Morecambeology Episode 43: The Best Show in Town by Peter Wade

I once passed artists Kate Drummond and Shane Johnstone busy decorating the toilet block at the Battery with a harlequin-patterned arrow pointing the way to the promenade. Their inspiration came from a sign (now half-hidden by another building) which advertised shows at the Palace Theatre on Sandylands Promenade, The West End Frolics – Best Show in Town.

The Palace was built in a subdued Art Deco style by Alderman JW Carleton in 1933. Under his daughter, Mrs Sybil Sheldon, the Palace became home to Hedley Claxton’s Gaytime, the longest-running summer show in the whole country.

Gaytime was staged at various seaside towns including Babbacombe, Newquay and Weston-super-Mare as well as Eastbourne, Margate, Paignton, Plymouth, Worthing and, of course, Morecambe. By changing the programme twice a week, anyone staying for a week’s holiday could go along to three different Gaytime shows during their stay.

When drummer Michael Dynan joined Gaytime in Morecambe in the late 1950s he was impressed by the amount of live entertainment in the town, second only he reckoned to Blackpool. The Central Pier, West End Pier, the Winter Gardens and Alhambra all had shows. Then there was an ice show and aqua show as well as repertory theatre at the Royalty and puppet shows at Heysham head. Together these catered for every possible taste.

Top of the bill at the Palace then was comedian Stanley Massey, barely known outside Morecambe but who had a tremendous local following. Hedley Claxton had an instinct for spotting talent, some of his finds including Dave Allen, Bruce Forsyth, Benny Hill, Ted Rogers and Reg Varney. Gaytime was built around its comics with singers, an impressionist or ventriloquist, musical act, dancers and musicians, often tried and tested from other Gaytime shows.

Though its audience was aging, Gaytime still drew the crowds in the 1960s and into the early 1970s with such performers as Bryan Burdon and Ann Emery (sister of TV comedian Dick Emery).

With the passing of Gaytime the Palace staged This is Show Business, This is Music Hall and This is Command Performance with local entertainer and performer, Ronné Coyles. The Palace closed in 1982.

Morecambeology Part 6: Stormy Weather with Peter Wade ;-)

The clue is in the name: Poulton – a settlement by a pond or pool. With no sea defences as such, Poulton and its neighbours had to make the most of the landscape, setting themselves on hills or behind higher ground, seeking shelter from storm and flood.

Caught between the sea and storms on one side and the flood plain of the Lune estuary on the other, there must have been many past inundations which have gone unrecorded.

From the 1850s onwards as Morecambe began to be established, there are regular reports of damage to new sea walls, wind damage and flooding (some as far inland as what is now the Shrimp Roundabout.

Many people still remember the storm of 1977 with gales of up to 92 mph and widespread flooding as the central promenade was breached. The most notable casualty was the West End Pier. This had suffered various mishaps over the years but finally fell victim to the storm, apparently because it had been fixed too rigidly to the promenade – with a bit more flexibility it might have survived. The morning after, the beach was alive with scavengers, many searching for pennies lost overboard from the slot machines.

Another notable storm took place on Mothering Sunday in 1907. A spring tide, south westerly gale and the Lune in flood after a month’s rainfall all combined to cause a breach in the West End promenade and widespread flooding inland. Around the Stone Jetty stone blocks were thrown about by the waves and the workshops of Wards Shipbreakers were damaged. The Ben-my-Chree, a paddle steamer with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company awaiting scrapping, broke its moorings and had to be scuppered to stop it being carried away.

Inland there was flooding around Charles Street and Out Moss Lane resulting in the loss of livestock, as well as floods on White Lund, around Woodhill, Overton and Snatchems. Food and supplies had to be brought to stranded householders by boat.

Along Sandylands, front gardens were wrecked, and cellars and lower floors flooded. Furniture was to be seen floating down streets (a similar sight was reported in Parliament Street in 1977).

Sandylands Promenade was again wrecked by a storm at the very end of 1925. Its repair and, more importantly, its repair bill, led to the amalgamation of Morecambe and Heysham in 1928.