History Detectives Case File no.7: The Seaside by Lancaster and Morecambe Bay

History Club Case File No 7

The Seaside Morecambe is our very own seaside resort, and you will find out all about its fascinating history in this case file.

Victorian train

All Aboard for Morecambe! Seaside resorts started to become popular during the 1800s. People valued the clean and refreshing air that could be found at the coast, away from the smog and industry of the cities. From the 1840s Railways were being built all around the country and this meant that it was quicker and cheaper for people to travel. The town of Morecambe is a recent addition to the Morecambe Bay area. It grew around the fishing villages of Torrisholme, Bare and Poulton-le-Sands, thanks to the arrival of the railway. In the 1820s, Morecambe was a popular destination for day trippers from Lancaster. By 1838, passengers could catch a steamboat from Morecambe to Ulverston. Site of Morecambe’s first station

Pigs don’t fly, but they do swim! In 1879 a pig jumped overboard at the Morecambe dock and swam two miles up to Bare! A crowd followed it all the way, but not to save its bacon! The unfortunate pig was turned into sausages!

The first railways to arrive in Morecambe arrived at the station on the 250m long Stone Jetty. The jetty was built by the ‘little’ North Western Railway Company as somewhere for boats to load and unload. Trains carried passengers and cargo. Lots of livestock arrived in Morecambe at this time, mainly from Ireland. In 1863 a total of 44,552 cattle and pigs were brought in, and temporarily kept in the cattle fields which were where Aldi and Morrisons are today. For over 50 years, passengers could get off the train on the Stone Jetty and board one of the coastal steamers that travelled to The Isle of Man and to Northern Ireland.

Trains could also stop at Morecambe station from 1850. For some time, these were the only stations in the town, and neither was very large.

ow? Did you kn

religious l revolution, the ria st du in e th g Durin d and whole Week was adapte holiday of Wakes the factor y e for a week. All towns would clos break, unpaid ers could take a in m d an rs ke or w it in turns towns would take rn he rt No ! se ur of co orecambe r. Resorts like M be em pt Se to from June fferent towns y workers from di r would host factor ason. The numbe h the holiday se ug ro th k ee w as w ch s ea the 1890 in Morecambe by of people living but up to 40,000 less than 7,000, and 30,000 day holiday makers sit in a season! trippers could vi

The existing train stations couldn’t cope with the number of people who were visiting the seaside, so they were shut down and new, bigger and better equipped stations were built. In 1907, the Midland Railway Company opened Morecambe Promenade Station on the promenade opposite the North Western Hotel (built by the North Western Railway Company in 1848). Passengers could get off the train and go straight to the hotel. When the new station was built by the Midland Railway Company, the hotel was renamed the Midland Hotel!

Morecambe was officially ‘created’ in 1889. The town drew visitors from across the North of England. It became a fashionable destination during the 1890s and early 1900s and was considered a refined holiday destination by factory workers and miners who were looking to escape their daily lives. There was a direct rail link between Yorkshire and Morecambe which brought many of the workers from factories for their summer break. Because of this, settle junction Bradford-Morecambe express at Morecambe was nicknamed ‘Bradford by the sea’.

Manchester cott on mill 1835

What was it like to holiday

in Morecambe?

An early 1900s letter to the Visitor said about Morecambe: ‘When I saw men and women tumbling about in the water without a sense of decency, I had an indescribable shock. The English do not bathe in this way. This kind of seaside bathing is responsible for filling our streets with girls who have painted faces.’

In the very early days, resorts like Morecambe, became popular because of a fashion for sea-bathing. Victorians believed that bathing in the sea was very good for you, but it was a very different experience to your own trips to the beach. Victorians were very modest and didn’t swim openly or show any skin on the beach. Sometimes men and women were separated into different areas of the beach to avoid any embarrassment! Sea-bathing was done using bathing machines. A bathing machine was a horse-drawn cabin on wheels in which a person could undress into their bathing suit without anybody seeing. Bathers would be pulled into the water and could lower themselves into the sea using steps and a canopy for complete privacy.

Victorians even thought that drinking sea water could be good for your health! Yuk!

Victorian bathing machines

Joke: Why h ac did the be blush? he Because t d Seawee !

