Discover Wyre

Designed in the 1800s and built in 1901, the Mount in Fleetwood has undergone huge restoration over the last few years.

With superb views, reaching as far as the Lake District on a clear day, The Mount is the perfect place to sit and admire the vast beauty of the North West coastline. When the conditions are right, usually close to sunset on a summer night, you can see the hills of the Isle of Man.

Location: The Esplanade, Fleetwood, FY7 6EZ

Stunning grounds and gardens

As the pavilion has been restored throughout history, so too have the grounds and gardens of the Mount.

In 1864 the cobble stone walls that mark the lanward side were built. The walls standing today are believed to be original in parts, perhaps with some new rendering or rebuilding in places. In 1902, gates and railings were added to the entrance and walls leading from the esplanade to The Mount. Sadly, these gates and railings were lost to the war effort in 1942. They might have been melted down to use for weaponry, as they were cast iron.

In 1963 the Mary Elizabeth Hope Garden was created. Named after a long serving local councillor and former Mayor of Wyre, the garden was designed for the blind, populated with plants and flowers specially selected for their scent and aroma.

In 2009 the gardens and the cobbled wall were given a Grade II listing by Historic England.

In 2015, Heritage Lottery Funding and a personal donation from Mrs Doreen Lofthouse allowed the restoration of the gardens and the recreation of the lost railings and gates. Together with restorations to the pavilion, these works were completed in 2022.

The many buildings of the Mount

Before 1900, the Mount was home to a number of different pavilions.

The first pavilion was built in 1837. It was damaged by a storm in 1863 and rebuilt. This structure was damaged in another storm in 1869.

In 1898 new plans for the pavilion were proposed.

Designed by Herbert A Luke, an architect who was working for the war office, the plans proposed an octagonal timber pavilion. The building was completed in 1902, and it is this structure which remains to this day. It was Grade II listed by Historic England in 1989.

In 1841 the lodges located on the landward side of the Mount were built and in 1978 were grade II listed. In 1987 the pavilion was refurbished and reopened to the public. The lodges soon followed with refurbishment in 1991.

In 2015, Heritage Lottery Funding and a personal donation from Mrs Doreen Lofthouse together allowed further restoration works to the pavilion and lodges to begin. These works were completed in 2022.

Navigation into port and weather recording

The pavilion served a crucial function in developing Fleetwood as a port in 24 hour use.

Sir Peter Hesketh introduced changes to the navigation of Morecambe Bay in Parliament, which enabled Fleetwood to operate as a port.

The navigation into Fleetwood port was designed by Captain Henry Mangles Denham in the 1840s. The system used the Mount, the Wyre Light (the first screw pile lighthouse in the country) and the two Pharos lighthouses (designed by Burton and Denham) in unison to guide ships into port. At the Mount, the flagstaff was used to send signals to ships at sea and the pavilion acted as a lookout for coastguards.

In 1886, the Meteorological Office installed an anemometer within the pavilion. The recording of wind speed was done by a pen drawing on a paper drum, and rainfall was measured through the collection of rainwater in a glass cylinder. A keeper sent this information to Greenwich every day by telegraph. Whilst the Mount is no longer used for navigation and weather recording it played an important role in its time.

Chiming in memory of our war heroes

The clock in the pavilion pays special homage to the men of Fleetwood who died during World War I.

The clock was commissioned by W Elliot and made by Potts of Leeds. Isaac Spencer (a local businessman) presented the clock to The Mount, and it was fitted by Miller and Ogilby in 1919. It is a registered war memorial, honouring the Fleetwood men who lost their lives in service.

The clock has two bells and produces a characteristic ding-dong chime on every quarter hour. It runs on a double three-legged gravity escapement; the same system that runs Big Ben, connecting the clocks of Fleetwood and London. It must be wound up twice a week to keep the clock running.

The heart of the community

Throughout history the Mount has always been a key site for celebrations big and small.

Thanks to its central location and regal setting, the Mount has lent itself well to a number of royal celebrations. In 1897 locals gathered at the Mount to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. In 2012 Fleetwood marked Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee with a beacon lighting at the top of the Mount. The beacon was lit again in 2021 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, and celebrations continued across the Mount gardens with free theatre shows bringing the community together.

The heart of Fleetwood’s community, the Mount plays host to many community events and is the home of special Fleetwood traditions passed down from generation to generation, such as the rolling of Easter eggs down the slopes every Easter Monday.