The Prince of Wales to visit Morecambe this week

Prince Charles will visit the town this Friday (8 July) stopping off at Morecambe’s Winter Gardens, Lancashire Fire and Rescue and Morecambe Bay Foodbank to name a few.

The Prince of Wales will be greeted on arrival by Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Chair of the Winter Gardens Preservation Trust.

Before His Royal Highness tours The Winter Gardens theatre, a Grade II listed building on the Morecambe promenade, The Prince of Wales will meet with staff and volunteers from Morecambe Bay Foodbank, a project founded by local churches and community groups, working together to stop hunger in the local area.

With organist Peter Jepson playing a five-minute melody, His Royal Highness will begin a tour of the Grade II listed building.

During the tour, The Prince of Wales will see first-hand, the extensive restoration which The Winter Garden’s has undergone.

Morecambe Winter Gardens. (Photo: Google Maps)

During His Royal Highness’s tour, The Prince of Wales will meet the Restoration and Maintenance Team, each of whom are working on the building to restore it to its former glory.

Following a tour of the Winter Gardens, The Prince of Wales will move into the main auditorium, meeting with local organisations.

His Royal Highness will first meet with and receive a presentation from LiNa Energy founders and staff.

LiNa is a commercial spin-out of Lancaster University and they are pioneering technology in the creation of sodium-nickel-chloride batteries.

The Prince of Wales will be shown a technical demonstration of how the LiNa battery’s are manufactured with the presentation showing the battery’s sustainability and cost benefits.

His Royal Highness will then receive a short presentation from Eden Project North, a project which aims to regenerate the area and bring forward economic opportunities to the region.

The Prince of Wales will meet with staff, understanding how they are incorporating new technologies in the creation of the attraction.

Concluding the visit, The Prince of Wales will move to the Royal Box in the auditorium, unveiling a plaque to mark the 125th Anniversary of the Winter Garden’s.

Before departing to Lancashire Fire and Rescue service, His Royal Highness will make a short walk to the car, past Brucciani’s famous ice cream shop, a family-owned enterprise which has been making ice cream in Morecambe for over 100 years.

The Morecambe Winter Gardens Theatre was saved from demolition in 1985 by the actions of a group of dedicated people who formed the Friends of the Winter Gardens.

From Elgar to Shirley Bassey to the Rollling Stones, the Who, George Formby & the Halle Orchestra, the venue has seen the stars of stage and music perform in the venue including Laurel & Hardy in 1947.

Sir Edward Elgar performed four times at the Winter Gardens between 1903 to 1908 composed an original piece of Choral music and premiered five new works in the theatre.

With the formation of the Preservation Trust in 2006, ownership of the Winter Gardens was transferred to the charitable body who have spent years cleaning, restoring, and fundraising to continue this work.

Since 2020, over £1.2 million has been raised from 11 different grants from bodies including Historic England, Theatres Trust, Coastal Communities, DCMS, Architectural Heritage Fund and donations through Crowdfunder and charity boxes in the Theatre.

Vanessa says she and other Winter Gardens volunteers are looking forward to the royal visit.

“It’s our 125th anniversary and the visit recognises the work of volunteers who are restoring the building.

“Last year, our volunteers put in more than 12,500 of work into the project. During lockdown we managed to keep the building going and raised £1.2 million for restoration work.

“We are really looking forward to it and the volunteers are honoured – we are delighted that he has chosen the Winter Gardens as a place to visit in Morecambe.”