Blackpool is a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England. Located on the
northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the
borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
, between the
Ribble and
Wyre rivers, and is north of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and northwest of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. At the
2011 census, the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of Blackpool had an estimated population of 139,720 while the urban settlement had a population of 147,663, making it the
most populous settlement in Lancashire, and the fifth-most populous in North West England after Manchester, Liverpool,
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
and
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
. The
wider built-up area (which also includes additional settlements outside the unitary authority) had a population of 239,409,
making it the fifth-most populous urban area in the North West after the Manchester, Liverpool,
Preston and
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
areas. It is home to the
Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...
, which when built in 1894 was the
tallest building in the British Empire
The title of tallest building in the British Empire (later in the Commonwealth) has been contested since the late nineteenth century. In this era the nations of the British Empire possessed a large measure of cultural unity and naturally looked t ...
.
Throughout the
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
and
Early Modern period, Blackpool was a coastal hamlet in Lancashire's
Amounderness Hundred
The Amounderness Hundred () is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, but the name is older than the system of hundreds first recorded in the 13th century and might best be described as the name ...
and remained as such until the mid-18th century, when it became fashionable in England to travel to the coast in the summer to improve well-being. In 1781, visitors attracted to Blackpool's sandy beach
[ were able to use a new private road, built by Thomas Clifton and Sir Henry Hoghton. Stagecoaches began running to Blackpool from Manchester in the same year, and from Halifax in 1782. In the early 19th century, Henry Banks and his son-in-law John Cocker erected new buildings in Blackpool, which increased its population from less than 500 in 1801 to over 2,500 in 1851. St John's Church in Blackpool was consecrated in 1821.
Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism in England when a railway was built in the 1840s connecting it to the industrialised regions of ]northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. The railway made it much easier and cheaper for visitors to reach Blackpool, triggering an influx of settlers; in 1876, Blackpool was incorporated as a borough, governed by its own town council and aldermen. In 1881, Blackpool was a booming resort with a population of 14,000 and a promenade complete with piers, fortune-tellers, public houses, trams, donkey rides, fish and chip shops, and theatres.[.] By 1901, the population of Blackpool was 47,000, by which time its place was cemented as "the archetypal British seaside resort".[ By 1951, it had grown to 147,000 people.
Shifts in tastes, combined with opportunities for British people to travel overseas, affected Blackpool's status as a leading resort in the late 20th century. Its urban fabric and economy both remain relatively undiversified and firmly rooted in the tourism sector, and the borough's seafront continues to attract millions of visitors every year.][ Blackpool's major attractions and landmarks include ]Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...
, Blackpool Illuminations
Blackpool Illuminations is an annual lights festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year, held each autumn in the British seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire.
Also known locally as The Lights ...
, Pleasure Beach
Pleasure Beach is the Bridgeport portion of a Connecticut barrier beach that extends westerly from Point No Point (the portion in the adjoining town of Stratford is known as Long Beach). Prior to June, 2014, when Pleasure Beach re-opened, the a ...
, Blackpool Zoo
Blackpool Zoo is a zoo, owned by Parques Reunidos and located in the sea-side resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It provides a home to over 1,350 animals from all over the world.
History
The zoo opened in 1972 on a site which had ...
, Sandcastle Water Park, the Winter Gardens and Blackpool Tramway (the UK's only surviving first-generation tramway).
History
Toponymy
Blackpool gets its name from a historic drainage channel (possibly Spen Dyke) that ran over a peat bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
, discharging discoloured water into the Irish Sea, which formed a black pool (on the other side of the sea, "Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
" (Dubh Linn) is derived from the Irish for "black pool"). Another explanation is that the local dialect for stream was "pul" or "poole", hence "Black poole".
People originating from Blackpool are called Sandgrownians or ''Sandgrown'uns'' it is also sometimes used (as too for persons originating from Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
and 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 Irish ...
) or ''Seasiders'' (although this is more commonly associated with Blackpool F.C.).
Early history
A 13,500-year-old elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
skeleton was found with man-made barbed bone points (probably from spears) on Blackpool Old Road in Carleton in 1970. Now displayed in the Harris Museum
The Harris Museum is a Grade I-listed building in Preston, Lancashire, England. Founded by Edmund Harris in 1877, it is a local history and fine art museum.
History
In the 19th century, it became legal to raise money for libraries by local ...
this provided the first evidence of humans living on the Fylde
The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills ...
as far back as the Palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
era. The Fylde was also home to a British tribe, the Setantii
The Setantii (sometimes read as ''Segantii'') were a possible pre-Roman British people who apparently lived in the western and southern littoral of Lancashire in England. It is thought likely they were a sept or sub-tribe of the Brigantes, who, at ...
(the "dwellers in the water") a sub-tribe of the Brigantes
The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...
, who from about AD80 were controlled by Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
from their fort at Dowbridge, Kirkham. During the Roman occupation the area was covered by oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
forests and bog land.
Some of the earliest villages on the Fylde, which were later to become part of Blackpool town, were named in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
in 1086. Many of them were Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
settlements. Some though had 9th and 10th century Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
place names. The Vikings and Anglo-Saxons seem to have co-existed peacefully, with some Anglo-Saxon and Viking placenames later being joined – such as Layton-with-Warbreck and Bispham-with-Norbreck. Layton was controlled by the Butlers, Barons of Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
from the 12th century.
In medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times Blackpool emerged as a few farmsteads on the coast within Layton-with-Warbreck, the name coming from "le pull", a stream that drained Marton Mere
Marton Mere is a mere (lake) and Local Nature Reserve in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is located near to the Blackpool districts of Marton and Mereside and the village of Staining. It is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Inte ...
and Marton Moss into the sea close to what is now Manchester Square. The stream ran through peatlands that discoloured the water, so the name for the area became "Black Poole". In the 15th century the area was just called ''Pul'', and a 1532 map calls the area "the pole howsys alias the north howsys".
