Morecambe's Towering Ambition (1)

The architects, Messrs W. H. & A. Sugden of Keighley, believed their design for a ‘lofty tower 282 feet high … a most handsome and elegant pleasure palace’. The tower would contain 800 tons of steel and have a diameter of about 155 feet at its base gradually diminishing to form a platform 52 feet across at the summit upon which would be ‘a large refreshment room, elaborately decorated’. To reach this platform ‘a spiral road round the outside will gradually ascend by easy gradient from the ground floor.’ Alternatively, non-energetic visitors could take the electric tramcar or hydraulic lift, perhaps stopping on the way to patronise the ‘shops, cafes, buffets, bazaars, etc, in the Eastern style’ planned for the various floors. Perched on the very top would be a figure holding a searchlight capable of being seen twenty miles away. Assurances were given about the safety of the steel structure which had been ‘calculated to stand the streams of solid crowds on every portion accessible to the public equal to a weight of 1,000 tons, in addition to its own weight and wind stress of 56 lbs per square foot over its whole surface.

Inside, the Grand Pavilion (which could accommodate up to 5,000 people) would be given over to entertainment ‘from 10.30am to 10.30pm, by which the company hopes to secure the patronage of the vast army of day excursionists who usually leave Morecambe before the night show commences.’ The entertainment would range from ‘a first class orchestra under the conductorship of an eminent musician’, to ballet, circuses and variety shows. In addition, there would be daily band performances in the grounds which would be illuminated after dark. Other attractions would include oriental lounges, restaurants, a billiard room, smoking and retiring rooms ‘all lighted and ventilated by electricity’.

The 1890s were prosperous years for Morecambe and there was a lot of faith in the future with no shortage of money to be invested in the resort’s attractions. In November 1900 Morecambe’s newspaper, The Visitor announced ‘The Tower to be ready by Whitsuntide’. By then the structure had reached 83 feet (two thirds of the metalwork) and the ornamental grounds were nearly complete. But then work stopped. The holdup was blamed on an economic recession resulting from Britain’s involvement in the Boer War in South Africa and, for the time being, the Tower remained an unfinished shell.

In the summer of 1905 the gardens were leased to Bernard Hishin, a Bradford confectioner, who advertised his New Tower Gardens in The Visitor. A few weeks later the newspaper was congratulating him on the ‘success which has attended his efforts to provide a good open air entertainment for visitors and residents.’ The entertainment was provided at 10.30am, 3pm and 7pm by various performers making  up  the  Gaiety Concert Party with sketches and duets by  Miss Du Val and Mr Henry Eglington, along with  other treats such as the

comedian Bert Cook, singer Lucy Challard and Messrs Geo E. Carny and F. Armstrong – ‘a very funny pair and the former is a clever siffleur (whistling artist)’. There was also a comedienne, Miss Lily Andrews with her accompanist, baritone J. Knight and the renowned cellist Mr Frank Butler. In The Visitor for 28 June, a special Gala Night with free admission was announced at which twelve London star artistes would appear - ‘With the thermometer at its present height it is pleasant to take one’s amusement out of doors and in pretty surroundings such as the gardens of the Tower.’

Another four years elapsed before it was reported that the Tower and Casino were to open in July 1909. The new owners were builders Messrs Thos J. Hawkins and Co who planned large-scale alterations to the building. The Grand Pavilion was to have a new stage, more seating and a promenade at Circle level. Some adjoining land had been acquired for a skating rink, side shows and more gardens which would eventually be laid on formal lines and lit up at night by coloured electric fairy lights strung from the trees.

Meanwhile, the tower itself was experiencing problems and was not expected to be completed until the following winter. In the event this turned out to be an optimistic assumption as it had become obvious that the sandy subsoil of the site was inadequate to support the weight of the proposed structure. Morecambe’s answer to the Eiffel Tower remained little more than  a stumpy skeletal framework.

Postcard, possibly sent in 1913, showing the Tower frontage and tower structure behind.

Lettering on the building announces Gardens, Casino, Theatre and Ballroom.

A tobacconist’s (left) and blouse shop (right) flank the entrance to the Tower and gardens.

Despite the disappointment of the tower, the remainder of the entertainment complex – theatre, ballroom, restaurants, shops and gardens – was to enjoy great success for the best part of fifty years.

In 1912, one of the most famous names in Morecambe’s entertainment history became manager of the Tower. Harold Rupert Vivian Addenbrooke (later Councillor, Mayor and Alderman) moved to Morecambe from Scarborough where he had managed the Floral hall in its opening season. At once he set about bringing the best entertainment he could afford to the resort with music hall stars such as Vesta Tilley, Little Tich, George Robey and Harry Tate all gracing the stage of the Tower before the outbreak of World War I.

