Wayfarers Arcade (previously the Leyland Arcade and Burton Arcade) is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

structure located in the seaside town of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...

on the famous boulevard of Lord Street in the town centre. The arcade is a near untouched building with the glass dome and Victorian shop fronts below it, creating a shopping arcade.

History

The Arcade first opened in October 1898 and was originally called the Leyland Arcade, after Southport MP, Sir Herbert Leyland. The arcade was the idea of

John Humphrey Plummer John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, a Victorian entrepreneur, who at the time owned most of the shops on Lord Street. His idea was to create an indoor shopping area that could be enjoyed in all weather conditions. Due to the existing shops on Lord Street providing him with a good income, he did not want to lose the rent from any of them by decreasing their size. This is the reason for the narrow entrance to the arcade that still exists today. In 1939 during the outbreak of World War II, the domed roof was painted black as part of blackout precautions, the tropical fish aquarium was removed from the arcade to save electricity. During the 1950s the arcade was purchased by a tailors business '

Montague Burton Sir Montague Maurice Burton (15 August 1885 – 21 September 1952) was the founder of Burton Menswear, one of Britain's largest chains of clothes shops. Early life Born Meshe David Osinsky and a Lithuanian Jew in Kurkliai, Kaunas provinc ...