In 1602, entries in Bispham Parish Church
Bispham Parish Church, also known as All Hallows Church, is a Church of England parish church located in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, known as the ''Mother Church of Blackpool''.
The church is a Grade II Listed Building. It is the ...
baptismal register include both ''Poole'' and for the first time ''blackpoole''. The first house of any substance, Foxhall, was built toward the end of the 17th century by Edward Tyldesley, the Squire of Myerscough and son of the Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
Sir Thomas Tyldesley. An Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in 1767 enclosed a common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
, mostly sand hills on the coast, that stretched from Spen Dyke southwards. Plots of the land were allocated to landowners in Bispham, Layton
Layton or The Laytons may refer to:
Places
United States
* Layton, Florida, a city
* Layton, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Layton Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa
* Layton, New Jersey, an unincorporated community
* Layton, Pennsyl ...
, Great Marton
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
and Little Marton
Marton is a settlement on the coastal plain of the Fylde in Lancashire, England, most of which is now part of the seaside town of Blackpool. Marton, which consisted of Great Marton, Little Marton, Marton Fold and The Peel, was originally part of ...
. The same act also provided for the layout of a number of long straight roads that would be built in the areas south of the town centre, such as Lytham Road, St. Annes Road, Watson Road and Highfield Road.
Taking the cure
By the middle of the 18th century, the practice of sea bathing to cure diseases was becoming fashionable among the wealthier classes, and visitors began making the arduous trek to Blackpool for that purpose. In 1781, Thomas Clifton and Sir Henry Hoghton built a private road to Blackpool, and a regular stagecoach service from Manchester and Halifax was established. A few amenities, including four hotels, an archery stall and bowling green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...
s, were developed, and the town grew slowly. The 1801 census records the town's population at 473. The growth was accelerated by the actions of Henry Banks, often considered to be the "Father of Blackpool". In 1819 he purchased the Lane Ends estate, including the Lane Ends Hotel, and built the first holiday cottages. In 1837, his son-in-law Dr. John Cocker built Blackpool's first assembly rooms which still stand on the corner of Victoria Street and Bank Hey Street.
Arrival of the railways
The most significant event in the early growth of the town occurred in 1846, with the completion of a branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industri ...
to Blackpool from Poulton on the main Preston and Wyre Joint Railway
The Preston and Wyre Railway was promoted to open up agricultural land in the Fylde in Lancashire, access a new port at what became Fleetwood and the Lancaster Canal at Preston: it opened in 1840. An associated company built the dock leading to ...
line from Preston to Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
. Fleetwood declined as a resort, as its founder and principal financial backer, Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood
Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, (9 May 1801 – 12 April 1866) was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament, who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England. Born Peter Hesketh, he changed his name by ...
, went bankrupt. In contrast, Blackpool boomed. A sudden influx of visitors, arriving by rail, provided the motivation for entrepreneurs to build accommodation and create new attractions, leading to more visitors and a rapid cycle of growth throughout the 1850s and 1860s. In 1851 a Board of Health
Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...
was formed. Gas lighting
Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directl ...
was introduced in 1852, and piped water in 1864. By 1851, the town's population was over 2,500.
The growth was intensified by the practice among the Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
owners of closing the factories for a week every year to service and repair machinery. These became known as wakes week
The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution ...
s. Each town's mills would close for a different week, allowing Blackpool to manage a steady and reliable stream of visitors over a prolonged period in the summer.
In 1863, the North Pier
North Pier is the most northerly of the three coastal piers in Blackpool, England. Built in the 1860s, it is also the oldest and longest of the three. Although originally intended only as a promenade, competition forced the pier to widen its ...
was completed, rapidly becoming a centre of attraction for elite visitors. Central Pier was completed in 1868, with a theatre and a large open-air dance floor. The town expanded southward beyond what is today known as the Golden Mile Golden Mile or The Golden Mile may refer to:
Geographical features
* Golden Mile (Belfast), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (UK)
* Golden Mile (Blackpool), Blackpool, UK
* Golden Mile (Brentford), Brentford, UK
* Golden Mile (Leices ...
, towards South Shore, and South Pier was completed in 1893, making Blackpool the only town in the United Kingdom with three piers. In 1878, the Winter Gardens complex opened, incorporating ten years later the Opera House, said to be the largest in Britain outside London.
The town was granted a Charter of Incorporation as a municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
in 1876. W.H. Cocker, son of Dr John Cocker, and therefore grandson of Henry Banks, was its first mayor. The town would become a county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
in 1904.
From the 1880s until the First World War, Blackpool was one of the regular destinations for the Bass Excursions, when trains would take employees of Bass's Burton brewery on an annual trip to the seaside.
Electricity
Much of Blackpool's growth and character from the 1870s on was predicated on the town's pioneering use of electrical power. In 1879, it became the first municipality in the world to have electric street lighting, as large parts of the promenade were wired. The lighting and its accompanying pageants reinforced Blackpool's status as the North of England's most prominent holiday resort, and its specifically working-class character. It was the forerunner of the present-day Blackpool Illuminations
Blackpool Illuminations is an annual lights festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year, held each autumn in the British seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire.
Also known locally as The Lights ...
. In 1885 one of the world's first electric tramways was laid down as a conduit
Conduit may refer to:
Engineering systems
* Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids
* Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables
* Conduit curre ...
line running from Cocker Street to Dean Street on the Promenade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
. The line was operated by the Blackpool Electric Tramway Company until 1892 when their lease expired and Blackpool Corporation took over running the line. A further line was added in 1895 from Manchester Square along Lytham Road to South Shore, and the line was extended north, first to Gynn Square in 1899, and then to Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
. In 1899 the conduit system was replaced by overhead wires. The tramway has remained in continuous service to this day.
By the 1890s, the town had a population of 35,000 and could accommodate 250,000 holidaymakers. The number of annual visitors, many staying for a week, was estimated at three million. 1894 saw the opening of two of the town's most prominent buildings: the Grand Theatre on Church Street and Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...
on the Promenade. The Grand Theatre was one of Britain's first all-electric theatres.
