Unique wake venues in Accrington

A Wake is an event that traditionally takes place after a funeral service and usually involves family and friends gathering to share memories and celebrate the life of the person who’s died.

Traditionally, a wake would take place at someone’s home, community centre or pub, but they can take place anywhere. The people organising the Wake may want to honour their loved one by holding it at a special place to them, such as at the grounds of their favourite football team. 

Wakes usually take place directly after the funeral service; however, you can organise a wake at any time. They can also be as structured or as informal as you would like. Wake organisers have the freedom to host the event that’s right for them, their family, their friends, and the person who’s died.

If you’re organising a wake in Accrington, there are plenty of unique venues where you can host the event in your own way. From an afternoon tea at Haworth Art Gallery to a celebration of life at Accrington Stanley’s Redz Bar on the grounds of Accrington Stanley FC.

Find your funeral director in Accrington who will help you arrange a cremation or burial and give you ideas for a wake, memorial or reception that’s right for you.

Oak Hill Park serves both the town of Accrington and the Borough of Hyndburn. At 8.7 hectares, it is also one of the largest parks in the Borough. It is a sloping site, and at one of the park’s highest points, you’ll find a large war memorial. The war memorial and beautiful flower beds make this the ideal venue for an intimate wake, where you can pack a picnic and reminisce with close friends and family. 

You can find Oak Hill Park between Manchester Road and Hollins Lane in Accrington, and you can access the park from four points. There are two points from Manchester Road (this is where you’lletles’peapark’sIt’sVernet’sLadye’su’ll find the park’s main entrance) and two from Hollins Lane. Ayou’llhigher Manchester Road entrance, you’ll find parking for disabled visitors. However, there is no other parking available within the grounds of the park.

One of the oldest football clubs in the United Kingdom, the Accrington Stanley football team plays its matches in the Wham Stadium but is still referred to by fans by its previous name, the Crown Ground. You can book the stadium for events in Accrington Stanley’s Redz Bar. 

If your loved one was an Accrington Stanley FC fan, this could be the perfect venue to celebrate their lives.

The venue provides room dressing and catering, and their dedicated staff will be by your side during this difficult time to make sure the day runs how you want it. You can hire The Redz Bar for a number of functions throughout the year, and it can accommodate 160 guests.

The Haworth Art Gallery is an Arts & Crafts house completed in 1909 for William Haworth. The architect commissioned to design the beautiful building was Walter Brierley. The design perfectly fits its amazing hillside location and is a serene setting for its impressive art collections.

These collections include several 18th and 19th-century paintings such as My Ladye’s Palfrey by J.F Herring, The Laundress by Edouard Frère and Faith by Frederic Leighton. The painting that Haworth is most proud of is Claude-Joseph Vernet’s Storm off the French Coast. It’s on permanent display at the gallery and is a naturalistic yet dramatic portrayal of a violent storm and an ominous sky.

The gallery also hosts temporary exhibitions with artists from across the country attending the annual open exhibition.

Haworth Art Gallery is also the proud home of Tiffany glassware, with a collection of gorgeous art nouveau styles vases, glass mosaics, lamps, and stained glass windows on display. Louis Comfort Tiffany created Tiffany glassware and invented new ways of working and combining glass. In 1892 he patented Favrile glass, distinguished by its brilliant, rich colours that have the iridescent quality of a peacock’s plumage or beetles’ wings.

You can book the Gallery Kitchen for many different events, and the dramatic grounds and beautiful collections on display make it a truly unique place to celebrate the life of a loved one.