We asked this question on our Lancaster Guardian and Morecambe Visitor Facebook pages and the response was huge.
Although our district has many buildings it can be immensely proud of – the Ashton Memorial, Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory, Morecambe Winter Gardens and the Midland Hotel to name but a few – there are still some eyesores that continue to attract criticism.
Here we look at nine of your grottiest landmarks, some of which have blotted the landscape for many years, others which get uglier by the month and a couple that may be set to become a whole lot better looking in the not too distant future .
1. Queens Hotel, Marine Road Central, Morecambe
The prominent Morecambe building – which was once a thriving fun pub – remains on the market and in a continually worsening shabby state. Built as a hotel in 1840, the property has had a chequered history. It was a popular late night music destination as Pacha’s in the 1980s and 90s. After Pacha’s closed in 1999, it reinvented itself as Baroque, before becoming the Queens Hotel again during the 2000s. It reopened in February 2013 after a £20,000 internal refurb and finally, was re-launched as a late night venue in October 2014 by Mike Zorab but closed again just a few months later, and has stood empty since. Officers from Morecambe Town Council conducted a survey outside the hotel in June with a view to a possible application to the Community Ownership Fund. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Studdard
2. Farmhouse Tavern, Morecambe Road, Lancaster
The Grade II listed farmhouse was formerly a small manor house dating from the 1700s. It opened as a pub in 1990 and has been known as the Farmhouse Tavern and the Scale Hall Tavern. It closed in around 2014 and was destroyed in a fire in 2020. Since then, it's been left to rot but plans to convert it into 14 new homes - which have been submitted to the city council - could finally put paid to this eyesore. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
3. The Alex, Penny Street, Lancaster
Alexandra House - as it is officially known - comes under constant criticism for its dilapidated state, particularly as this landmark and listed building is viewed as the gateway to Lancaster from the north. It was built in 1902 and known to many as the former Revolution Bar but has been empty since 2014. Planning permission to convert the property into an apart-hotel was refused by the city council in 2021. In November 2023, Lancaster City Council stepped in to make the Grade II listed building secure and weathertight after legal notices demanding action were repeatedly ignored. Council contractors moved in to install shutters and board up openings where windows had been unlawfully removed. Sadly, it doesn't look like much will be improving at The Alex any time soon. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Studdard
4. 'Pigeon Alley', Marine Road Central, Morecambe
This alleyway off Marine Road Central between the Army Surplus Store and Bay Rugs has been an eyesore for decades. It's often referred to by locals as 'Pigeon Alley' because of the propensity for pigeons to use it as a toilet. Strewn with graffiti and open to the elements, it's a grot spot that we would all like to see cleaned up. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard