Memories of Great Yarmouth Winter Gardens shared prior to work commencing on the restoration
This week we had a fantastic day celebrating the iconic Winter Gardens, at a Show and Tell held in the town. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us to share their stories and memories of this much-loved landmark. From childhood adventures to roller-skating tales, it was a day full of nostalgia and community spirit.
We were even treated to a visit from one of the original roller-skating girls and a distant relative of John William Cockrill – the renowned architect who helped bring the Winter Gardens to Great Yarmouth from Torquay.
Images courtesy of Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Special thanks to the Cultural Connections volunteers and Historic England for helping us capture these treasured stories. These will be incorporated in the Conservation Management Plan, enhancing the record of the history of the building, and used as part of the interpretation displays included in the restored building.
Councillor James Bensly, Great Yarmouth Borough Council's portfolio holder for Tourism, Culture and Coastal Management, said:
'We want to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in this incredible project. Like everyone in the borough, I am enormously proud of our important seaside heritage and this restoration puts community at its heart. We want to reflect and record people's memories of what this unique building means to us in Great Yarmouth.
We grew up with the Winter Gardens - our parents, grandparents and great grandparents have fond memories of the role it played in our lives. We want to record and maintain that history and memory for posterity so future generations and visitors can share and enjoy our proud heritage.''
Designed by architects John Watson and William Harvey, the Winter Gardens were first built in Torquay between 1878 and 1881. They were not however a commercial success in the town and were sold for £1,300 to Great Yarmouth. The building was dismantled in sections, transported by barge to Norfolk, and re-erected by the entrance to Wellington Pier in 1904. The Winter Gardens, when erected on Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile, was described as a ‘people’s palace of glass and steel, a seafront cathedral of light; the shock of the new, the future washed up on a Norfolk beach’.
Historically, the building was filled with exotic plants which allowed the paying public the chance to see glimpses of faraway places, through an eclectic collection of flora from all corners of the Empire and beyond. Over the decades the use of the Winter Gardens changed to reflect the changing times – often providing large scale and much-loved commercial operations in the food, beverage and events and celebrations markets. After some years as an amusements and entertainment operation, the Winter Gardens closed in 2008 after over 100 years offering a continuous entertainment attraction.
In 2014 Great Yarmouth Borough Council took control of the site and began developing ambitious plans to bring it back to life by 'Re-imagining the People's Palace'. Last year The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £12.3 million to the council to deliver its vision for the Winter Gardens. The funding was made possible thanks to National Lottery players. Combined with £6 million of investment from the Government's UK Towns Fund, the restored building will also feature community spaces, catering and opportunities for leisure, entertainment and learning.
When restored, The Winter Gardens, Listed Grade II*, will be a powerful commercial contributor to the regeneration of Great Yarmouth’s seafront and an innovative, exemplar, environmental project.