A much-loved fishing town to the north of the Fylde, Fleetwood’s layout was originally planned by Decimus Burton, the acclaimed architect associated with notable buidlings at London Zoo and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. As well as Fleetwood, he was the principle planner for the layout of St Leonards-on-Sea and Tunbridge Wells. Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood commissioned Burton to design the town and some of the famous structures are still visible: The North Euston Hotel, St Peters Church, and Pharos Lighthouse. The town was built around a focal point which stood high up above the coastline. The original pagoda is no longer there, but it was replaced in 1904 with the iconic Mount Pavilion which stands out above the town with its bright blue octagonal roof.
Thanks to LeftCoast and Wyre Council’s ambitious partnership, the Mount Pavilion is to be brought to life and re-opened to the public this summer with a series of creative, artist-led activities. The historic building will host four residencies for artists through the year. The artists will create new work alongside the local community and provide a series of free family-oriented workshops every Saturday to cover a range of art forms. The space will also be available for local groups to hire for a nominal fee to host meetings or cultural events.
LeftCoast’s Artistic Director, Michael Trainor, said:
This is an amazing building which is clearly well loved by the community in Fleetwood and we’re very excited to be working with Wyre Council to bring this programme of arts activity to the space.
Councillor Lynne Bowen, cabinet member with responsibility for leisure and culture at Wyre Council said:
We’re looking forward to seeing the Mount open to the public and being used by the local community. The Mount is a space close to the hearts of the people of Fleetwood and this series of residencies and workshops are a fantastic addition to the extensive programme of activities and events taking place in the town this summer and beyond.
Morecambe-based charity More Music‘s Pete Moser and Matt Robinson, will be the first creative team to move into the Pavilion. They will be delivering music workhops throughout August, including short activities including instant ukelele orchestras, song writing, samba bands and musical coffee mornings.
On Wednesday 20 August Pete Moser will be using the space to revisit his project, 24hrs in a Tower, where he will compose and perform one original song every hour for 24 hours. Pete said:
It’s great to be in Fleetwood on the start of a creative mission. More Music has worked here on numerous occasions, with young and old, in centres and on the street and this new project with LeftCoast will hopefully set some new balls rolling… new songs singing… new beats bouncing. Four weeks of work in the Mount will end up with a 24 Hour Song Cycle – all new songs created for the place and the time. I can’t wait!
Throughout the summer holidays the Mount will be open for free music workshops with Matt:
• Thursday 1 August – 11am to 1pm
• Wednesday 6 August – 1pm to 3pm
• Thursday 7 August – 11am to 1pm
• Wednesday 13 August – 11am to 3pm
• Thursday 14 August – 11am to 1pm
For more information you can visit the LeftCoast website.
Cover image courtesy of Dawn Mander of Two Old Birds With Cameras.
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