Hotel Name: | The Mount |
Map Type: | United Kingdom Fleetwood#Lancashire#England |
Location: | Fleetwood, Lancashire, England |
Coordinates: | 53.9258°N -3.0161°W |
Architect: | Decimus Burton |
The Mount is a pavilion in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. Built between 1902 and 1904, to a design by Decimus Burton, the structure has been Grade II listed by English Heritage since 1989.[1]
The building, which stands atop a large sand dune[2] originally known as Tup's Hill overlooking the Irish Sea, replaced a pagoda designed by Burton, around which he planned the layout of Fleetwood.[3] The pavilion is constructed of roughcast brick with tile roofs. It has an octagonal dome with a copper roof. Part of a 7acres site, it is located between The Esplanade to the north and Mount Road to the south.
The original construction played an important part in allowing 19th-century Fleetwood to operate as a 24-hour port. Its flagstaff was used to send flag signals out to sea, while the building was used as a coastguard lookout. In 1886, the Met Office installed an anemometer on the building to record wind speed and rainfall. Information was dispatched daily to Greenwich via telegraph.
In 1919, a World War I memorial in the form of a clock was installed at the Mount. It contains two bells.
When Fleetwood was hit by a flood in October 1927, putting 90% of the town under water, only the higher areas around the Mount escaped.
The wall on the inland side of the Mount is built from pebbles, in traditional Fylde style.[4] The Mount and the entire length of Fleetwood Promenade has an uninterrupted view across Morecambe Bay, a view described by author Bill Bryson in chapter 23 of his book Notes From a Small Island as "easily one of the most beautiful in the world, with unforgettable views across to the green and blue Lakeland hills: Scafell, Coniston Old Man, the Langdale Pikes." Directly across the Esplanade from the Mount lies the Marine Hall and Marine Gardens, Wyre Borough's largest entertainment venue, opened in 1935.[5]
The upper floors of the building were converted into apartments in 1990.[6] An adjacent building to the west is named the Mount Hotel. It is also a Grade II listed building.[7]