The Mount at The Esplanade

The Mount is the small hill on Fleetwood Esplanade with The Mount Pavilion standing at the top, surrounded by the Mount Gardens.

A pavilion building has stood there since the town of Fleetwood was first built in the early 1800’s. The current, Grade II Listed Pavilion has watched over Fleetwood for more than 100 years, from it’s high point opposite the Marine Hall. You can look inside it during Heritage Open Days in September and during other special events.

Fleetwood Civic Society took great pride in unveiling a Blue Plaque at The Mount in 2024, to celebrate it’s important place in the towns history. In total, ten new blue plaques were placed during the year, marking buildings of historical significance across Fleetwood.

Views from The Mount

On a clear day it’s well worth a walk to the top of The Mount, just to enjoy the views. You’ll see far across the landscape, and even Morecambe Bay.

Look to your left across the seafront at The Esplanade, pitch and putt and the boating lakes beyond.

Straight ahead you’re looking over the Marine Hall and Gardens, to Marine Beach. You’ll see the distant shoreline of Barrow and the hills of the Lakes too.

Look to your right over the Wyre Estuary and see across to Morecambe Bay Heysham, Barrow and Lancaster. On a clear sunny day it really is well worth the effort and one of the things you really must do when you visit Fleetwood.

The Mount Pavilion

The Mount Pavilion that we see today dates to 1902/04. It’s the second building to stand on the site – one of 43 Grade II Listed Buildings in Fleetwood. Built from brick and tile with a copper roofed octagonal dome and officially opened in 1904, many of its original features remain intact. The copper cupola, with fishing boat weather vane, came a few years later, in 1919.

Inside, it’s a beautiful building, which retains much of its original detailing and features.

The Mount Clock

Did you know that the clock at the top of the Pavilion is a registered War Memorial from World War One?

Mr Isaac Spencer was a fish meal producer and the wealthy port businessman who paid for it. He donated it in memory of those who didn’t return from World War 1. The memorial clock at the Mount Pavilion first ran on 19 February 1919. At the same time, the Fleetwood War Memorial Plaque was mounted inside the pavilion.

Inside the building is a glass case, inside which you can see the mechanism which works the clock and its two chimes. Look inside the case and see the seconds tick by –

This plaque was revealed inside the pavilion when the clock first ran, on 19 February 1919.

The inscription reads:

The Great War 1914-18
Fleetwood Memorial Clock
This clock is in recognition of the magnificent response made by the men of Fleetwood to the nation’s call.
Their devotion to duty, their noble and courageous deeds on sea and land, and in so many cases their supreme sacrifice in the defence of freedom; also in sympathy with the maimed, the widows, and the fatherless.

History of The Mount

The hill on which the Pavilion stands was one of the largest sandhills in the area, when the port and town of Fleetwood was but a twinkle in the eye…

In the 1830’s the Rossall estate, owned by Peter Hesketh, was a desolate tract of land. It was home to thousands of rabbits and their extensive warrens, plus plenty of sea birds. Tup Hill or Starr Hill was the name for the area later to become The Mount. The port of Fleetwood hadn’t yet been developed – and the land was also prone to continual flooding. At the time, Skippool was the busy trading port on the River Wyre, and Poulton was the local market town.

A perfect spot for a new town

Peter Hesketh was Lord of the Manor, High Sheriff of the County of Lancashire and MP for Preston. Later to be knighted and change his name to Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood.

He believed that what is now Fleetwood could be a busy sea port and popular resort. The river mouth, the natural sheltered harbour, golden sands, sea, air like wine and breath-taking views across Morecambe Bay on clear days were all integral to his plan. All that was missing was a railway from busy Preston. That’s another story, which you can read about here.

In 1836, Sir Peter hired the renowned architect of the day, Decimus Burton, to plan his new town. The area was still nothing more than open farms with an odd dwelling dotted here and there.

The Mount – at the Heart of Fleetwood

This sandhill and rabbit warren of what’s now The Mount rose to a high point at the centre. It was the highest spot where the two men could go to get a good view over the land.

Burton’s plan was to use largest of the sand-dunes (The Mount) on the north-facing shore as the focus of a half-wheel street layout. So together they stood at the top and mapped out the radius of streets, which you still see in Fleetwood today.

See The Mount, marked by the red star in the Google map above. It was to be the hub of Burton’s half-wheel design. The main residential streets acted as the spokes, and the main commercial area of Dock Street was the rim of the wheel.

Fleetwood was to be the UK’s first ‘new town’, based around Starr Hill, also known as Tup Hill. London Street was first to be marked out, between there and the River Wyre. With the sand hill landscaped, Starr Hill became known as The Mount.

How The Mount Evolved

The rest, as they say, is history. And for that history we turn to Nick Moore’s History of Blackpool for the rest of the fascinating story…

Robert Parkinson of Garstang built the original summer pavilion to Decimus Burton’s design. A small, decagon shaped building with an adjacent mast/flagpole.

In 1838 Temple View replaced it, also designed by Decimus Burton. ‘Prophet Palace’ was the local name for his second Chinese pagoda-style pavilion. Used as a tea room, Esau Carter Monk, one of the first town commissioners, served refreshments from there.