In Morecambe there was a lot to keep people busy on their seaside break. There was a horse-drawn tramway. People could stroll along the Promenade and take in the sea air, or even walk to Heysham. Horse-drawn carriages could also be hired for trips along the promenade, or even to Silverdale! There were donkey rides and Punch and Judy puppet shows too.

‘Punch and Judy’ is quite a violent puppet show which includes beating with sticks, hanging, and even murder! Do you think it is OK for children to watch? Edwardian Morec

ambe and stone

jetty

In 1877, the Summer Gardens opened. In the grounds of the Summer Gardens there were terraces and ornamental walks, flower beds and conservatories. Visitors could also enjoy lawn tennis, croquet, and lawn bowling, and there was space for other leisure pursuits such as cricket and football. The Summer Garden concert pavilion held a massive 10,000 people and was used as a music hall and theatre! The park also boasted sea water baths, a boating pool and a racecourse which could be used for skating in the winter!

View from ston

e pier

Morecambe has had two towers. Warwick’s Revolving Tower was built in 1898 and stood about 150 feet tall. The revolving viewing platform could hold 200 visitors. It didn’t last long and was demolished in 1902. Morecambe Tower, also constructed in 1898, was built to rival the tower at Blackpool which was 518 feet tall. However, Morecambe Tower was never completed and was only 232 feet tall. In the First World War it was demolished, and the steel used to make weapons.

? Did you know

lls in eatres and music ha There were many th en Palace, ng The Summer Gard Morecambe, includi Devonshire (opened 1898), The The Royalty Theatre pened 1897), e Winter Gardens (o Th ), 99 18 d ne pe (o Hall wer Pavilion in 1901), and The To The Alhambra (built was known st 3 old pence (which (opened 1902). It co ty show in to watch a full varie as a thruppenny bit) ! Morecambe in 1901

Many holidaymakers enjoyed outings across the Bay in local sailing boats called nobbies. A ‘nobby’ is a type of boat used for fishing around the Lancashire coast since the 1840s. In Morecambe Bay, nobbies were used for shrimping. Nobbies, such as Matchless in this true story, would have been working fishing boats in the winter. Skippers carried passengers during the summer holiday season for extra income. The Varieties

The Matchless Disaster

There have been many accidents in the Bay, but the Matchless pleasure boat ing tragedy of September 1894 is the grea test single loss of life known in the Bay. The Brierley family were mill work ers from Burnley. There were seven child ren and their parents, William and Bett y. William had worked in cotton mills all his life and, with his father, had recently been able to begin renting space and machines in an existing factory to mak e cloth of his own. He was his own boss and

was going up in the world. The fami ly had enough money to enjoy trips out and short breaks at the coast. Duri ng Wakes Week William Brierley took two of his children, seven-year-old Ben and nine-year-old Fanny, for a few days in Morecambe. Fanny later wrote a jour nal which, along with newspaper artic les written at the time, tells us about the Matchless disaster. A little boy had been sick on Fann y’s only dress for the holiday on the train to Morecambe, so her holiday hadn’t start ed well! The Brierleys stayed at Mrs Foul ds’ lodging house, at 6 Victoria Street. The first day of the holiday the family took a horse-drawn carriage to the Fair y Step s

at Beetham. They spent the following day at the Summer Gardens in Morecambe. On Monday 3rd September 1894 , after breakfast in the guesthouse and a walk along the Promenade, William boug ht oysters and sent a postcard home to the rest of the family. Next, they were to take a boat trip across the Bay to Grange-o verSands. Matchless, a 33-foot Lancashire Nob by, was overloaded with 33 day-tripp ers. Among them were the Brierleys, Josep h and Florence Fawcett Carter with their two-year-old daughter, Doris, and seve ral other families from Burnley, including children. Fanny didn’t want to board but, in the end, she did.

