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Cyclists given green light on Morecambe Promenade
The bells are ringing, cycling bells that is, with the announcement that cycling is now allowed on Morecambe promenade for the first time ever - and that’s official
Following a public consultation held last year, Lancaster City Council sent a request to Government to change the promenade byelaws which would open up almost 5 glorious miles of safe travel and stunning views to cyclists.
Lancaster City Council has now been given the green light to spread the good news and will be positioning new signs along the promenade to ensure both walkers and cyclists enjoy its shared use. Regular seafront patrols by council officers will also take place.
Lancaster and Morecambe were granted the status of a Cycle Demonstration Town in October, 2005 with £1.5M. funding from the Department for Transport to show how increased investment can encourage more people to get on their bikes.
With links to the district-wide cycling network, the opening up of the promenade to leisure and commuter cyclists is the icing on the anniversary cake for the Cycling Demonstration Town Project after a year of initiatives to persuade more people to travel by bike to work, school and on other journeys.
Commenting on the good news, Peter Loker, Lancaster City Council’s Director of Community Services and CDT Board member said:
“The route along the promenade is an essential link in our cycling network and we can now look forward to seeing scores of residents and visitors of all ages taking healthy advantage of this additional traffic free route with its stunning views and fresh air, be it to work, school or for the sheer enjoyment of it.”
For more information visit http://www.celebratingcycling.org
Local History
In the last issue we appealed for readers to come forward with any interesting local historical information.
We received a copy of a book written by local resident Trevor Jordan on the memoirs of the RAF and WAF who stayed in Morecambe during the war. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book which costs £9.99 (proceeds go to the Emmanuel Church) please contact the office and we can contact the author for you.
Another resident, Julie Al-Ali from Chatsworth Road wrote this interesting article…
The famous and not so famous residents of Chatsworth Road in 1901
The West End of Morecambe developed into a vibrant popular seaside resort in the late 1800s and early 1900s. If you take that leap of imagination you can see those summer crowds of visitors; ladies under parasols wearing rustling skirts, men in blazers with boater hats and well behaved children with hoops and sticks.
In April 1901 the National Census was taken. Each resident was meticulously listed and from this record, today’s residents can discover who lived in their house 150 years ago. The Chatsworth Road area was in some ways reminiscent of the modern Spanish resort with building work underway or nearing completion and almost ready to receive the new owners.
In response to the burgeoning tourist industry many residents were boarding house proprietors. Elizabeth Wellack from Wray lived at No 73 with her 28-year-old daughter Susannah. Mary J. Hartley and her family lived at No 80. They had travelled from Padiham to perhaps realise their dream business by the sea.
Other houses on Chatsworth Road were private houses. The residents had various occupations and professions. Joshua Jackson was a clergyman and lived at No 96 with his elderly parents. Crispin Mounsey Pharoah, what a brilliant name, was a builder living with his family at No 90. He met his wife Ellen Braithwaite whilst working in Cheshire as a stone mason. They married in 1886 and moved to Lancaster living at 116 Prospect Street where Crispin worked as a grocer. He moved to Morecambe in around 1894, perhaps responding to the need for builders in this up and coming area. Crispin had come from a long line of stone masons from Eskdale dating back to the 1750s. His fifth child, the amazingly named Ernest King Barnabus Pharoah was just nine months old at the time of the Census.
These people may be long forgotten but the resident of No 98 achieved longer lasting fame. William Woodhouse 1857 – 1939 was an artist specialising in subjects of sporting dogs and game. William Woodhouse’s works are still exhibited in the Royal Academy, British Institution, Manchester City Art Gallery and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool amongst others.
Although William the artist remains famous worldwide, it is Crispin’s work in bricks and mortar that is all around us. You may even be living in one of Crispin’s works of art.
With many thanks to Julie Al-Ali for writing this article.
We would like to continue to run this feature on the history of the West End. Do you have any interesting facts or stories about our neighbourhood? You may have some old photographs of some of our landmarks that you would like to share? Perhaps you have a personal story you would like to tell us? Get in touch via the office, phone or web.
New Dates for PACT Meetings
The dates for the ‘Police and Communities Together’ (PACT) meetings have changed. The monthly meetings will now be held on the following dates at the Community Shop on Yorkshire Street from 7pm:
Tuesday 15th May.
Tuesday 12th June.
Tuesday 17th July
These meetings are for residents to meet up with their Community Beat Manager to discuss local crime issues.
Additional weekly drop in PACT surgeries will be held from 1pm until 3pm every Wednesday, also at the Community Shop.
If you are unable to attend the meetings but would like to raise a concern, please call 596903.