Historic Morecambe hotel sign discovered by workmen

A former Morecambe hotelier has been reunited with the original sign from the premises he ran for 35 years after it was discovered by workmen on the derelict site of the property.
Stan Fenton with the Bellisle sign.Stan Fenton with the Bellisle sign.
Stan Fenton with the Bellisle sign.

Stan Fenton, now 92, ran the Bellisle Hotel in Albert Road between 1975 and 2010 until he moved to a flat and then onto a care home in recent years.

The Bellisle sign was found during renovation work on the derelict site by two workmen – William Howard and Trevor Horn from Heysham Demolition and Plant Hire – who posted a picture on Facebook.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Granddaughter Louise Baldwin retrieved the sign after her friend Sharon McClure, who once lived at the Bellisle, spotted the photo, and two of Stan’s great-grandchildren, Evie Baldwin, six, and Caitlin Sharrock, eight, helped to restore it before showing it to him at his home in Arnside Care Home.

Workmen William Howard  and Trevor Horn, working for Heysham Demolition and Plant Hire.Workmen William Howard  and Trevor Horn, working for Heysham Demolition and Plant Hire.
Workmen William Howard and Trevor Horn, working for Heysham Demolition and Plant Hire.

Louise said: “Although he has frontal lobe dementia and sometimes forgets what he’s had for tea, he was pleased to see the sign and this brought him back precious memories of his time there with my grandma Leona Fenton, who passed in 1995 from cancer.

“Grandad, although now very frail, has worked hard over the years, having the Royal Oak in Lancaster and the Jolly Farmers in Kirkby Stephen before that.

“He’s also worked on the Milk Marketing Board and served in the Army.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Stan and his late wife Leona ran the Bellisle between 1995 and 2010, having previously run the Royal Oak at Skerton from 1964 until 1975.

Louise said they are now unsure what to do with the sign.

“Evie wanted to put the sign on our house!” she said.

“Grandad said ‘I’ve already looked at it for 35 years!’”

Related topics: