Project of the week

Situated in a prominent position on Morecambe seafront, this Grade II*-listed building opened in 1897 as the Victoria Pavilion. Designed to be both a grand variety theatre and a concert hall, in its heyday it played host to many well-known performers from stage and screen. Its magnificent auditorium is one of the largest in the country and the building as a whole is thought to be one of a kind.

After a decline in its fortunes, Morecambe Winter Gardens was saved from demolition by the people of Morecambe in 1985. A few decades later, Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust – a volunteer-led, charitable organisation – took ownership of the building and began taking a slow and phased approach to restoring it back to its former glory. In 2020, the Trust, under new governance, with a new board and Chair in place, embarked on an ambitious five-year project to stabilise and reopen the building.

Today, renovation of this magical place continues, with a third of the building yet to be restored. The work achieved so far by the Trust has enabled the building to be opened up to the public for a limited programme of entertainment, as well as theatre tours every weekend from Easter to the end of September. 

The ambition for the future is to see the Winter Gardens fully reopened and operating at its full potential as a 2,300-capacity music and live performance venue – signifying the start of a new dawn for the People’s Palace.

“Every day spent in the Winter Gardens is a celebration of the fact that our beautiful theatre is still here. Despite the trials and tribulations, the changing fortunes of the town, and the attempts to demolish it - it has stood firm for over 127 years, providing a space of joy laughter and inspiration. Like all the volunteers who work on this grand old lady, we are only the custodians for the next generation.”

Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Chair of Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust