Frontierland, Morecambe

Frontierland Western Theme Park
Location Morecambe, Lancashire, England
Coordinates 54°04′07″N 2°52′34″W / 54.06872°N 2.87601°W / 54.06872; -2.87601Coordinates: 54°04′07″N 2°52′34″W / 54.06872°N 2.87601°W / 54.06872; -2.87601
Owner BPB.Ltd (1909-1999)
Morrisons Plc (2001-2009)
Previous names West End Amusement Park
Fun City
Morecambe Pleasure Park
Operating season No longer operational

Frontierland Western Theme Park was a theme park in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, situated on Marine Road West, which operated from 1906 to 7 November 1999, with a final year consisting of only travelling rides in 2000.[1] Frontierland originally operated as West End Amusement Park, Fun City and Morecambe Pleasure Park from 1906 to 1986 before being transformed into Frontierland for the 1987 season, in an attempt to defeat dwindling visitor numbers.

In 2000, Frontierland was officially closed down by Geoffrey Thompson, managing director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach. All of the rides, excluding the "Polo Tower" and "Log Flume" were demolished or dismantled and sold on. The "Rattler" was moved to the Pleasure Beach, whilst "The Wild Mouse" (later called "Runaway Mine Train" for the new-look Frontierland) and the "Chair-o-Planes" were moved to Pleasureland Southport, which later closed down in 2006.

Unlike Pleasureland, Frontierland was never resurrected and the site remained wasteland until 2007, when three outlets were built. These large outlets were positioned at the back of the park, an area that previously featured the "Stampede", "Teacups" and "Parrots" rides.

A brief history of the Frontierland site can be found at the Morecambe Today website.[2]

Brief history

The Thompson family, owners of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, purchased the park in 1936, when it was called West End Amusement Park. The owners, who also owned Pleasureland Southport, which closed in 2006, introduced new rides each year until visitor numbers began to dwindle. A number of tactics were used to save the park, however most failed eventually. Rides such as a 150-foot (46 m) Big Wheel were introduced but were quickly taken down due to neighbour complaints.

In 1986, visitor numbers were at an all-time low so Geoffrey Thompson, owner of the park decided to give the ten acre site a complete overhaul. This involved turning the park into Frontierland which would hopefully see guests flock back to Morecambe. This worked for a few years but once again, numbers dropped, so in 1989, the "Sky Ride" was introduced – a cable car system that would allow people to fly over the park and out over the promenade before turning around and going back to the station. The ride was initially a big success and once again, visitors flocked to the park. In 1991, visitor numbers were back down to their low standard and investment was not being put into the park so freely as two previous attempts had backfired.

In 1992, Geoffrey Thompson was about to make his biggest investment ever at Blackpool Pleasure Beach by introducing the 235-foot-tall (72 m) "Pepsi Max Big One", a £12 million hyper coaster. One ride which had stood at Blackpool for over ten years was in the way of these plans. With the construction of the Big One due to start in late 1992, the "Space Tower" was to be removed. So, in 1993 Frontierland received the "Space Tower", a 150-foot (46 m) gyro tower. The ride was initially going to be placed at the back of the park but with the sponsorship from Polo Mints secured, the ride was positioned on the front. This resulted in a boost in visitor numbers but nowhere near what Blackpool was about to get from opening their new roller coaster.

The "Polo Tower" was the last major investment at Frontierland, however, fans of the park believe that Geoffrey Thompson had no intention of shutting the park down, as in 1993, with the installation of the tower, he signed a contract allowing a telephone mast to be placed at the top of the tower – this contract allowed the company to have their mast on the tower for 20 years meaning that the "Polo Tower" could not be taken down until the contract had expired.

