Sports Centre, was designed by myself Trevor Skempton, as part of a team in the office of Owen Perry, Bradford City Architect until 1974.

Gordon Elliot then took over; as Chief Architect for the Met District, after the construction contract had been let.

Comprising pools, sports hall, dance studio, sauna, gym and ancillary facilities the centre was certainly state of the art.

Sweeping interlocking arcs of concrete, were at the heart of the structure.

Topped out with a suspended canopy.

Attracting huge crowds on the occasion of its opening.

Images The Telegraph and Argus.

The building was to be demolished in April of this year – it closed in November 2019.

I assume that the state of the art became less state of the art – as running costs grew and newer greener technology became state of the art.

The state of the art Sedbergh Sports and Leisure Centre opened in September 2019.

Initially the Richard Dunn site was to be sold for development, this along with plans for demolition seem to be in abeyance.

Arrangements are being made to turn Bradford’s Richard Dunn Sports Centre into a temporary mortuary should the current Coronavirus crisis escalate.

April 2020

It’s remarkable – here are my photographs from February 2020.

I advise you to get along and take a look, just as soon as humanly possible.

Recently John Mann was granted permission to snap the deserted interior.

The ghostly gasps of the exercising public exorcised forever.

Eileen Ayres, who has worked at Richard Dunns from before it even opened to the public said:

When I came here this place was super, super modern – state of the art. Now we’re moving to Sedbergh it is great to be in a state of the art facility again. The younger staff are so excited about the move to a new, modern sports centre.

I have a lot of memories of here, a lot of staff I’ve met and become friends with over the years. We’ve had a lot of events here, international events that have taken place here over the years. When Richard Dunn was new a lot of people wanted to hold these events here. Now we have a new leisure centre I hope some of these events come back to Bradford.

I started at 23, I said I was just coming for a year. Here we are 41 years later.

When asked if she thinks it is right to be closing down Richard Dunn she said:

In my heart no, but realistically it has to go. It is run down – it would be way too expensive to run or refurbish. You can’t keep putting money into old things.

Telegraph and Argus