After forming in 1986, The Friends successfully lobbied for listed status, which would safeguard the future of the Winter Gardens building. Grade II status was declared by English Heritage in 1987 on the grounds of ‘outstanding architectural and historical interest’. This was upgraded to Grade II* in 1992.
1996 saw the start of work to restore the building façade, reinstate a canopy across the frontage, refurbish the shop units and repair the roof. Internally, damaged timbers were replaced and deteriorated plaster removed.
Since then, The Friends and volunteers have undertaken regular maintenance of the building and improved security, lighting and visitor access.
Winter Gardens Timeline 1878 – 1977
1878“The People’s Palace & Aquaria” opens (later to become the ballroom).1896Messrs T Baxter & RB Abbott purchase the People’s Palace and establish the Winter Gardens Company. Baths on the current Winter Gardens site demolished.1897Theatre constructed adjacent to the People’s Palace, designed by Mangnall & Littlewood. Theatre named ‘Victoria Pavilion’ and People’s Palace renamed ‘Oriental Ballroom’.1908Winter Gardens Company goes into liquidation and buildings put up for auction.1909Messrs WH Broadhead & Sons buy the buildings after the auction fails to find a find a buyer. Glazed canopy added to frontage. Buildings renamed King’s Pavilion and Empress Ballroom.1933Complex purchased by a local consortium for £24,000, under the chairmanship of Harry Smirk.1934Major refurbishment completed and theatre reopens in March. Harry Smirk travels thousands of miles around the country to bring the top acts to Morecambe. The theatre becomes nationally renowned, not least for regular BBC radio broadcasts.1940Highly successful fund-raising show with George Formby topping the bill raises £600 for war charities.1953Moss Empires acquire a controlling interest, under managing director Val Parnell. Mr L Benjamin becomes manager from 1953-59.1968Fortes lease the building and bring in Entram, their entertainment division, to run the theatre.1969Entram redesign the ballroom into the Dixieland Bar and abandon the restaurant (which becomes The Golden Fry) and The Parisian Bar (which becomes the Crystal Room Amusement Centre.)1970Theatre offered to the corporation.1977Fortes announce The Winter Gardens is to close. The Central Band of the RAF play the last night to an audience of 1600.
Winter Gardens Timeline 1977 – 1986
1977Closure of The Winter Gardens theatre1978The Dixieland Bar closes and Forte announce plans to demolish the whole complex. An action group is formed and manages to obtain listed status for the theatre.1981Johnny’s Entertainment Tyneside Ltd acquire the complex and set-out a plan to re-open the theatre if the ballroom is demolished.1982Demolition of the ballroom.1985The action group announce plans to re-open the theatre. A Granada television report draws 3000 people to view the building during an open weekend.1986The amusement park behind the theatre closes after 78 years.1986The Friends of The Winter Gardens is formed.
The Friends of the Winter Gardens was formed in 1986 by a group of local residents, who shared the same feelings and concerns for the building. At the start, our prime role was to keep up pressure to save the theatre from demolition. During this time, we went into the Pavilion enthusiastically with mops and buckets to clean up this ‘once beautiful building’ and, to give back some of its lost sparkle, we cleaned away years of dirt and rubbish.
This enabled the ‘Friends’ to open up the Winter Gardens to the public at weekends, to show what lay behind the doors which had been closed since 1977. Support from the public began to flood in at this time, with more people wishing to join us; we held meetings and began fund-raising events. The result being, many improvements were made to help stop the decay of the building.
In May 1995, the Winter Gardens was acquired by the Buildings at Risk Trust and, thanks to the Lancaster City Council, English Heritage, and a single regeneration grant, financial funding was in place for the 1st phase of restoration which began the following year.
In February 2006, The Friends formed a charitable trust, The Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust Limited, as an appropriate vehicle to purchase the theatre.
Today, the work of The Friends ensures that the theatre is maintained and accessible to the public. We regularly open the theatre to visitors and provide guided tours or answer questions about the building, its history and the restoration project. We operate a refreshment bar in the theatre, which also sells a variety of gifts and souvenirs and contains a small display of memorabilia. We undertake fund-raising activities which include providing charity collection boxes to local businesses, regular tombolas and special events.
