Work is under way to restore the old Lamplighter restaurant beneath the Market Place Shopping Centre, the latest step in the transformation of the site's original Victorian Vaults.

The Lamplighter, which was accessed from Knowsley Street, was a hugely popular venue in the 1960s and 70s modelled on the private dining rooms and restaurants of the Victorian era.

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Now, Market Place bosses are keen to re-open the restaurant under its original name, as a nod to the town centre's rich heritage.

Nikki Wilson-Cook, centre manager, said: "It is an amazing space and you can just imagine it being a really cosy and intimate restaurant.

"We are just in the early stages of working on it, it is a massive area and it will take a lot of preparation.

"We would love to keep the Lamplighter name if we can. The heritage of this building is really important to us and if we can convince whichever provider eventually comes in to keep that historic name, that would be wonderful.

"There will be a lot of people in Bolton who remember the Lamplighter and have a lot of fond memories of it."

The first stage of the restoration work will be to re-open the entrance from Knowsley Street and install a new bespoke staircase, which is currently being made.

The old Lamplighter, which boasted walls adorned with historic treasures taking patrons back to the days of Queen Victoria, was hit by a fire in the 1970s and some of the fire damage is still visible inside.

While the work remains at a very early stage and thoughts have not yet turned to who will take over the space, the Market Place boss is clear that the site will be used as a restaurant again.

She added: "We definitely want it to be a restaurant rather than anything else, because a big part of our vision is to have cafes along Knowsley Street that will lead down to The Vaults.

"Having a quality food offer that you can access off Knowsley Street is important to that atmosphere that we want to create.

"We want to get the space up to standard before we start trying to bring anyone in to take it over. We want people to see it in the best possible state so that they can really buy into the vision.

"We want to bring this place back to life and hopefully it will be as popular as ever."

Since opening in 2016, The Vaults has welcomed a variety of hugely popular food and drink locations — including Nando's, Great Ale, and Gourmet Burger Kitchen — and is to welcome a new wine and cocktail bar this summer.

Cllr Cliff Morris, leader of Bolton Council, ran the Lamplighter in its heyday and says he would be delighted to see its name back in the town centre.

He said: "It is a place with wonderful tradition and it had a great reputation in the town.

"It would be brilliant for the town centre to have another quality restaurant.

"It was a great success and we were sorry when it closed, but they wanted to do other things with the market hall.

"It was a wonderful time in my life when I managed the Lamplighter, I learned my trade there."