Demolition

Frontierland began to close in 1998, after 92 years of operation. The demolition of the park was due to take three seasons to complete, with the back of the park going first. As the park began to shrink, rides were sold and transported all over the world. However, the demolition of Frontierland was never fully completed as the "Log Flume" and "Polo Tower" remained on site. In 2009, the "Log Flume" was removed whilst the "Polo Tower" continued to remain in situ - albeit with its gondola removed. Its only purpose to fulfil a contract for the positioning of a mobile phone mast at its peak.[3]

In 1998, when the park began to downsize, the first ride to leave was the "Stampede" roller coaster which had opened at the park in 1988. It was a standard roller coaster found at many parks, and its subsequent location is unknown. The ride was originally from Blackpool Pleasure Beach, where it operated as the "Cyclone". The ride was removed in 1987 to make way for the "Avalanche". Another ride at the top of the park to be removed was the giant "Teacups" which had been located at the park for many years. The "Teacups" were extraordinary in both their size and in the fact that the base was entirely made of concrete and was sunk into the floor so that guests could simply walk onto the ride instead of having to step up onto it. The ride was removed in 1998, with the floor being broken up and the cups being moved to Pleasureland Southport where they were never used. They were disposed of in 2006, when Pleasureland closed down, however some remain on the Southport Zoo site hidden in the undergrowth. In 1999, the park began to close the lower section by removing rides such as the "Ghost Train" and "Runaway Mine Train" (originally the "Wild Mouse"), which was later moved to Pleasureland as "King Solomon's Mines". Other ride removals included that of the "Slide", "Train" and various other small attractions. 1999 was also the last year of operation for the "Texas Tornado" wooden roller coaster which had operated for 62 years. The ride remained dormant throughout the last few months of the 1999 season and the first half of the 2000 season until the ride was demolished in late 2000. The year 1999 was the last year that Frontierland operated as a permanent theme park with rides that made it such being demolished, removed or made ‘standing but not operating’.

In 2000, most of the rides had been removed with the exception of the "Texas Tornado", which was due to be demolished, the "Polo Tower", the "Rattler" and the "Log Flume". The "Rattler" was later removed from the park and put into storage. It would not be used again until 2004, when it was introduced as the "Big Apple" at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, but it only stayed there for one season. In 2007, it was introduced at New Pleasureland where it has remained to the present day. Towards the end of the 2000 season, all the rides, shops and facilities such as toilet blocks were removed. One of the last rides to be removed was the "Sky Ride", a cable car system which took riders from the back of the park, across the front and over to a turn-around on the promenade. The current location of this ride is unknown. By the very end of the 2000 season, only the "Polo Tower" and "Log Flume" remained on site, along with a giant pile of rubble. The park’s entrance was sealed off using construction fences and the park remained in this state until 2007.

In 2007, the back section of the park became home to three outlet units which had been constructed by Morrisons supermarket. The outlets opened in 2008 and have remained open since. The construction of the outlets meant the removal of the trees which once surrounded the "Texas Tornado" roller coaster. The company behind the development has announced plans to extend the outlet village to the front section of the park which, initially, allowed theme park fans to believe that both the "Polo Tower" and "Log Flume" would re-open as part of the development, and speculation was fuelled even further when scaffolding appeared around the "Polo Tower" mid-2008 but the ride’s cabin was removed and the tower was partially refurbished.

In 2009, the "Log Flume" ride, which had survived ten years after the park officially closed down, was removed from the site leaving the "Polo Tower" as the final element from the former theme park. (Finally removed 17 years after park closure in June 2017)

For a few years after closure, there was still a brown tourist sign annotated "Frontierland 7" attached to the posts showing the "Carnforth A6" destination southbound[4] leaving the A6/A601(M) Carnforth Spur roundabout, this was finally covered over with a plain brown patch sometime during 2013 and finally removed during the second half of 2014 - the exact dates of these changes are unknown.[3]

Notable Rides

Redevelopment

A retail park was built on part of the site consisting of three outlets: Homebase, JJB Sports and Next. The retail park was first proposed in 2001, however did not make it off the drawing board until six years later and opened in 2008.

There are now plans for a Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre pub to replace the Ranch House bar fronting Marine Road West as part of further redevelopment of the site.[5]

As of June 2017, the "Polo Tower" is undergoing demolition to make way for a proposed £17m shopping park on the former Frontierland site.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bingham, Roger K (1990). The Lost Resort?: Flow and Ebb of Morecambe. Cicerone Press. ISBN 1-85284-071-4.
  2. ↑ End Of The Ride For Morecambe Frontierland Archived November 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 "Frontierland's Demise". Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  4. ↑ Verified by actual visits to the area
  5. ↑ "Hotel and pub apply for Frontierland licence". The Visitor. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Looking Back: the highs and lows of Morecambe’s Polo Tower". The Visitor. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
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