Old Photos of Morecambe

[accykeef]

Where can I buy a box of Milk Tray?
I was only meant to be going to the bank.
I feel I am being lead astray here, ah well, off to dream land
Good night world

[accykeef]

I have been on my mission and can say with some certainty that the picture was taken from one of the upper windows of the Queens Hotel. There was nobody around at the Queens so was unable to ask them if I could take a photo from up there. There wasn't a convenient lamp post to climb either, although there is a CCTV camera on a high pole there.



I did get talking to the guy who has the donut cafe and he gave me a brief history of the gardens in the original picture. They were underground toilets at one time but when they closed them, they didn't fill them in as I had thought but just blocked up the entrances. Part of it has since been filled in but there is still a fairly large 'cellar' under the existing building. It cannot be used for anything but it is there.

As for the level of the land, the road level was raised by almost 3 feet when the flood defences were strengthened years ago.


The steps round the bottom of the clock tower are still there but block paving has been installed which is now level with the top step.

The tower itself is a listed building.
www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=391858&mode=quick

[WillowTheWhisp]

Well done Keith.

I think the mystery is solved. The road must have been raised a little more for those flood defenses just where the building is. I'm now intrigued that the ground was not filled in and those underground toilets are in effect still there. I wonder if that ever got flooded if it could cause the area to subside?

[trevnhil]

Good Man Keith. And you had a fine day for your surveying, and a good job you made of it.

You could be our chief reporter / cameraman ;D

Thanks. Trev..

[kidstypike]

I have just put some pictures taken this morning on the website. Coincidentally one of them is of the clock tower.
They are in the "Daily Pictures" section.
Dave

[trevnhil]

Good Evening Dave. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing with us the pictures on your website. They are Brilliant.

Thanks Trev..

[WillowTheWhisp]

Thanks Dave. That gives a different angle on the clock tower and it doesn't look as much of a slope down to the loos as it seems when you're actually there! Perspective seems to play funny tricks with your mind (or at least it does with my mind) and look so different in photographs doesn't it?

[kidstypike]

Regarding the old loos, from what I can remember they were as already mentoned underground. The top of the building was a seated area. Not too sure where the smells were vented.

Dave

[trevnhil]

I remember that in some areas of the raised seating area there were THICK glass bricks to let light down to the toilets below.

Trev..

[WillowTheWhisp]

Oh I remember those sort of bricks. We had an underground loo in Accrington way back then and the same bricks on the roof, which was built a little higher than the road level.

So does that explain the seating area with the steps up to it in the original photo? Would the underground toilets have been below there? It looks like there's some sort of centotaph thing in the middle though.

[pompeypete]

Is it really a photograph? Everything looks too clean.

[WillowTheWhisp]

I think they were good at 'clean' in the olden days.