Sound Sites of Southport

The Atkinson is our first stop on the tour. You may choose to begin elsewhere, however, we feel that this is good meeting place as it is centrally located on Lord Street. Built in 1874, The Atkinson is now home to a theatre, studio, library, gallery and museum space with changing events and exhibitions open to visitors of all ages. Although there are some events with a fee, you can use a lot of the space for free or donate if you wish.

The Atkinson is an exciting and varied destination for families, cultural tourists and arts enthusiasts alike, with a full day and night-time offer. The stunning 19th century buildings have been refurbished to create a welcoming and accessible multi art-form venue with a strong contemporary feel.

The traditional Theatre and dynamic Studio space presents an outstanding programme of music, comedy and performing arts from some of the UK’s foremost musicians, actors, performers and companies.

The space is also home to an impressive collection holding over 3,500 artworks and over 25,000 pieces of social history, which are displayed on rotation across the museum and galleries. The regularly changing exhibition programme presents work from the Atkinson’s collection as well as contemporary art, family friendly and thematic exhibitions delivered in partnership with other cultural organisations.

Explore the history of those who have lived and worked along the Sefton coast, from prehistoric times to the present day in our museum Between Land and Sea – 10,000 Years of Sefton’s Coast. The Atkinson is also home to Southport Library who offer a range of services to the local community as well as tourist information.

Find a range of handmade items from local artists, local history information and museum & exhibition souvenirs in The Atkinson’s shop. There are regularly hosted craft fairs that showcase items from local makers. Before your walk begins, why not relax in the award-winning café A Great Little Place and enjoy great coffee and delicious fresh food.

Image ref - NSP9558 - Atkinson library and Art Gallery, c.1890 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Wayfarers Shopping Arcade opened in 1898 and is situated on Lord Street. This Grade II listed, glass roofed building houses over 30 independent shops and boutiques as well as a popular café. The domed and vaulted roof, decorative iron work, stained glass, mosaic flooring and mahogany shop give the arcade a nostalgic feel, virtually unaltered since the Victorian age of its opening.

In our first recording you will hear Maria Eckersley talk about her holidays to Southport in her youth, sometimes spending a week there if she was lucky. With holidays not provided by employers at the time, she had to work a week without pay to make up for her time off. Her family stayed in apartments half-board and the landlady cooked the meals for them each day. Full-board stays were reserved for the upper classes.

Recording ref - UAP014/225 S1-UAP014/226 S2 – Maria Eckersley - ©️ Bolton Library and Museum Services

Image ref - NSP250 - Leyland Arcade (Wayfarers Arcade), Southport - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

The Coliseum Cinema on Nevill Street opened May 1913 during a rise in popularity of film. Consisting of a 750 seat auditorium (and eventually a café), the site was popular with locals and visitors alike. After Charles Pathé visited to London in 1910 to introduce news reels to British audiences – many entrepreneurs began building new cinemas to suit demand. Before the advent of television, cinemas acted as places for people to socialise and get their weekly news. Within as many months, three more picture houses opened in the resort beginning competition for exclusive screenings and more exciting rosters. After a long life, the cinema eventually closed for good in November 1959 and was demolished the following year. On the site now stands the Embassy Restaurant & Takeaway.

In our second recording, Norman Green remembers his time working at the Coliseum from the age of 13 in 1916. He was asked to join the staff there after many of the men in the town were called away to the army for the First World War. He was the youngest person in Southport working in a similar role at the time. He started as ‘rewind boy’ in the operating box and went on to do complete showings on his own, finally ending up as Chief Operator.

Recording ref - UAP003/21 S1 (NWFA/21 S1) – Norman Green - ©️ North West Film Archive, Manchester Metropolitan University

Image ref - NSP22159 – Neville Street and Promenade, c.1895 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

The next stop is ‘The Gallopers’ carousel situated on The Promenade just in front of Funland. This area of Southport is where the amusements and entertainments that are a big part of the town’s history begin. Run by Silcocks, it was built in 1896 during the reign of Queen Victoria and still echoes the tastes and sensibilities of the time. The ride consists of 33 horses and 3 cockerels all painted in bright colours with Fleur-de-Lys designs typical of the era. To the centre of the carousel are mirrored panels and an organ complete with animated figures. This plays the well-known tunes that you will be able to hear in the background of the recording. It is covered so can be open most of the year and is still enjoyed by people of all ages.

In our third recording, Lawrence Arthur Clifford reminisces about the entertainments around this area. When he was lucky enough to go on a trip to Southport he enjoyed things like the ventriloquists, Punch and Judy show, rock sellers and building sandcastles. These would all have been situated around The Promenade and a little further down nearer the beach.

Recording ref - UAP014/12 S2 (BOLTON/11a) – Lawrence Arthur Clifford - ©️ Bolton Library and Museum Services

Image ref - NSP4662 – Punch and Judy show, 1952 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Opened in 1860 Southport Pier is the UK’s oldest iron pier and, at 1000 metres, is nearly the longest. It has had a colourful history, even acting as a station for anti-aircraft guns to pick off bombers heading to Liverpool and other ports during World War II. It was originally used as a pleasure pier for promenading Victorian day trippers in their finest dress. Nowadays you can casually walk along taking in the fresh air and views around the coast all the way to Blackpool on clear days. There is a smell of salt and fresh doughnuts being made, an exhibition on Southport's history as well as traditional penny slot machines in the pier pavilion.

Carole Banks can be heard discussing her favourite attractions in the area from her childhood, including an open-air pool and a certain memory which is recalled by the sound of a small plane buzzing overhead. On the recording you will hear sounds from under the pier, some of the little entertainments at piers-end and the sound of the ‘Promenade Express’ Land Train taking passengers on trips up and down.