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The Great War itself in no way dampened enthusiasm for the entertainment on offer as the town became host to various army training camps, especially for the Bantam Corps and several others from Manchester, whose families were encouraged to visit the seaside to see their loved ones parade. There was also an influx of workers for the National Projectile Filling Factory (the munitions factory at White Lund which was severely damaged in a spectacular fire in October 1917). Saturday night was the highlight of the week and at the Tower all could be assured of ‘healthy entertainment without vulgarity and conducted in a most orderly manner’. Sadly, the war did see the end of the dream of completing the upper levels of the tower – in fact, in 1917, the steel structure was dismantled so that the metal could be used for war purposes. T. W. Ward Ltd was responsible for the demolition, and Morecambe lost its highest advertisement (the word TOWER had been picked out in lights at the top). The Visitor mourned the ‘passing of a landmark’.

The close of the war saw the Tower Theatre play host to Dame Nellie Melba in a Sunday concert. A ‘small’ audience of only 2,000 (largely due to the high ticket prices – 2s 4d up to 10s 6d) listened to her sing seven songs ending with Home Sweet Home. In December 1918 the Tower held a Victory Ball as part of Morecambe’s Peace Celebrations and, after four years of darkness, the illuminations in the gardens resumed. Following the success of a repeat of these events, along with a Japanese fete in late August 1919, the Council decided that Morecambe should have a carnival and illuminations every September, based at the Tower (the Illuminations lasted as a major attraction until the mid 1990s apart from a brief lull in 1940-48 because of World War 2 and later power rationing).

During the 1920s, many shows premiered at the Tower and/or transferred to/from London theatres. The first touring ice show opened here for a six-week run. An idea of the types of entertainment at that time can be drawn from this 1923 example: Florrie Forde topped the bill with appearance by Besses O’ The Barn, Black Dyke Mills and Foden’s bands, Lily Morris, G. H. Elliott (the ‘Chocolate Coloured Coon’), Leslie ‘Binkie’ Stuart (‘Lily of Laguna’ and ‘Little Dolly Daydream’), Hayden Coffin (turn of the century musicals’ leading man), Harry Day’s ‘Rockets’ and George Formby. Florrie Forde was a regular at the Tower, often accompanied by rising stars such as Flanagan and Allen from her London shows.

At a presentation in honour of his retirement in December 1948, Mr Addenbrooke recalled,

‘Florrie Forde was a real trouper, one of the finest artistes who ever trod the stage. I remember paying her on the Saturday – we didn’t trust them sufficiently to pay them on the Friday then – and I asked her how she would like her £100 fee paying. She replied, ‘In postage stamps’!’

Despite its continuing success, the Tower was put up for sale by auction in May 1925. The whole complex of indoor theatre, ballroom (reputed to be one of the country’s finest), six licensed bars and four large cafes plus gardens with their own alfresco stage, dressing rooms, terrace and bars, was bought by New Century Pictures to add to their two hundred other cinemas. A cinema/theatre was part of the modernisation of the premises at this time.

On 1 October 1928 (the day Morecambe and Heysham celebrated their amalgamation into one borough with a dinner for 300 civic guests in the Tower Ballroom), the complex became part of Gaumont British although cinema remained only one part of the total entertainment offering. After refurbishment in 1931, the 1,800-seat theatre screened the latest talkies at 8pm every Sunday while putting on London musical comedies at other times. For the next quarter of a century, the ballroom, resplendent with Harold    Addenbrooke’s   Mystic   Carnival   Lantern   (or   Kaleidoscope   Globe),   remained   one    of  Morecambe's best-loved attractions, gaining reputation as  a
‘respectable’ venue, unlike some of the town’s other dance halls. Gradually the live shows in the theatre began to play a secondary role to the cinema operation, coinciding with major changes at the Winter Gardens in 1934 which then became the resort’s leading variety theatre.

At Harold Addenbrooke’s retirement in 1948, Gaumont British coincidentally became part of a larger cinema entertainment group (Circuits Management Association Ltd) and at Easter 1949 the ‘tattered Tower’ closed, to be re-opened at Whit as the ‘gay and gorgeous Gaumont’. Following a takeover by the Rank Organisation and further modernisation in 1952, Diana Dors made an appearance at the opening of the Gaumont – ‘Morecambe’s Entertainment Centre’. Its pre-eminence was short lived though. The rise of television in the 1950s and competition from Morecambe’s other cinemas led to falling attendances and eventual closure at the end of 1957.

An independent operator, Ernest Rolls took over the building for the next two seasons with his famous Dancing Waters but he moved to Llandudno in 1960 and, despite enquiries, no-one actually came forward to use the theatre. In April 1960, the Rank Organisation offered to lease the building to Morecambe Corporation for possible conversion to a bowling alley and conference centre but the costs involved were too high for the Council and it was deemed preferable to leave any development to private enterprise. The Tower was sold to two local businessmen who auctioned the contents over a two-day period before finally selling the building on to Shops and Store Development Ltd.

In November 1960 it was announced that the Tower would be demolished and the site used for a hotel or apartments. In fact no such development took place. After all traces of the Tower had disappeared they were replaced by the Morecambe bowl, a building with a frontage of 140 feet but a height of a mere 14 feet. The craze for ten-pin bowling did not last long, although briefly revived in 1968. Plans were published in 1970 for a multi-storey conference hotel on the site but these came to nothing and the Bowl was replaced by a bingo hall – a great contrast with the glamour that once was the Tower.