The first decade of the new century saw the development of the Promenade as we know it today and further development southwards beyond South Shore towards Harrowside and Squires Gate
Squires Gate is a district and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South Shore, Blackpool, South Shore, Blackpool on the The Fylde, Fylde coast in the county of Lancashire, England. It is located at the south ...
. The Pleasure Beach
Pleasure Beach is the Bridgeport portion of a Connecticut barrier beach that extends westerly from Point No Point (the portion in the adjoining town of Stratford is known as Long Beach). Prior to June, 2014, when Pleasure Beach re-opened, the a ...
was first established about this time. Seasonal static illuminations were first set up in 1912, although due to World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and its aftermath they only enjoyed two seasons until they were re-introduced in 1925. The illuminations extended the holiday season into September and early October, ceremonially switched on by notables and celebrities.
Towards the present
The inter-war period saw Blackpool attain pre-eminence as a holiday destination. By 1920, Blackpool claimed around eight million visitors per year, three times as many as its nearest British rivals, still drawn largely from the mill towns of East Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and the West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and Coal ...
was laid out in 1920 and opened in 1926. The area around the park has become renowned for some of the most desirable residences in the area.
In 1937, Littlewoods opened its first department store in the town.
Documents have been found to suggest that the reason Blackpool escaped heavy damage in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
was that Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
had earmarked the town to remain a place of leisure after his planned invasion. Despite this, on 11 September 1940, German bombs fell near Blackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line and is northwest of Preston.
The station was opened in its present form i ...
and eight people were killed in nearby houses in Seed Street. This site today is occupied by the new Town Hall offices and Sainsbury's Supermarket.
In the same war, the Free Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...
made its headquarters in exile at Blackpool in Talbot Square, after the force evacuated to Britain from France. The nearby Layton Cemetery contains the war graves of 26 Polish airmen. The famous No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron
No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Squadron, of 16 total Polish squadrons in the Royal Air ...
was formed in Blackpool, and became the most successful Fighter Command unit shooting down 126 German machines in only 42 days during the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
.
Blackpool's population boom was complete by 1951, by which time some 147,000 people were living in the town – compared to 47,000 in 1901 and a mere 14,000 in 1881. In the decade after the war, the town continued to attract more visitors, reaching a zenith
The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...
of 17 million per year. However, several factors combined to make this growth untenable. The decline of the textile industry led to a de-emphasis of the traditional week-long break, known as wakes week
The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution ...
. The rise of package holiday
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the ho ...
s took many of Blackpool's traditional visitors abroad where the weather was more reliably warm and dry and improved road communications, epitomised by the construction of the M55 motorway
The M55 is a motorway in Lancashire, England, which can also be referred to as the Preston Northern Bypass. It connects the seaside resort of Blackpool to the M6 at Preston. It is 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in length.
One mile was originally ...
in 1975, made Blackpool more feasible as a day trip rather than an overnight stay. The economy, however, remains relatively undiversified, and firmly rooted in the tourism sector.
Government
Though the Blackpool Urban Area extends beyond the statutory boundaries of Blackpool to encompass Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
, Cleveleys
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about north of Blackpool and south of Fleetwood. It is part of the Borough of Wyre. With its neighbouring settlement of Thornton, Cleveleys was part of the former urban distric ...
, Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation ...
and Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...
, Blackpool remains administratively separate with its wider borough.
Between 1904 and 1974, Blackpool formed a county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
independent of the administrative county
An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...
of Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. With the passage of the Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, Blackpool's county borough status was abolished and it was made part of the shire county
A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...
of Lancashire. On 1 April 1998, however, Blackpool was made a unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
and re-formed as an autonomous local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
. However, it remains part of Lancashire for ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin ''Glossary of ancient Rom ...
purposes.
As of the 2019 election Blackpool Council
Blackpool Council is the local authority of the Borough of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is a unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additiona ...
is currently controlled by the Labour Party, who took control from the Conservatives in 2011. They are the largest party represented with 23 councillors followed by the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
with 15 councillors.
Blackpool is covered by two Westminster constituencies:
* Blackpool North and Cleveleys,
* Blackpool South.
Demographics
The population of Blackpool has been declining constantly since 2001 and is expected to decline even further in the future.
In the 2011 census Blackpool was stated to have the highest percentage of divorced people in the country, 13.1% compared to the average of 9% for England and Wales.
Population change
Public health
In 2017, Blackpool had the fourth highest rate of antidepressant prescription in England with the most common health problems being depression, stress and anxiety. At 12.9%, Blackpool had the highest fraction of working-age people too sick to work and has no improvement on this percentage since 1999 despite the rate in the North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
as a whole improving from 11% in 1999 to 7.8% in 2016. Blackpool also has high rates of obesity (13.5%), smoking (27%) and alcoholic liver disease
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), also called alcohol-related liver disease (ARLD), is a term that encompasses the liver manifestations of alcohol overconsumption, including fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and chronic hepatitis with liver fibrosis ...
(28 deaths per 100 thousand). Men in the Bloomfield ward had the lowest life expectancy at birth, 68.2 years, of any ward in England and Wales in 2016.
Economy
This is a chart of the trend of regional gross value added
In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "Gross value added is the value of output minus the value of intermediate consumption; it is a measure o ...
(GVA) of Blackpool at current basic prices by the Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
While Blackpool hosts a large number of small businesses and self-employed people, there are some large employers. The government-owned National Savings and Investments
National Savings and Investments (NS&I), formerly called the Post Office Savings Bank and National Savings, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is both a non-ministerial government department and an executive agency of HM Treasu ...
was based at Marton, together with their Hardware random number generator
In computing, a hardware random number generator (HRNG) or true random number generator (TRNG) is a device that generates random numbers from a physical process, rather than by means of an algorithm. Such devices are often based on microscopic ...
, ''ERNIE
Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to:
People
* Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive
* Ernie Adams (disambiguation)
* Ernie Afaganis (born c ...
'' ( "Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment"), which picked the Premium Bond numbers until their demolition in 2017. Other government agencies are based at Warbreck and Norcross further up the Fylde coast. Burton's Biscuit Company
Burton's Biscuit Company is a British biscuit manufacturer. It is recognised in the UK as the second-biggest supplier of biscuits. The company was formed by the merger of Burton's Gold Medal Biscuits and Horizon Biscuit Company in October 2000. I ...
, Tangerine Confectionery
Valeo Confectionery formerly known as Tangerine Confectionery and Toms Confectionery is a British confectionery company with its headquarters in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. Since 2006, it had grown through acquisitions into one of the largest i ...
produce biscuits and other confectionery products, Klarius UK manufactures automotive components, Victrex
Victrex plc is a British-based supplier of high performance polymers. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250. The company's headquarters and manufacturing facilities are based in the UK with technical and customer support facilities in multiple mark ...
manufactures high-performance polymers and the Glasdon Group is a plastics manufacturer making litter bin
A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...
s, park benches and reflective road signs.
TVR formerly produced sports cars at its Bispham factory. Blackpool was also the original site of Swallow Sidecar Company
Swallow Sidecar Company,The first of three trading names used by W. Walmsley and W. Lyons for their manufacturing business. They were in partnerships:
* Swallow Sidecar Company 1922-1926
* Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company 1926-1927
* Sw ...
, forerunner of Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
.
The 2015 HSBC research on rental yields ranks Blackpool in the top three cities with the best rental returns. The numerous urban regeneration projects, the property prices which are among the most affordable in the UK, and the high rental yields create a very favourable environment for real estate investors.
Blackpool's main shopping streets are Church Street, Victoria Street, Birley Street, Market Street, Corporation Street, Bank Hey Street, Abingdon Street and Talbot Road. There is currently one shopping centre within the town, Houndshill Shopping Centre
Houndshill Shopping Centre is an indoor shopping centre in Blackpool, Lancashire England; located in centre of town, just opposite Blackpool Tower.
Centre Information
Construction on Houndshill began in 1978. A car park was also constructed a ...
.
Geography
Physical
Blackpool rests in the middle of the western edge of The Fylde, which is a coastal plain atop a peninsula. The seafront consists of a 7-mile sandy beach, with a flat coastline in the south of the district, which rises once past the North Pier to become the North Cliffs, with the highest point nearby at the Bispham Rock Gardens at around . The majority of the town district is built up, with very little semi-rural space such as at Marton Mere. Due to the low-lying terrain, Blackpool experiences occasional flooding, with a large-scale project completed in 2017 to rebuild the seawall and promenade to mitigate this.
Climate
Blackpool has, like all of the UK, a maritime climate, temperate maritime climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. Thus the same cool summer, frequent overcast skies and small annual temperature range is typical.
The absolute minimum temperature stands at , recorded during December 1981, however was recorded in January 1881. The lowest temperature to occur in recent years is during December 2010. In a more normal winter, the coldest night averages .
The absolute maximum temperature recorded in Blackpool was during July 1976. The highest temperature to occur in recent years is during July 2015. In a more normal summer, the warmest day will likely average , with slightly fewer than 5 days a year attaining a temperature of or above.
Rainfall averages slightly less than , with over 1 mm of precipitation occurring on 147 days of the year.
Green belt
Blackpool is within a Green belt (United Kingdom), green belt region that extends into the wider surrounding counties and is in place to reduce urban sprawl, prevent the towns in the Blackpool urban area and other nearby conurbations in Lancashire from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage brownfield reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas, and imposing stricter conditions on the permitted building.
As the town's urban area is highly built up, only (2017) of green belt exists within the borough, covering the cemetery, its grounds and nearby academy/college playing fields by Carleton, as well as the football grounds near the airport by St Annes. Further afield, portions are dispersed around the wider Blackpool urban area into the surrounding Lancashire districts of Fylde and Wyre, helping to keep the settlements of Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde, Warton/Freckleton and Kirkham separated.
Tourism
Blackpool is heavily dependent on tourism. In what is often regarded as its heyday (1900–1950), Blackpool thrived as the factory workers of Northern England took their annual holidays there en masse, known as wakes week
The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution ...
s. Photographs from that era show crowds of tourists on the beach and promenade. Blackpool was also a preferred destination of visitors from Glasgow and remains so to this day. The town went into decline when affordable air travel arrived in the 1960s and the many previous visitors instead travelled to Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal resorts due to competitive prices and the more reliable weather.[Alan Cowell]
Postcard From Ailing British Coasts: Wish You Were Here
, ''The New York Times'', 12 April 2007. Today Blackpool remains the most popular seaside resort in the UK; however, the town has suffered a serious drop in numbers of visitors which have fallen from 17 million in 1992 to 10 million today.
Similarly Pleasure Beach Blackpool was the country's most popular free attraction with 6 million visitors a year but has lost over a million visitors since 1998 and has recently introduced a £6 entrance fee.
In July 2010, an independent survey of 4,500 members of the general public by consumer magazine ''Which? Holiday'' (now ''Which? Travel'') found that Blackpool was the UK's favourite seaside resort, followed by Brighton, Whitby, Bournemouth and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough. Blackpool has now improved the seawall and promenade, and Blackpool Tower has been revamped.
In February 2012, a number of tourist attractions in Blackpool collaborated to produce the Blackpool Resort Pass which allows for discounted access in one ticket. The original pass included visits to Merlin Entertainments attractions and Blackpool Pleasure Beach. In February 2013, Marketing Blackpool, formerly the Tourism division of Blackpool Council, led the relaunch of the Blackpool Resort Pass which includes additional attractions including Blackpool Zoo
Blackpool Zoo is a zoo, owned by Parques Reunidos and located in the sea-side resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It provides a home to over 1,350 animals from all over the world.
History
The zoo opened in 1972 on a site which had ...
, Sandcastle Waterpark and Blackpool Model Village and Gardens.