Recording ref - UAP007/217 D1 (OH-2158) – Carole Banks - ©️ Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives

Image ref - NS9861 - Peter Pan's Playground and Pool, c.1935 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

You've made it to the midway break at the end of the Pier. If you are here in person why not enjoy the penny arcades, telescopes, shooting range or just relax on a bench, catch your breath and take in the view.

If you are doing this from home, you don't need to take this break but feel free to listen to the recordings taken at the pier in 2021. You will hear people walking their dogs, a soundscape of the arcade and the sea breeze.

Image ref - NSP9623 – Pier, 1860 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Enjoyed by families for many generations, Southport Beach has what some call a ‘shy tide’. For most of the day it is made up of sand dunes with sea water often too far out to see with the naked eye. It is home to many different species of wading birds which you can watch and hear from both the beach and pier. It is voted one of the cleaner beaches in the UK with locals and out-of-towners taking equal responsibility for any upkeep. Visitors can picnic on the sands, look for shells and paddle in the tide pools, and in the summer, there are lifeguards for those brave enough to attempt a swim in the cool Irish Sea.

Mr Chapman talks here about enjoying trips to Southport in his youth and being very lucky in seeing the sea here for the first time. This recording was made in 1981 with field recordings of Southport Beach in the background taken exactly 40 years later in 2021. His time in Southport would have been in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Recording ref - UAP014/109 S1-S2 (BOLTONOH/69) – T. A. Chapman - ©️ Bolton Library and Museum Services

Image ref - NSP*/54 - Bathing at Southport Beach, 1900 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Coming away from the beach now you can take a stroll along the seafront from behind the sea wall, this is also ideal if the tide is high. In the past, very much like the pier and Lord Street, this would also have been the perfect place for the fashionable set to parade up and down, meet each other and ‘be seen’. There would also have been seafood vendors posted at intervals selling their catch of the day. Marine Drive and the Coastal Road run from Banks to Woodvale, creating a beautiful, sweeping view of the horizon for a leisurely drive at sunrise and sunset.

Alida Poll remembers the Southport Cockle Chap selling his wares when she was a youngster. He would pull up with his cart and shout ‘cockles and mussels!’ She also recalls collecting orders for members of her family in a tin vessel and how the chap sold fish from the bottom of his cart too.

Recording ref - UAP014/153 S1 (BOLTONOH/103) – Alida Poll - ©️ Bolton Library and Museum Services

Image ref - NSP7847 - Cockling at Marshside, Southport, 1890 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Southport Pleasureland is a family-friendly amusement park situated just off the beach on Marine Drive. Opening in 1913, it was originally created as a sister park for Blackpool. It has been enjoyed by many, many people often evoking vivid memories of specific rides, music and feelings from the time. With many of the original rides and attractions such as the Cyclone, River Caves and the Fun House being dismantled or moved elsewhere, it has lost a little of its original charm. However, since reopening in 2017, Southport Pleasureland has maintained a good number of rollercoasters, thrill rides and new attractions which can be enjoyed on an unlimited ride day ticket.

Carol Banks remembers some of the amusements around Pleasureland that she enjoyed during the 1930s. As well as the areas for younger children, Southport also catered for those who were a bit older with the Big Dipper, Big Wheel and Caterpillar in the larger. She is very specific in her nostalgia for certain rides, something that reminds us of the importance sites like this hold for creating memories in children that can last a very long time.

Recording ref - UAP007/217 D1 (OH-2158) – Carole Banks - ©️ Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives

Image ref - NSP2593 - Pleasureland Southport, c. 1900 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Warning - The train horn of the Pleasureland Miniature Railway sounds very loudly at the end of this recording. Immersive as it is, it may be too loud for some. Please turn your headphones down in anticipation of it.

Lakeside Miniature Railway is the oldest continuously running 15-inch gauge railway in the world. Built in 1911 and originally conceived as a steam train, in 1945 it changed to a petrol-driven locomotive. It runs from next to Pleasureland all the way to Ocean Plaza from 10am-6pm (when the park is open). The small station is painted in chocolate box colours and stepping onto the platform feels as though you have stepped into a period film. The open carriages take you on a lovely, leisurely ride past the lake and under bridges whilst the engine toots its horn at slow moving seagulls.

Ada Hammond remembers her mother saving up for trips to Southport for her whole family. If she was very lucky, she would get a donkey ride and an ice-cream. This recording reminds us that coming to Southport was, and still is, an important ritual in a lot of people’s lives. One which the quality and variety of attractions here only serve to demonstrate.

Recording ref - UAP019/3 S1 (1998-3) – Ada Hammond - ©️ Lancashire Archives

Image ref - NSP7539 - Miniature Railway at Southport, c1930 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive

Well done, you've completed the Southport Sound Sites. If you are here in person, why not treat yourself to refreshments at Kings Gardens Tea Room who are well known locally for their lovely sandwiches and cakes. If it is hot food you want, why not try The Sandgrounder Fish and Chip shop? Just over the road on Nevill Street, opposite Funland and the Carousel. Here you will find some of the town's best chippy dinners (hotly contested with oldest established fish and chip restaurant in Southport, the Swan Restaurant on Stanley Street).

If you're doing this from home, make sure to make a brew to congratulate yourself.

Feel free to share this walk with your family and friends, remember to visit Southport again and please take a look at North West Sound Heritage's other walks on the Echoes App.

Image ref - NSP1846 – Southport Pier Aerial, 1930 - ©️ Sefton Libraries Information Services courtesy of Sefton Looking Back - Image Archive