Matchless was one of eight boats that all set sail for Grange-over-Sands with the tides that morning. The skipper, 54-year-old Samuel Houghton, was to sail single-handed from Morecam be to Kent’s Bank via Jenny Brown Point. The other boats reported jolly singing coming from Matchless, though Fanny wasn’t singing, she was frightene d. A gust of wind caught the boat at Jenny Brown’s Point. The sail was blow n flat to the water and the boat sank in seconds. Few of the passengers could swim and most drowned despite the boat being in only eight or nine feet of water. Three of the other boats were close enough to attem pt a rescue. Some people were pulled into these boats, not all of them alive. Lizzie Walker, a young woman who was drowning, bobbed to the surface with two children in her arms. These were Fanny and Ben. Despite being at opposite ends of the boat when it went over, Fanny and Ben were among only nine survivors.

On their return to Morecambe, Fann y and Fawcett Carter, didn’t turn up for months authority’s regulation of Ben were in shock and were given bran the boats, and the dy after. Fanny and Ben weren’t told that their jury was led by the chairman to calm them! The rescuers thought Lizzi of the local e father William had died in the trage dy until authority (the man who was Walker was the children’s mother responsible and they returned to Burnley. A few months for making local rule they were all put to bed in a hotel s). He certainly room after the disaster, William’s wife Bett y gave didn’t want his or Morecam together. The dead were stored in be’s reputation the birth to a son, who she named Will iam. Ben tarnished! Regulations changing rooms of the local football limiting the club and Fanny had a baby brother, but he would number of passengers to await identification. The skipper Sam and boat inspections uel never know his father. Houghton was among the survivors but were required as a result of the Matc hless was heard to say he wished he had been amo disas ter, as well as compulsory lifebelts and ng The day after the disaster, an inquest was the dead. lifelines on board boats. held at the Kings Arms in Morecambe. The inquest found that the passengers died by Bodies were found as far away as Ulve rston accidental drowning, but ther e was talk and Heysham. The last body, Flore nce of corr uption. No one mentione d the local

Twentieth Century Morecambe Around 1914, boarding houses in Morecambe charged 1 penny for serviettes and 6 pence for a bath. And you had to bring your own soap and toilet paper! Hot and cold running water was thought to be quite posh! You may have heard of, or even been to, Blackpool Illuminations. But did you know that Morecambe used to have Illuminations of its own? Morecambe illuminations ran from 1919 until 1996 and were quite the event! James Bond actor, Roger Moore, and famous comedians, Morecambe and Wise, were among the celebrities to open the illuminations. The lights ran along the Promenade all the way to Happy Mount Park which was the focal point of the display. At their peak, the illuminations used 40,000 coloured bulbs and 100,000 visitors would come each day to see them, on top of those already staying in the town!

Morecambe also had a theme park! The West End Amusement Park opened in 1906. Little is known about it before 1936 when it was bought by the Thompson family that owned Blackpool Pleasure Beach. At some point while the Thompson family owned it, it was renamed ‘Fun City’, and then ‘Frontierland’ in 1986. Among the park’s popular rides was the wooden rollercoaster, Cyclone (also called the Texas Tornado), designed by renowned American engineer and rollercoaster designer Harry Traver. He designed it for the 1937 Paris Exposition where it was exhibited before being moved to Morecambe in 1939. This rollercoaster was used on site for 60 years! The park finally closed in 1999.

like Would you ns atio the illumin k to c to come ba e? Morecamb

A Whale of a Time There was a time when dead whales that had been preserved were taken on tours around the country! Visitors could see and touch the whales, and even take a stroll inside the really big ones. Between 1935–38, ‘Eric the Whale’, a finback whale caught off California in 1931, toured England. He was eventually buried under Morecambe’s rollercoaster!

Morecambe enjoyed a second wave of popularity in the 1930s as holidaying become more accessible for the masses. Happy Mount Park, which was built in the 1920s, provided a modern space for recreation and relaxation.

In 1924, half a million people arrived in Morecambe by train in less than 100 days!! The Midland Hotel, which replaced the older Midland Hotel in 1933, is built in an Art Deco style, typical of the time. Art Deco is short for Decorative Art. Inside there were pieces of art and design by Eric Gill, a designer who is associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement (which we learn about in another History Detectives Case File). It was a very fashionable destination for rich and famous guests such as Coco Chanel, Noël Coward and Laurence Olivier. Look these people up and see if you can think of some modern equivalents!

Noël Coward

Midland staircase

Blackpool rock stall

A Sticky Business Blackpool is often thought to be the home of the first lettered rock. But in 1925, ‘Dynamite Dick’ Taylor had a rock shop in Pedder Street, and he made lettered rock with ‘Morecambe’ running through it!

Bathing beauties 1957

Morecambe also had the biggest lido (outdoor swimming pool) in Europe: The glamorous Super Swimming Stadium. It opened in 1936 and measured a huge 396 x 110 ft! That’s as long as 10 double decker buses! It included a water polo area, diving boards, artificial beach for sunbathers, a sun terrace, a three-deck promenade, two grandstands, floodlights, and a café! When it was most popular 27,000 people visited the Super Swimming Stadium every day! After the Second World War, the Stadium hosted many national and international swimming events, and other events including the Miss Great Britain and Miss World beauty contests. See if you can spot a silver model of the Super Swimming Stadium on display in the Maritime Museum when you next visit!

The Super Swimming Stadium was built on the site of TW Ward Ltd’s shipbreaking yard. In the 1920s ship breaking was quite the tourist attraction, and over 50,000 visitors toured disused ocean liners for 3 old pence! Many also purchased ship fittings as souvenirs! Sadly, the Super Swimming Stadium was demolished in 1976, but maybe you have relatives that can remember it; why don’t you ask them about it?

And Today ... ? Even though many people prefer holidays abroad, Morecambe is still popular with visitors. Morecambe Bay has a unique eco-system and rare species, such as the Fritillary butterfly. The estuary is home to lots of birds, and marine life such as cockles (a special favourite of Oystercatcher birds). In fact, the Morecambe Bay area is home to about 30 nature reserves that are regionally, nationally or internationally protected! Arnside and Silverdale is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and over two thirds of Britain’s flowering plant species can be found there! The town of Morecambe has enjoyed rejuvenation and the promenade is a popular place for locals and day trippers. There are also lots of festivals around the town which draw visitors, such as the Viking festival at Heysham and the Catch the Wind kite festival on Morecambe beach. There are several projects that are working to conserve or renovate some of Morecambe’s Victorian buildings.

FROM THE COLLECTION

on at the opening yoress of Morecambe, to cut the ribb Ma , wn Bro ry Ma Mrs by d use e wer These scissors res of Neptune and a mermaid. 7. They are decorated with the figu 190 in m lroo Bal r Pie tral Cen the of . The Central Pier Morecambe during the Victorian era in lt bui e wer rs pie ns, tow side As in many sea can see in this photo from our a spectacular pavilion, which you and 9 186 in ned ope be am rec Mo in End Pier pavilion could r was completed in 1896. The West Pie End st We The 7. 189 in ed add s of a collection, was most elaborately decorated interior the of one e hav to said was and accommodate 2000 people was destroyed by fire Central Pier pavilion with ballroom old the ly, Sad . ntry cou the in d kin ing rink and building of its ich included an open-air roller-skat wh 6, 193 in lt bui e wer m lroo bal in 1933. A new pavilion and ably damaged by storms in End Pier and pavilion were irrepar st We The . bay the und aro g isin motorboat cru 1903 and 1907, and a fire in 1917. ate, and many survive in Some Victorian piers were very orn or the elements over the some form, despite damage by fire Britain was at Southend. years. The longest pier in Victorian over 2km and was the In 1848, Southend pier measured could take a horselongest in Europe! At that time, you pier, to avoid the long drawn tram down the length of the ended over the years, walk. It has been improved and ext ing 2.16km, and you and today it still measures a whopp of the trains can still travel to the pierhead on one 1890s. that have been running since the ular forms of Music and dancing were very pop h century entertainment for Victorians and 20t ws dancers at the holidaymakers alike. This image sho in 1938 as part of large Floral Hall Ballroom which opened t Floral Hall, 1500 seat complex that included the 2200 sea Theatre, café and the Empire Theatre, 935 seat Arcadian l complex has now been Ballroom/dance hall. The Floral Hal family might remember demolished, but members of your go club in 1980s. it as a cinema in the 1960s or a bin