Blackpool has a pioneering publicly owned Municipal wireless network Wi-Fi, which covers the entire town centre, promenade and beach front. Visitors can take a virtual tour of Blackpool, and full internet access is available.
Conferences
Outside the main holiday season, Blackpool's Winter Gardens routinely used to host major Party conference season, political and trade union conferences. However, in recent years these are increasingly taking place in major cities with modern, purpose-built conference centres.
The National Union of Students (United Kingdom), National Union of Students last held its Annual Conference in Blackpool in 2009; they will now be hosted by the Sage Gateshead. In January 2011, Blackpool hosted the North of England Education Conference, NEEC Conference (formerly the North of England Education Conference), a key date in the education calendar. The Winter Gardens also hold the National Pensioners' Parliament.
The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs, Young Farmers convention has been held regularly in Blackpool since the late 1960s.
Entertainment
Blackpool remains a summer entertainment venue but many local establishments now trade all year round. It is known for specialising in variety shows featuring entertainers catering to a broad range of tastes, from family-friendly Ken Dodd to the 'adults only' humour of Roy 'Chubby' Brown.
In recent years artists such as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Britney Spears and Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull, have performed in Blackpool and have performed during the MTV Illuminations switch-on weekends.
In 2018 The Blackpool festival took place on the comedy carpet in front of the Blackpool Tower which over three days played host to world class DJs and entertainers.
For the following four Fridays after the illuminations switch-on the town plays host to the world fireworks championship where four teams from around the world design their displays in time with music and are judged on their technique and display. On the fifth Friday following the illuminations switch-on the competition winner is announced and performs another display. These displays often attract thousands of visitors to the promenade.
Regular shows include those from Viva cabaret bar, the legends shows, Funny Girls, Joey Blower, Joe Longthorn as well as regular performances at both the Winter Gardens and Grand Theatre. The town has also seen a number of new food outlets opening. The Tower Ballroom still opens daily for dancing and hosts international dance competitions as well as playing host to many episodes of Strictly Come Dancing.
The Grand Theatre (locally known as 'The Grand') was designed by Victorian architecture, Victorian theatre architect Frank Matcham and was opened in 1894 after a construction period of seven months, at a cost of £20,000 between December 1893 and July 1894. The project was conceived and financed by local theatre manager Thomas Sergenson who had been using the site of the Grand for several years to stage a circus. He had also transformed the fortunes of other local theatres.
Matcham's brief was to build Sergenson the "prettiest theatre in the land". The Grand was Matcham's first theatre to use an innovative 'cantilever' design to support the tiers, thereby reducing the need for the usual pillars and so allowing clear views of the stage from all parts of the auditorium.
The town also plays host to the longest-running seaside show in Britain, Legends, which features multiple tribute artists with a live band and dance troupe, first appearing at the North Pier in 1999, then at the Central Pier from 2000 to 2012 and now at the Sands Venue. Current tribute artists include "Neil Diamond", "Adele", "Elton John" and "Robbie Williams".
In February 2018 council chiefs attended a convention in Florida to identify a new "concert venue" concept for the town, doubling as a new purpose-built centre for conferences and conventions. The site earmarked for the propose project is the old central station site which now serves as a car park and police station with law courts on Bonny Street. The police have since moved to a brand new facility near to the M55 motorway entrance and the site in central Blackpool is earmarked for the new potential development.
An Imax cinema has been announced by the council as adding on to the existing Hounds Hill shopping centre on land that is now a ground level car park. The development is to be shared with the Wilko (retailer), Wilko store which is to re-locate from its current location to make way for a new hotel and transport hub as part of the current urban regeneration and infrastructure improvements in the town. Expected final completion for these projects has still not been announced although work has begun on some of the foundation works.
Events and festivals
Gay Blackpool
Blackpool had its first gay pride celebration in 2006. Historically, seaside resorts have been able to provide niches for minority groups. Blackpool, like other English resorts, has had a reputation for being a safe community for gay people. During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, there was a proliferation of cafés, pubs and clubs where homosexual men could meet in Blackpool. In the 1990s, the town began to be promoted as a gay tourist destination. Blackpool contains several bars, pubs and nightclubs aimed at the LGBT community. These include Funny Girls (a American burlesque, burlesque cabaret showbar), Buzz, Flamingo, and the Flying Handbag.
Pollution
Pollution was often found in the seawater at Blackpool, in particular bacteria counts that frequently exceeded the standards of the Environment Agency. However, sea water quality improved significantly since unfavourable reports in 2013, with the resort's south beach winning a Blue Flag beach, Blue Flag award in 2016, and three other beaches achieving Seaside Award Status.
Regeneration
Blackpool has taken steps to improve its tourism industry. One controversial proposal, which had the involvement of the local council, was to transform Blackpool into a casino resort along the lines of the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City, making it the centre point of gambling in the UK. Ultimately, Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
was selected for the initial trial by the Government's Casinos Advisory Panel. Since this decision, Blackpool's council and MPs have lobbied Parliament extensively, claiming their bid was misunderstood. The local newspaper, the ''Blackpool Gazette'', sent a petition signed by over 11,500 local residents and visitors demanding the decision be reconsidered. On 29 March 2007, the Advisory Panel's recommendations were approved by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, but rejected by the House of Lords, meaning the bill would be reconsidered by parliament. However, in early 2008 the House of Lords voted against the super-casino proposal, and the Government proceeded no further with the idea. In 2019, plans to develop a casino with other visitor attractions on the central car park (Blackpool Central Station) site were announced.
The Talbot Gateway is a planned civic quarter, originally costed at £285m in 2003. work was continuing on what is reported to be a "billion-pound growth and prosperity programme".
Regeneration work was completed in July 2009 on Waterloo Road in South Shore that transformed the area into a modern shopping centre. £1 million of public investment is helping to improve the public realm and act as a catalyst for the regeneration of South Shore.
In March 2010 it was confirmed that a deal had been made for Blackpool Council to purchase some of Blackpool's most notable landmarks from private ownership. The deal, totalling £38.9m, had national and local government backing and included the purchase of:
*Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...
