Morecambe Winter Gardens receives £5,000 donation from the Ken Dodd Foundation

The gift is the result of a letter from Garry Owen, treasurer to the Friends of the Winter Gardens, who wrote to Lady Anne Dodd, the late Ken Dodd's widow, earlier in the summer.

Garry told Lady Anne about the return of the seats that were once in the theatre's Grand Circle and the sponsorship scheme the Friends had launched to raise the money to pay for them.

He also told Lady Anne about the recent launch of an appeal to raise the additional money needed towards a new heating system.

At the time the Winter Gardens was in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign to raise £50,000 to cover the heating costs required for the winter months.

With the support of the Architectural Heritage Fund and more than 400 individual donors, this target was achieved last month.

Garry, who worked with Prof Vanessa Toulmin, chair of the Morecambe Winter Gardens Preservation Trust, on the campaign, said: "We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed to our appeal and shown their support for our historic theatre."

The money will go towards the successful crowdfunding campaign which reached its target of additional funding required to cover the full costs of the heating installation currently under way in the historic Grade II* listed building.

Sir Ken Dodd was a frequent visitor to Morecambe and often remarked when he played at venues throughout the town that it was a shame he was not playing in the extraordinary Winter Gardens.

In her letter to the Friends, Lady Anne wished "continuous success with your marvellous efforts you have been making" and added "I hope it won’t be too long before I will be able to visit it for myself in the not too distant future."

Prof Toulmin thanked Lady Anne for her generous donation stating.

"I had the privilege of knowing the late and irreplaceable Ken Dodd during my time in Blackpool where his deep love of theatrical heritage and history shone through," she said.

"I am indebted to both Garry and the Friends for making this approach on behalf of the Winter Gardens and overwhelmed at the generosity of the Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation in supporting us. It will be an honour and a delight to welcome Lady Anne to the building."

The Winter Gardens is currently closed for building work and paranormal tours are suspended under Covid-19 Tier 3 regulations and will be reviewed on a month by month basis in line with government regulations.

For future news on the Winter Gardens, check out their website here or follow them on Facebook @MorecambeWG or on Twitter @MorecambeWG where regular updates are posted by Garry Owen on behalf of the preservation trust.