BE A HISTORY DETECTIVE: WHAT CLUES ABOUT ITS PAST CAN YOU SPOT IN MORECAMBE TODAY? There are lots of clues about Morecambe’s glamorous holidaying history! Some of Morecambe’s attractions are still there and you can have a really fun day out. Visit Happy Mount Park and enjoy a picnic and a play. If it’s warm enough, you can put on your swimsuit and have fun in the splash park. While you are there, can you see any clues about how the park was used in the past? You can still take a stroll down the Stone Jetty and see the station building which has most recently been used as a café. Notice the little lighthouse too! Do you like ice cream? Try an ice cream from Brucciani’s on Morecambe Promenade. This ice cream shop has been here since the 1930s and stepping inside is like stepping back in time because the shop still has an Art Deco interior! Visit the old fishing village of Poulton. Can you spot a house with the date 1685 above the door? Of course, you can take in the sea air as you walk along the Promenade. Many fantastic Victorian buildings can still be seen, including the Winter Gardens, the Alhambra theatre, and the impressive Park Hotel. You will also see the rows of residential buildings that were once guesthouses for the many thousands of visitors.

Did you know?

The Winter Garde ns was so called be cause it used to house an indoor garden fo r visitors to use in ba d weather. Howev er, it was fully roofed soon after being bu ilt. Inside there were stage shows, 3 pl un ge baths and 24 priv ate baths for visito rs ! Th e Bath Hotel is a re minder of this.

The Midland Hotel stands out on the Promenade. Despite its very elegant appearance, the inside was stripped down, and the building was used as a hospital during the Second World War! After enjoying years as a destination for the rich and famous, the hotel fell into disrepair and was closed in 1998. It has since been redeveloped and was reopened in 2008. You can have lunch or afternoon tea in the hotel. Across the road, you will see The Platform. This is the station building from the old Morecambe Promenade Train Station. It was an active station until 1994 and now houses an entertainment venue. Inside, you can see many of the Edwardian station features!

As you walk around Morecambe, you might spot sculptures of local bird species. These were installed as part of the Tern project, an art project that helped to rejuvenate Morecambe’s promenade in the 1990s. The statue of Eric Morecambe was part of this project and was unveiled by the Queen in 1999! Talk to your family members to find out more about Eric Morecambe. While you are visiting Morecambe, why not go to the beach and build a sandcastle or sand sculpture, or collect some shells? Buy a postcard, if you can find one, and send it to someone you know! Have you ever tried Morecambe Bay potted shrimps? This tasty treat has long been enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Even though there aren’t many nobbies left, prawners still fish for shrimps and you can buy potted shrimps in some local shops. Can you buy some to try with your friends or family? This month, visit Lancaster Maritime Museum and have your History Detectives Time Travel Passport stamped! Look out for our painting ‘The Donkey Boy’. In days gone by children could watch puppet shows, play on the sand, paddle, and take donkey rides on a donkey just like this one.

YOUR MISSION ... ...is to design and write a post card from historic Morecambe. People used to send postcards from holiday destinations such as Morecambe. They would be a way of telling friends and family about their trip and would also be a souvenir of the holiday. Postcards have two sides. On one side there is a picture, very often a photograph. The other side has space for a message and the name and address of the recipient. Nowadays, it is still possible to buy postcards, but they are less common because it is easier to stay in touch and send photos to your loved ones when you are on holiday. Use our template or fold a piece of A4 paper and use your imagination to write a message to your friends and family from historic Morecambe. You might pretend to be Victorian or Edwardian, or maybe you would prefer to write from 1930s Morecambe. Fold the paper in half, to make a smaller rectangle, and glue together if you have a glue stick. On one side you can draw a picture. Maybe this will be of Morecambe promenade, one of our beautiful Victorian buildings, or the Super Swimming Stadium. On the back, write your message. What have you been doing on your holiday? What was the weather like? Are you missing home? (Maybe not, if you are a Victorian miner or factory worker!)

We would love to see your postcards so please post a photo of your creation on our Facebook page!

Draw your picture on the blank rectangle and put your message on the side with the stamp. Cut out the front and back of the postcard and glue them together.

Front

Back

Or...

...design your own illumination or fairground ride. If you are feeling creative, we would love to see your designs for a modern Morecambe illumination! If you are more of a thrill seeker, maybe you would prefer to turn your hand to roller-coaster design? Will you include a hill lift, corkscrew, loop, or an inline twist?!

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