*Winter Gardens, Blackpool, The Winter Gardens
*The Sea Life Centre
*Louis Tussauds Wax Works
*The Blackpool Tower Dungeon
*Indoor Golf Centre
*Bonny Street Market
*Mr T's Amusement Arcade
Merlin Entertainments Group also took over the running of Louis Tussauds Wax Works, converting it into their better-known brand, Madame Tussauds, Madame Tussauds Wax Works. The Winter Gardens were purchased by Blackpool Council; the complex is operated by Crown Entertainment Centres Ltd.
Landmarks and places of interest
Major attractions
Other attractions
Theatres & Venues
* Grand Theatre, Blackpool was built by Frank Matcham in 1894. It offers a mix of drama, dance, opera, ballet and comedy including a yearly pantomime.
* Winter Gardens, Blackpool, The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment and conference venue in the town centre. It includes the Opera House Theatre, Blackpool, Opera House (one of the largest theatres in Europe), Pavilion Theatre, Empress Ballroom, Spanish Hall, Arena and Olympia.
*The Imperial Hotel Blackpool, The Imperial Hotel is a large red-brick Victorian hotel, which has hosted guests such as Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher.
* Blackpool Sands, Blackpool, Blackpool Sands stretch along the whole seafront and comprise the main natural attraction for tourists.
* Funny Girls is a drag cabaret burlesque showbar, located on Dickson Road.
* Viva Cabaret Showbar & Events Suite is a Las Vegas Valley, Vegas-style production show venue next to the Tower.
Former attraction
The ''Doctor Who'' Exhibition, which closed in 2009, was the biggest ''Doctor Who'' exhibition in the UK, containing props and costumes from the long-running BBC TV series, including some from recently aired programmes.
Transport
Air
Blackpool Airport operated regular charter and scheduled flights throughout the UK and Europe. The airport is actually just over the borough boundary into Fylde (borough), Fylde Borough, although a proposal to reorganise Blackpool's borders would see the airport incorporated into Blackpool Borough. This airport, formerly known as Blackpool Squires Gate Airport, is one of the oldest in the UK having hosted public flying meetings in 1909 and 1910. After a gap, it was active from the 1930s to mid 2014 and from December 2014 to date. Airlines that served Blackpool, before its temporary closure in late 2014, included Jet2.com and Aer Arran. The airport was reopened to small aircraft after failing to find a buyer in December 2014.
The airport's most recent scheduled services to Belfast and the Isle of Man ceased when Citywing suspended operations in March 2017. Access to the town by air is now via Liverpool John Lennon Airport or Manchester Airport, both approximately away by road.
In 1927 the local council announced that an airfield would be built near Stanley Park, which would become Stanley Park Aerodrome offering flights to the Isle of Man for £1-16s–0d (£1.80). The airport opened in 1929 and was officially opened by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1931. However, with the opening of Squires Gate Airport a decision was announced in 1936 by the Department for Transport, Ministry of Transport to close the Stanley Park airfield. In fact, civil operations continued until the outbreak of war with scheduled services to the Isle of Man and elsewhere. During the war, Stanley Park was used as a Royal Air Force (RAF) training station, known as No. 3 School of Technical Training. Vickers assembled many Vickers Wellington, Wellington bombers here and Bristol Beaufighters were repaired for the RAF. The airfield closed in 1947. The land on which the airport stood now covers Blackpool Zoo
Blackpool Zoo is a zoo, owned by Parques Reunidos and located in the sea-side resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It provides a home to over 1,350 animals from all over the world.
History
The zoo opened in 1972 on a site which had ...
and a hotel and golf course. The hangars from the old airport are still in use at Blackpool Zoo as the main entrance building, Playbarn, Education Academy and camel house.
Bus and coach
* Blackpool Transport operates the main bus services in and around Blackpool
* Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire operates the regional bus and coach services in and out of Blackpool
* National Express Coaches, National Express operates the main long-distance coach services in and out of Blackpool
Facilities include:
* Blackpool Talbot Road Bus Station, which was the main town centre bus station but is now a gym. Blackpool Transport stopped using the bus station in the early 2000s after a disagreement with Blackpool Council regarding the state of the bus station building. Blackpool Transport now use Market Street and Corporation Street, in the town centre, as their bus interchange. National Express have also recently stopped using this bus station, moving to the new National Express Blackpool Central Coach Station.
* Blackpool Central Coach Station, is main coach station for all National Express coach services. which is also used by some independent coach operators. The coach station has a booking office and toilet facilities.
* Blackpool Lonsdale Road Coach Station, was the main coach station for South Shore, Blackpool, South Shore district of Blackpool. This was mainly used by independent coach operators. The coach station has a café, shop and toilet facilities but is in a state of disrepair.
* Blackpool Colosseum Bus & Coach Station, which was the main bus and coach station in South Shore. Located next to Blackpool Transport Headquarters, it was demolished to make way for a Somerfield supermarket. The site is now occupied by the link road from the M55 motorway and additional depot parking.
Railway
Train operators that serve Blackpool are:
* Avanti West Coast
* Northern Trains
Stations in the town are, or were:
* Blackpool North railway station, Blackpool North (originally Talbot Road)
* Blackpool Pleasure Beach railway station, Blackpool Pleasure Beach (originally Burlington Road Halt)
* Blackpool South railway station, Blackpool South (originally Waterloo Road)
* Layton railway station (England), Layton (originally Bispham)
* Squires Gate railway station, Squires Gate (just outside the borough boundary but serving Blackpool Airport)
* Blackpool Central railway station, Blackpool Central (originally Hounds Hill, closed 1964)
* (renamed Lytham Road 1903, closed 1916)
Blackpool once had two railway terminals with a total of over 30 platforms, mainly used by excursion traffic in the summer. Blackpool Central railway station, Blackpool Central, close to Blackpool Tower
Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...
