UK - One of the North’s oldest buildings, Morecambe Winter Gardens was once the centrepiece of Morecambe’s illustrious entertainment scene. Opened in 1897 as a landmark of British architecture, it welcomed performances from The Who, Vera Lynn and many more, but was partly demolished in the early 1980s, leaving only the Victoria Pavillion Theatre standing.
Since 2006, the 'Friends of the Winter Gardens' trust has worked tirelessly to revive this Grade II listed building. In 2024, their efforts took a giant leap forward with the launch of a £2.7m restoration project, funded by a grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. A critical part of the restoration involved installing a state-of-the-art sound system, one that could support the current events programme and expand as the venue grows. For this, KV2 Audio was chosen to play a key role in the theatre’s future.
“We needed to provide a good starting system for the trust, which could scale with the changing needs and capacity of the building,” says Rob Crossland, engineering manager at Adlib – the project’s integrator. “Despite being a 2,500-capacity room, the current capacity is restricted to 400 by local authorities. The trust wanted a system that could cater to their present needs but also evolve with the theatre. Our goal was to cover the entire stalls area with as few loudspeakers as possible, keeping costs down and reducing complexity."
Adlib specified two of KV2's ESR215MkII full-range loudspeakers and an ESR3000 amplifier, ground-stacked on 1m risers to provide front-of-house sound in a dual mono configuration. Control is managed by an Allen & Heath SQ5 console.
"After demoing the ESR215MkII, I was really impressed," Crossland continues. "The audio quality, ease of use, and compact design made it a perfect fit for Morecambe Winter Gardens. Despite the large space, just two enclosures deliver excellent coverage, and the system’s smooth frequency response is ideal for theatre applications. Plus, it’s future-proof – eventually, we can fly the system and add more components like subwoofers or delay speakers."
The theatre still retains much of its original charm, from the ornate plasterwork on the ceiling to the intricate mosaic floors, making it a time capsule of the North’s cultural history. In its prime during the early 1900s, Morecambe Winter Gardens hosted twice-daily shows and winter pantomimes, but by the mid-1970s, the venue had fallen into decline. Most of the complex was demolished, leaving only the Victoria Pavilion Theatre standing in disrepair.
The turning point came in 2006 when the Friends of Morecambe Winter Gardens, now the Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust Limited, began working to save the building. Between 2020 and 2023, they secured 11 grants totalling over £1.4m, which enabled critical safety and restoration work, supported by Historic England, Theatres Trust, and the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
With the restoration in full swing, the new KV2 sound system is already attracting higher-profile events. Folk quartet Wayward Jane will be the first to test the system in November, blending American folk with traditional music in a nod to the venue’s rich history. It’s hoped that other acts will soon follow, continuing Morecambe Winter Gardens’ legacy of hosting world-class performances.
“From the demo to delivery, KV2 exceeded expectations,” Crossland concludes. “Their personal service and commitment to quality were exactly what we needed for this unique project. Morecambe Winter Gardens presents many of the acoustic challenges you’d expect from a large, reverberant, historic building, but the KV2 system has proven to be a perfect solution. We’re excited to see how it enhances performances as the restoration progresses.”
