THE GREAT HALL FROM THE STAIRCASE: The door on the left leads to the card room, that on the right to the billiard room. The cornice is ornamented with a line of acanthus work.
THE SOUTH FRONT: showing the pavilion-like ends of the building.
THE NORTH FRONT TODAY
Directions
by Car
Whether travelling from the North or the South, exit the M6 motorway at junction 36 and take the A590, following signs for Barrow. Remain on the A590 for approximately 30 miles (until you pass Dalton in Furness). At the next roundabout, take the first exit (Breast Mill Beck Road), following signs for “Furness Abbey”.
Public Transport
The nearest rail station is Barrow in Furness (from London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Lancaster, Preston, and Carlisle), which is two miles from Abbey House Hotel. There is a taxi rank at the station. Non-stop intercity and local services run to Stevenage station from London King’s Cross station around every 30 minutes.
There are also frequent buses running towards Abbey House. Stagecoach service X6 stops directly outside the hotel. Alternatively, on service 6 or 6a, alight at Millwood Cottages and take a 10 minute walk to the hotel gates. For more information, please visit stagecoachbus.com
Summer Luncheon – Abbey House Hotel
Monday, 31 August 2026, 12:30-4pm
Abbey House Hotel, Abbey Road, Furness Abbey, Cumbria, LA13 0PA.
Our third annual summer luncheon continues the tradition of moving around the country to welcome those from all counties. This year’s venue is Abbey House, in the Lake District. Our thanks to Tim Sr. Tim and Karen Kilroe for hosting us.
Members and their guests are invited to join us for lunch in the Great Hall.
Designed in 1910-14 for engineering giant Vickers Ltd, Abbey House in Barrow-in-Furness stands as one of Sir Edwin Lutyens’s final grand residential commissions before the World Wars pivoted the practice into more monumental civic architecture. Serving the dual purpose of a private residence for managing director Sir James McKechnie and an elite corporate guest house for visiting dignitaries, this Grade II* listed, red ashlar sandstone mansion masterfully showcases Lutyens’s evolution toward a stark, abstracted Neo-Elizabethan style. Its disciplined H-plan layout, heavy blocky geometry, and massive corner chimneys with linked octagonal flues offer a fascinating preview of the mannerist aesthetic he would later perfect at Castle Drogo. Inside, the house retains its spectacular, ashlar-lined entrance vestibule and oak-panelled Great Hall with bolection-moulded fireplaces, all set within 14 acres of private grounds influenced by Gertrude Jekyll. Though decades of post-WWII use as a local council care home threatened its integrity, sensitive restoration in 1984 successfully preserved Lutyens’s original core fabric, allowing the building to flourish today as a luxury hotel that remains a vital piece of architectural heritage. Notable guests have included King George V; The Princess of York (later, The Queen Mother) and the Prince of Siam.
The Great Hall, Drawing Room, Billiard Room, Dining Room, Private Sitting Room and Card Room are now still public rooms, and will be available to quietly explore.
Tickets are £72 per person. This includes free access to the building’s domestic spaces, and a 2-course lunch, 1/2 bottle of wine pp, and tea/coffee to finish.
Members are welcome to bring guests at an increased rate of £77, which includes a £5 day membership fee.
Online bookings
Please make your booking online through PayPal using your credit / debit card or PayPal account.
Manual Bookings
If you wish to pay with a cheque, please use the online booking facility above, and then choose the “pay by cheque” option on the payments screen. This will reserve you a ticket(s) and give you instructions on where to send your cheque to. All cheques should be made payable to “The Lutyens Trust” and made to the sum of £72 or £77 (please add £3.00 per cheque, this will cover the charge banks for banking cheques).