, was closed in 1964, while Blackpool North railway station, Blackpool North was largely demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility. The route of the former excursion line into Blackpool Central is now used as a link road from the M55 motorway to the town centre. The line into Blackpool via Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...
now has a station serving Blackpool Pleasure Beach but terminates at Blackpool South railway station, Blackpool South station. The line into North station is now the more important.
Road
The M55 motorway
The M55 is a motorway in Lancashire, England, which can also be referred to as the Preston Northern Bypass. It connects the seaside resort of Blackpool to the M6 at Preston. It is 12.2 miles (19.6 km) in length.
One mile was originally ...
links the town to the national motorway network. Other major roads in the town are the A583 road, A583 to Kirkham and Preston, the A587 road, A587 and A585 road, A585 to Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
, the A586 road, A586 to Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation ...
, Garstang and Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster and the A584 road, A584 and B5261 which both lead to Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...
.
Tram
The Blackpool Tramway runs from Starr Gate in Blackpool to Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
and is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. The tramway dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is run by Blackpool Transport, owned by Blackpool Council. The tramway runs for and carries 6,500,000 passengers each year.
The tramway was for a long time the only working tramway in the United Kingdom outside of museums. It was also the UK's first electric system. However, there are now a number of other tramways, including Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield Supertram and West Midlands Metro.
On 1 February 2008 it was announced that the Government of the United Kingdom, Government had agreed to a joint Blackpool Transport and Blackpool Council bid for funding toward the total upgrade of the track. The government contributed £60.3m of the total £85.3m cost. Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council each provided about £12.5m. The Government's decision meant that the entire length of the tramway from Starr Gate to Fleetwood was upgraded and also sixteen new trams joined the fleet.
In April 2012, the tramway reopened after the major reconstruction. Day to day services are run by the 16 Bombardier Flexity 2 (Blackpool), Flexity 2 trams. Several double deck English Electric Balloon trams from the older fleet have been widened to work alongside the new trams to provide additional capacity in the summer months. Several non-modified older trams also operate a heritage service from Pleasure Beach to Little Bispham on weekends and holidays.
An extension of the new service to Blackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line and is northwest of Preston.
The station was opened in its present form i ...
was planned to open by April 2019 between the existing North Pier stop of the Blackpool Tramway, along Talbot Road, and terminating at Blackpool North railway station, but was delayed and is now on schedule to open Summer 2022.
Filmography
The resort is featured in the 1934 film ''Sing as We Go'', starring Gracie Fields, as well as other cinema and TV productions, including ''Forbidden (1949 film), Forbidden'' (1949), ''Hindle Wakes (1952 film), Hindle Wakes'' (1952), ''Holiday'' (1957), ''Coasting'' (1990), ''Funny Bones'' (1995) starring Lee Evans (comedian), Lee Evans and Oliver Platt and directed by St. Annes born Peter Chelsom, and ''The Parole Officer'' (2001) starring Steve Coogan.
The Japanese film ''Shall We Dance (1996 film), Shall We Dance?'' (1996) closes with a scene at the World Ballroom Dancing Championships in Blackpool. All the hair styling for the film was completed by Blackpool-born-and-bred hairstylist Eileen Clough, who has been in the trade since the 1960s. In the Hollywood Shall We Dance (2004 film), remake of the film (2004), directed by Peter Chelsom, Blackpool is mentioned but not shown.
Blackpool is the setting for ''Bhaji on the Beach'' (1993) directed by Gurinder Chadha. The film ''Like It Is (film), Like It Is'' (1998) directed by Paul Oremland was also partly filmed in Blackpool. The opening scenes were filmed in the Flamingo. The 2005 television comedy/thriller series ''Funland (TV series), Funland'' revolved around the fictionalised, seedier aspects of Blackpool.
The town also features heavily in the BBC television serial ''Blackpool (television), Blackpool'', starring David Morrissey, Sarah Parish and David Tennant and first broadcast in 2004, and the one-off follow-up ''Viva Blackpool'', broadcast in June 2006.
In 2006 Lion Television filmed ''The Great British Summer'', which featured many buildings in Blackpool. The Royal Windsor Hotel was featured, with the owner talking all about the hotel seasons and industry. Bernard Manning was also shown at the hotel doing his spot through the season hosted by Blackpool Born local Entertainer & DJ Gordon Head and other local acts. ''The Great British Summer'' was narrated by Alan Titchmarsh.
Between 10 September 2012 and 19 November 2012 the resort was featured in Channel 4's ''999: What's Your Emergency?''.
The resort was also featured in the three-part reality television series, ''Blackpool Lights'' on Channel 5 (UK), Channel 5 in December 2013.
As well as this, the 2016 Tim Burton film ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (film), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'' also features Blackpool and its key tourist attraction, The Blackpool Tower.
Blackpool was once again featured in a Channel 5 documentary series from 26 October 2017, this time entitled ''Bargain Loving Brits in Blackpool''. The series ran for six episodes until 30 November 2017.
Culture
Music
Reginald Dixon, MBE, ARCM, who held the position as organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool from March 1930 until March 1970 made and sold more recordings than any other organist.
Blackpool Symphony Orchestra was founded by Percy Dayman in 1921. It presents an annual series of concerts and organises educational and community outreach projects.
1950s
Frank Sinatra performed at the Opera House on several occasions in the 1950s. A 1953 concert was recorded and eventually released on CD many years later.
1960s
The Beatles had a long and varied association with Blackpool, including a significant event in John Lennon's early childhood and multiple gigs in the town between 1963 and 1965.
Formed in Blackpool in 1963, The Rockin' Vickers were a rock and roll beat combo most notable for featuring Lemmy, Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, then known as Ian Frasier, later of Hawkwind and more famously Motörhead, as a bassist and vocalist. The band recorded four singles before splitting in 1967. The other Rockin' Vickers guitarist, Nick Gribbon, continues to perform in pubs in and around Blackpool as ''Nick Unlimited'', with an open door policy that has given many talented younger Blackpool musicians their first opportunity to play live.
