Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Walker, founder of Walkers Tussauds Waxworks in Bridlington and many of Yorkshire’s best-known east coast visitor attractions, passed away on 24 October 2024, aged 72.
Elizabeth Ann Naomi Lenthall was born in Bridlington on 8 May, 1952, and went on to develop a career as a wax sculptor, costumier and signwriter, as well as opening nightclubs and other tourist attractions.
She became known to the Showmen community when she met Showman Brian Walker in 1970. Brian’s family had owned visitor attractions in Blackpool until after World War II but eventually settled down in Bridlington. Brian and Elizabeth married in November 1974 and were regular attendees of Showmen’s events in the 70s and part of the 80s.
The couple were originally involved in Hull’s nightclub industry but in 1975 had the idea of creating waxworks attractions together as the medium became increasingly popular in Britain as well as America.
By the time their son Wes was born in 1977, they had opened the first Walkers Tussauds on Bridlington’s Royal Princes Parade. The venue went on to enjoy great success, leading to the couple expanding their ventures into London, where they created the Palladium Cellars for producer Michael Carreras in the West End. Blackpool was next, where they opened The Movie and Television World of Wax.
It was Elizabeth who was responsible for creating the waxworks, from preliminary drawings, through to the facial casts and then onto making the costumes and props and painting the backcloths. She was also responsible for the publicity artwork and signwriting. As well as Bridlington and Blackpool, her creations were exported to many countries around the world.
The couple went on to open Mountbattens Nightclub and Restaurant Complex on Bridlington’s Promenade in 1980, the largest nightclub complex in the town at the time.
They were also involved in a number of other projects. With the co-operation of the British Museum, they mounted their Treasures of Tut-Ankh-Amun Egyptian Exhibition, where genuine Egyptian artefacts were augmented with accurate facsimiles created by Elizabeth. The exhibition toured cities across Britain before going to Blackpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Scarborough, York, Bridlington and Hull.
Until Brian passed away in late 2001, aged only 50, the couple were kept busy with various waxworks and other tourist attractions not only in Yorkshire and Blackpool, but also in Malta and Spain, along with creating waxworks for film and TV ventures.
Elizabeth returned to Bridlington after her husband’s death where she concentrated on making replica dolls houses and restoring old furniture as well as knitting and other hobbies, despite suffering from osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis.
Elizabeth leaves a son, Wes, who told World’s Fair that his mother was “a well-known figure” in the Yorkshire coast area who returned to it, having “bestowed the area with many remembered ventures” in the intervening years. Our condolences to Wes.
