Morecambe Promenade

iBase ID

232758

Reference identifier

NMO20110228008

Title

Morecambe Promenade

Place

Morecambe

Personal names

General notes

This image shows the clock tower, a gift to the town of Morecambe by Councillor John Robert Birkett, who was Mayor of Morecambe nine times.
The Morecambe Visitor newspaper reported on the 22nd March 1905: "The Mayor, Councillor John R. Birkett expressed his desire to present a Clock Tower to the Town in place of the Free Library. The offer was accepted".  The free library was not carried forwards because the corporation would not impose the penny rate for its upkeep as required by the Carnegie Foundation, and one was built at Kendal instead.
On June 24th 1905, on the 3rd Anniversary of the Incorporation of  Morecambe, a commemorative stone was laid by the wife of Councillor Birkett to celebrate the gift from her husband. She was presented with a silver mounted mallet to commemorate the occasion. The memorial stone was of Ross of Mull Red Granite and is inscribed Presented by John Robt. Birkett Esq. J.P. Mayor 1903 to 1906.

The architects were Cressey & Keighley, it was built by John Edmondson & Co. of Morecambe, and the clock was executed by Messrs. Rhodes of Lancaster. It was to be ready for handing over on the 6th September 1905.
It is a Ruabon brick structure with Lancaster stone dressings and Yorkshire stone roof rising to 45ft. It has 4 seated shelters at the base, and there is a clock shaft and dial chamber above. The clock was an eight day clock and originally struck the hour.  It had a gravity escapement compensated pendulum. It has four opal dials 3ft 6 inches in diameter which when new were lit by gas.

The clock is now electrically driven, and in 1992 during a renovation and repair project which cost £9,000, the original bell could still be seen inside the clock chamber.

Left of centre can be seen the skeleton of Morecambe Tower, which in its completed form would have had a Moorish bazaar below a spiral walkway to the top of the tower.  The tower was completed to include a viewing platform, but was never fitted out.  It was removed for scrap around the time of the Great War, but the complex around the base survived until 1961.

On the extreme left is the entrance to the (Central) Pier, 912 feet long and opened in 1869, which later boasted a pavillion known as the "Taj Mahall of the North" which burnt down in 1933.  The replacement buildings also burned in 1989, and the pier was finally removed in 1991

Mr Eastwood had a Chemist shop in Lancaster, and took a selection of images around Morecambe on glass plates around the turn of the 20th century.

This image shows the clock tower, a gift to the town of Morecambe by Councillor John Robert Birkett, who was Mayor of Morecambe nine times.
The Morecambe Visitor newspaper reported on the 22nd March 1905: "The Mayor, Councillor John R. Birkett expressed his desire to present a Clock Tower to the Town in place of the Free Library. The offer was accepted". The free library was not carried forwards because the corporation would not impose the penny rate for its upkeep as required by the Carnegie Foundation, and one was built at Kendal instead.
On June 24th 1905, on the 3rd Anniversary of the Incorporation of Morecambe, a commemorative stone was laid by the wife of Councillor Birkett to celebrate the gift from her husband. She was presented with a silver mounted mallet to commemorate the occasion. The memorial stone was of Ross of Mull Red Granite and is inscribed Presented by John Robt. Birkett Esq. J.P. Mayor 1903 to 1906.

The architects were Cressey & Keighley, it was built by John Edmondson & Co. of Morecambe, and the clock was executed by Messrs. Rhodes of Lancaster. It was to be ready for handing over on the 6th September 1905.
It is a Ruabon brick structure with Lancaster stone dressings and Yorkshire stone roof rising to 45ft. It has 4 seated shelters at the base, and there is a clock shaft and dial chamber above. The clock was an eight day clock and originally struck the hour. It had a gravity escapement compensated pendulum. It has four opal dials 3ft 6 inches in diameter which when new were lit by gas.

The clock is now electrically driven, and in 1992 during a renovation and repair project which cost £9,000, the original bell could still be seen inside the clock chamber.

Left of centre can be seen the skeleton of Morecambe Tower, which in its completed form would have had a Moorish bazaar below a spiral walkway to the top of the tower. The tower was completed to include a viewing platform, but was never fitted out. It was removed for scrap around the time of the Great War, but the complex around the base survived until 1961.

On the extreme left is the entrance to the (Central) Pier, 912 feet long and opened in 1869, which later boasted a pavillion known as the "Taj Mahall of the North" which burnt down in 1933. The replacement buildings also burned in 1989, and the pier was finally removed in 1991

Mr Eastwood had a Chemist shop in Lancaster, and took a selection of images around Morecambe on glass plates around the turn of the 20th century.

Medium

Glass slide, negative

Colour

Monochrome

Original image size

16.5x11.5

Year of image

c1900

Enter year in yyyy format

Locator

Glass Plates

Mario Map link

MARIO Map

Collection link

Web link