THE musical heritage of a landmark Widnes venue has been captured by architects.

A new apartment block, Queens Court, has been built on the site of the iconic Queens Hall in Lacey Street, Widnes.

Originally a Methodist chapel built in the 1870s, it became a popular civic entertainment venue.

Some of the world’s most famous bands including the Beatles, Stone Roses and Happy Mondays performed there.

Their names have now been etched on a giant glazed screen which runs up the side of the building, facing the main staircase.

The Beatles played there five times between 1962 and 1963.

Architects wanted to celebrate the site’s musical history as the were commissioned to design affordable social housing for Halton Housing Trust.

Colourful guitar string louvres representing the strings of a musical instrument are a striking feature above each of the entrances.

Splashes of gold, silver and bronze depict a royal reference to the Queen.

Frank Olchowski, director of architects Denovo Design said: "It seemed a shame that such an iconic building could be lost without any reference for future generations.

"A mural in billboard format seemed an obvious choice.

"We came up with the idea of the coloured metal louvres to represent guitar strings as a way of commemorating and retaining the vibrancy of the former music venue.

“This is one of the most interesting and unusual projects that I have worked on."

The building was closed in 2004 to make way for the lottery-funded Brindley in Runcorn.

It fell into disrepair and Halton Council decided to bulldoze it in 2012 after it was extensively damaged in a fire.

Halton Council leader Cllr Rob Polhill laid a commemorative brick at the highest point of the building at a topping out ceremony last September.

Tenants will soon be moving into the 17 apartments which include 13 two bedroom flats and four with one bedroom.

Cllr Polhill said: "It is great to see much needed homes being created on this landmark site.

"We hope this new development will help to regenerate this old part of Widnes."