On the landward side, the single storey lodge building was added at the entrance to the site in 1841. Originally it was Decimus Burton’s office. It later became a private house, although the residents had to cross the open gateway to go to bed! In the 1990’s it The Mount Craft Centre for several years.

Sir Peter first built a cobble wall around The Mount in 1861, intending to establish his own right to that part of his estate. However, after a public meeting on 20 May, members tore the wall apart! Their claim was that their public right of way had been stolen. Then a storm in 1863 finished the job for them and washed most of it away!

In 1886 the Meteorological Office installed an anemometer in the pavilion.

The Mount in the 1900’s

Surrounding the area for the first time, the brick perimeter wall was added in 1902, then the grounds opened on 12 July 1902.

The two storey, octagonal Mount Pavilion which we know, opened in 1904. 1919 saw the addition of the copper cupola, complete with fishing boat weathervane, along with the Memorial Clock. In 2020 the Mount Pavilion was fully restored and is now painted in heritage green.

Fleetwood Citizens Advice Bureau occupied the ground floor of the pavilion for many years.

The Role of Fleetwood Civic Society

Fleetwood Civic Society has played a key part in preserving the building which we enjoy today.

For many years there was no mains water and sewage connection to the Pavilion. After the last commercial occupant of the 1990’s left, the Pavilion stood empty for a long time, save for the odd open day and special event.

A period of neglect followed, where the building deteriorated. Then Fleetwood Civic Society stepped in, to enable preservation of the building for future generations.

The ‘Proud to be British’ flag company were the last tenant. Sadly a devastating fire on bonfire night 2007 forced them out.

Fleetwood Festive Lights committee light up The Mount Pavilion at Christmas.

Restoring The Mount

In 2016, a major restoration of The Mount began, to secure its future for another 100+ years.

Phase One Restoration

The facelift of Fleetwood’s most iconic feature began in 2016 thanks to a generous £1 million donation from Mrs Doreen Lofthouse.

Her personal gift enabled work to reinstate the Victorian railings, restore the shelters, repair the pathways and create new rockeries and planting.

July 2018 saw Wyre Council awarded £2 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund. The grant enabled them to continue transforming The Mount and Grade II listed Mount Gardens. Plans include improvements to the pavilion, rose garden and gate lodge, restoring them to the original Victorian look.

Phase Two Restoration

Now restored, the 1901 pavilion is coming back into regular use. It’s an education centre, exhibition space and a function room for public events and receptions.

Before restoration began, samples of paint were collected from various parts of the building for analysis. The team were able to find out and match the colours originally used. They discovered that the outside woodwork was a dark green, and the walls a pale shade of cream.

We went to take a look around in September 2020, while work was underway at the Pavilion and the Lodge –

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The lodge building has also been restored. The upper floor will be opened as a tearoom. Lower floors have been inaccessible for a long time and they will also be made accessible. They’ve become a base for volunteers helping on the grounds along with an artist and scientist who run activities.

Restoring the Gardens

The funding covered the cost of replacing many lost landscape features. For example, the Mary Hope garden. Designed in the 1960s for people who were blind, it’s been rejuvenated for everyone’s enjoyment.

The landscaping work includes planting schemes for wildlife and new areas of habitats to enhance biodiversity. Some pine trees have been removed to improve the views and new trees planted elsewhere in the gardens.

There’s a new play area, bringing a mix of play equipment and a play trail to a new location in the gardens. The grant also funded a Development Officer to oversee a three year programme and engage with residents, schools and local groups. The help of Fleetwood Museum, Fleetwood Library and Fleetwood Civic Society was vital to this part of the restoration.

Find out much more about The Mount Gardens and their restoration, here

Fleetwood Heritage Open Days

Local historic buildings are open each year during Heritage Open Days. Fleetwood Civic Society open The Mount for you to look round during Fleetwood Heritage Open Days. You can go inside and take a look at the building. See the workings of the clock, go out onto the balcony and take in the splendid views.

The Mount Crest

The Crest is a relatively new addition, installed in 2015. Find it on the slope to the seaward side of the Mount.

It’s a lasting, year round design that replaces the need for costly and labour intensive seasonal planting of years gone by.

Over at the Fylde and Wyre Antiquarian website, there’s an interesting article which delves into the past of The Mount. Including tales of mediaeval sheep enclosures, a Roman well and local riots!

Fly over The Mount

Blackpool Lee filmed this aerial footage in November 2014. It opens with views of The Pavilion, continuing with a flyover of the Esplanade and Fleetwood seafront, on a glorious day.

Own your own Mount Pavilion!

We’re The Rabbit Patch Ltd and we independently publish Visit Fleetwood. We’re a design and creatives company right here on the Fylde Coast and we started Seaside Emporium, an online shop full of our own original art. In 2025 all the rights to images were donated to Care for Cleveleys. Now, you can buy prints of your favourite Fylde Coast landmarks from the Care for Cleveleys Shop. All proceeds go towards improving Cleveleys.