Eric Gill at The Midland Hotel

By Pamela Earl

The Midland Hotel in Morecambe was one of the buildings featured in last year’s ADSUK Preservation Committee Group webinar, Preserving Our Seaside Art Deco Heritage: Four Perspectives. Below Pamela Earl of the ADSUK Preservation Committee gives us an update on an important part of the building’s interior décor.

Commissioned by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and designed by Oliver Hill, the Midland Hotel opened with great fanfare in 1933. Crowds gathered as various dignitaries from the railway company and Lord Derby arrived for the official opening. The building had cost around £70,000 to build, and its exterior had been polished so it gleamed like marble. It was visible for miles around, and those lucky enough to be staying there could also take in the panoramic views from the solarium on the rooftop.

Today, this striking Grade II* Streamline Moderne landmark is celebrated for its sweeping curves, elegant lines and nautical details that evoke the glamour of an ocean liner. Its interiors were enriched by leading designers of the period. Marion Dorn created the rugs, Eric Gill designed the wall and ceiling surfaces, and Eric Ravilious painted a mural for the circular café.

The Twentieth Century Society has long regarded the Midland Hotel as one of the most important and stylish buildings of the 1930s, noting that it has been central to the Society’s interests since its founding (as the Thirties Society) in 1979.  Here at the Art Deco Society, it is a building which is much loved by Supporters as it encapsulates so much of what Art Deco design is.

Unfortunately, the hotel has once again started to become “shabby” and is being poorly cared for.  As such ADSUK have added it to their At Risk Buildings Register.  The Preservation Committee is particularly concerned about the important art work created by Eric Gill in the restaurant. 

A member of the public alerted ADSUK to the deteriorating condition of a decorative map created by Gill, which shows the “monuments and delights of Lancashire”.  We have been told that a hot buffet is located directly underneath the map, and the paint is now peeling. 

The Preservation Committee informed SAVE Britain’s Heritage and The Twentieth Century Society about the sad decline of this piece of art.  While they were aware of the hotel’s general condition, they had not been informed about the specific risk to the Gill map.  Whilst ADSUK does not have the scale or capacity to involve itself directly in the preservation of buildings, these organisations do and we hope that their involvement will prompt the owners to stop the deterioration of the Gill map, and to restore it.

Safeguarding the fabric of Britain’s heritage, Art Deco or otherwise, is reliant on the public and smaller societies communicating and collaborating with the larger amenity heritage societies.  The reporting of the Eric Gill map is a perfect example of this in action.

The ADSUK Preservation Committee group is currently looking for new volunteers. We are seeking those who are interested in protecting and supporting the historic fabric of Art Deco. Whilst specific architectural skills and background are helpful, we also welcome those with broader skills and, of course, enthusiasm!

If you are interested, please contact hello@artdecosociety.uk