Volunteers restore building which sold tickets for The Beatles

Tuesday 28 December 2021

A derelict ticket office at Candie Gardens – which sold tickets to watch The Beatles in August 1963 – has been restored to its original form.

The ticket office, long since used, had fallen into disrepair and was covered in ivy - until local builder Arthur Leadbeater gave up around 400 hours of his time to lead a voluntary project to restore the building.

The ticket office, which is situated in the lower section of Candie Gardens, nearest Elizabeth College, is now in pristine condition once again. The States are deciding whether to make use of the building.

Pictured: Arthur Leadbeater outside the former ticket office at Candie Gardens which he and other volunteers have spent hundreds of hours restoring.

“This little building served the island for many years as a ticket office for Candie Gardens and is considered a charming little piece of Guernsey heritage,” said the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure.

“It is yet to be determined if the building will be given a use once more or if it will simply stand as a piece of history for islanders and visitors to enjoy.”

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Pictured: The building fell into disrepair many years ago was covered in ivy before the restoration project.

The restored ticket office incorporates as much as possible of the original building. For example, the original coat hooks were retained and any bricks which could no longer be used were replaced by the same type of heritage bricks.  

The Committee is “thrilled to have it restored [and] extremely grateful to Mr Leadbeater”.

Pictured: The restored ticket office sold tickets to watch The Beatles when they played at Candie nearly 60 years ago -  in August 1963. Credit: Eclectic (Facebook).

A number of other contractors donated time or resources to help Mr Leadbeater with this project. They included:

• Stuart Moncrief Carpentry and River Marsh, who fitted the door and lock;
• Sean Thoume and Brendan Evans from Norman Piette Ltd., who supplied ply and timber for the safety hoarding and roof;
• Del from Action Scaffolding, who put up scaffolding;
• Terry from T&C Roofing, who supplied and laid original and additional slates;
• Thomas Hearne, who supplied a large number of bricks for the restoration;
• Marcel from Foulon Joinery Works, who made the new door and frame and timber for the window frames;
• Franky Brouard, Mr Leadbeater’s eldest grandson, who helped erect hoarding, take down brickwork and concrete the floor and also helped clear the site on completion of the project along with Mr Leadbeater's son, Deputy Marc Leadbeater.