Morecambe's Past.

[trevnhil]

Hello All. I have been thinking about all the entertainment places that there used to be in what was perhaps Morecambe's Heyday.

The number of Cinemas and Theatres would seem endless to todays Morecambrians.

Here is a list.

CINEMAS.

Gaumont.
Odeon.
Plaza.
Palladium.
Empire.
Arcadian.
Whitehall.
Palace.

THEATRES.

Palace........ it was a cinema as well as a theatre.
Alhambra
Winter Gardens
Royalty..............stretching memories now
West end Pier.
Central pier.

As you can see it is quite a list.

Regards. Trev..

[tinytimsthings]

And most are gone:(

[WillowTheWhisp]

You're going to make me sound really old Trev if I tell you some of the acts I remember seeing at some of those theatres! Nat Jackley and Max Wall at the Alhambra, the Brian Rix farce 'Chase me Comrade' at the Winter Gardens and David Whitfield on the West End Pier come to mind immediately. David Whitfield had me up on the stage sitting on his knee whilst he sang to me!!!

There was also an am dram theatre down near the Battery,

[trevnhil]

Sept 28, 2008 21:02:47 GMT WillowTheWhisp said:

You're going to make me sound really old Trev if I tell you some of the acts I remember seeing at some of those theatres! Nat Jackley and Max Wall at the Alhambra, the Brian Rix farce 'Chase me Comrade' at the Winter Gardens and David Whitfield on the West End Pier come to mind immediately. David Whitfield had me up on the stage sitting on his knee whilst he sang to me!!!

There was also an am dram theatre down near the Battery,

Most of the names I know, of course....... I am 66. But the "Dram theatre" is not a name that bings anything to mind.??

Trev..

[WillowTheWhisp]

;D That's me thinking other people will know what I'm talking about! 'Am dram' = amateur dramatics. Some sort of local amateur theatrical or drama group. It's very vague in the back of my mind because I only ever remember going there once and I was quite young. It may have been called something like "Sandylands Theatre" but don't quote me on that.

[trevnhil]

Hmm. The only "stage" place that I can think of in the west end of Morecambe is the Palace Theatre. I know that as well as the regular Summer shows, amateur groups also staged performances as well. Joyce Warrington was the principle of one group.

It is also very possible that Amateur groups may have used a church stage.

Maybe someone else will know.

[kidstypike]

I think you are both talking about the same place. Wasn't the Palace at the Battery, just around the corner from the Battery Hotel. There is a block of apartments on the site now.

Dave

[WillowTheWhisp]

Yes that's where it was Dave. 'Palace' doesn't ring a bell but that doesn't mean it wasn't called that. ;D I didn't remember a cinema in the same theatre but maybe that's because we always went to the Odeon or the one near where Aldi now is.

[trevnhil]

Thanks for "sorting us out out" Dave. The Palace was first and foremost a Theatre. But on Sunday evenings and maybe during the week in Winter, they used to show films. There was hatch to a cafe next door, and you could get a refreshments at the interval. The cafe was run by Jack Mulroyd.

Trev..

[WillowTheWhisp]

Aha! yes definitely the one. I recall a hatch!

I'm really dredging things up from the back of my mind here. My Mum and Dad used to take me up to Morecambe in the school holidays as they knew someone who lived on West End Road. My Mum used to go with her to the "Golden Horseshoe" and play bingo.

[mpprh]

Oct 2, 2008 4:12:53 GMT trevnhil said:

Thanks for "sorting us out out" Dave. The Palace was first and foremost a Theatre. But on Sunday evenings and maybe during the week in Winter, they used to show films. There was hatch to a cafe next door, and you could get a refreshments at the interval. The cafe was run by Jack Mulroyd.

Trev..

And didn't Jack Mulroyd go on to run the cafe at the bottom of Princes Crescent ?

Or was that Mulroy ?

Peter

[gnasher]

I've got an original framed "For your Entertainment" poster, W/c June 11th, 1961. A selection of this week's entertainment;

Odeon showing The Facts of Life with Bob Hope
Empire showing Go Naked in the World
Pleasure Park Theatre - The Diamond Horseshoe Grand Re-opening
Central Pier - Starlights with Norman Stanley
Winter Gardens All Star Wrestling, The Mask v Josef Zaranoff and Alan Garfield v Erni "Kiwi" Kingston

If you want to contact the Winter Gardens, the number is Morecambe 8.

For further information contact the Information Bureau on Morecambe 720.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Ah the Diamond Horseshoe - my mother and Madge Broadhead playing bingo comes immediately to mind. Was it there or am I getting mixed up with somewhere else?

;D Those were the days when phone numbers were easy to remember!

[trevnhil]

Hi All. It's a bit since anything was added to this thread, but another memory has come back to me about Morecambe's past. I wonder if anyone else remembers it.... you will have to be pretty old like me.

Cast your mind back to the year 1960 (I think) There used to be a 4 seater aeroplane that ran pleasure trips from both the beach at Bare, and also from Heysham. The Pilots name was captain Foy and he and his wife stayed at the Belle View Hotel.
The plane was kept at Blackpool airport, and one of my jobs was to go the the phone box and phone the airport tower. There were no mobile phones then, and I had to tell them that the plane would be coming in in half an hour.
My other job with them was to open the doors to let the passengers in and out. There were no handles on the inside for safety reasons, and the pilot didn't want to stop the engine and get out.

Happy days I even got to fly the plane on the trips back to Blackpool. Taking off was easy, but I was never allowed to land it at the airfield.

I just wondered if anyone remembers those flights.

Regards. Trev..

[tinytimsthings]

I cant remember but were there any dance halls in Morecambe?
My dad was a caller certainly in the village I grew up in. I dont think he did any in Morecambe.
A caller is someone who told the dancers the steps as they danced. They dont do that now.