The Executives were a Blackpool band who recorded a handful of singles in the 1960s including the original 1964 version of March of the Mods, which became a top 40 hit for Joe Loss, Joe Loss and His Orchestra in the same year. The tune was written by Tony Carr, the father of Executives' frontman Roy Carr, who later became a well-known music journalist with ''NME, New Musical Express'' and the author of several books on popular music and executive editor of music magazines including ''New Musical Express'', ''Melody Maker'' and Vox (magazine), ''Vox''. Executives bass player Glenn Cornick became a founding member of Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull, later forming Wild Turkey. Tony Williams (English musician), Tony Williams, The Executives' guitarist, joined Stealers Wheel soon after its formation in 1972 and also briefly joined Jethro Tull in 1978 as a touring bassist.
Additionally, the nascent Jethro Tull, then called The Blades, featuring future Tull members Ian Anderson, John Evan, Jeffrey Hammond, and Barriemore Barlow, Barrie Barlow, formed as students in Blackpool in the early 1960s.
Blackpool was notorious for having imposed an indefinite ban on the Rolling Stones from performing in the town in 1964 after a riot broke out among the audience who had found their performance "suggestive" during their concert at the Empress Ballroom. The ban was lifted forty-four years later in March 2008.
The ''Jimi Hendrix – Experience'' video and DVD features concert footage of Jimi Hendrix, Hendrix's performance at Blackpool's Opera House in 1967.
1970s
Psychedelic rock band Complex (English band), Complex were formed in Blackpool in 1968 and self-released two albums in 1971. Only 99 copies of their self-titled debut were pressed and this extremely rare vinyl album has since been described as "one of the "Holy Trinity" items of rare British Psychedelia". The band continued to play until 1978 when they disbanded with the onset of Punk rock, punk. Limited edition remastered versions of both Complex albums were released by Guersson in 2012.
A number of bands from Blackpool achieved a level of success during the punk and post-punk era. Factory Records' Section 25 (band), Section 25 were formed in 1977 in Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation ...
, a small market town on the outskirts of Blackpool, as were the 1976–79 version of punk band Skrewdriver, who recorded several singles and an album for the Chiswick Records, Chiswick label (the skinhead "white power" rock act of the same name that gained notoriety later, contained only one member of the original band). Both bands claimed Blackpool as their place of origin.
1980s and 1990s
Another Blackpool band signed to Factory Records, Factory was Tunnelvision, who recorded just one single for the label in 1981.
When Barry Lights relocated his Lightbeat record label from Leeds to Blackpool in 1981, the label's first Blackpool signing was electronic rock band UFX, Zoo Boutique. After releasing the debut single by Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census.
Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...
punk band One Way System, Lights set up specialist hardcore punk ''Beat the System'' label. Blackpool punk band The Fits were amongst the first to benefit, eventually releasing four indie chart hit singles in 1982–85.
The Membranes who featured John Robb (musician), John Robb initially set up their own Vinyl Drip record label in 1981 before achieving three indie top 20 hits from 1984 to 1986, reaching number 6 in John Peel's Festive Fifty in 1984 and making a pre-recorded appearance on Channel 4 rock show The Tube (TV series), The Tube.
The Ceramic Hobs formed in 1985 and to date have "made more than 30 uncategorisable releases on vinyl, CD and cassette for many different worldwide record labels".
Blackpool musician Lucifer's "Cyber Punk Rock" EPs of 1994 contained the first full vocal songs intended for playback on a computer.
2000 onwards
21st century musical exports from Blackpool include Karima Francis, The Locals, who first appeared on ''BBC Introducing'' when they were just 15, Goonies Never Say Die, Litterbug, Aiden Grimshaw who came ninth on the 2010 series of ''The X Factor (UK), X Factor'', The Senton Bombs, UFX, UFX/Uncle Fester and Little Boots, who topped the ''BBC Sound of...'' poll in 2009.
The White Stripes recorded their first official DVD, ''Under Blackpool Lights'', at the Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens on 27 and 28 January 2004. Get Up Kids guitarist Jim Suptic's Kansas City, Missouri indie rock band Blackpool Lights is named after the DVD title.
In 2005, a compilation album, The Ugly Truth About Blackpool Volume One, chronologically documenting the best of Blackpool indie rock music from 1977 to 2005, was released by Andy Higgins' JSNTGM Records in conjunction with the Arts Council, Blackpool Evening Gazette and Blackpool Council. Volume 2, showcasing the best Blackpool indie rock, indie bands active in 2005/6 was released the following year. Other Blackpool recording artists on JSNTGM include Sick 56, Erase Today and Litterbug.
Each August since 2006, Blackpool has been the venue for the largest festival of punk rock in the world, the annual Rebellion Festival, which is held in the Winter Gardens over four days and features over 200 punk bands.
In the 2010s, Grime music in Blackpool increased dramatically with the invention of BGMedia. They gained millions of views but also caught controversy due to the lyrical content of BGMedia rappers.
In August 2018, German Indie label Firestation Records released in Europe and Japan an eleven track retrospective album 'Illuminated', on Vinyl and CD, by the late 1980s Blackpool Indie Band 'Rik Rak'.
Songs about Blackpool
In 1937 George Formby's song "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock", was banned by BBC radio for having suggestive lyrics.
The Kinks' song "Autumn Almanac" contains the following lines: "... I go to Blackpool for my holidays/Sit in the open sunlight ..."
"She Sold Blackpool Rock" was a minor success in 1969 for Honeybus as the follow up to their 1968 top ten hit single "I Can't Let Maggie Go".
Graham Nash's semi-autobiographical song "Military Madness" begins "In an upstairs room in Blackpool / By the side of a northern sea / The army had my father / And my mother was having me".
Paul McCartney recorded a song entitled "Blackpool" amongst a number of demo home recordings in the years 1971 and 1972.
The Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull song "Up the 'Pool" from the 1972 ''Living in the Past (album), Living in the Past'' album is about Blackpool, singer Ian Anderson and other members of the band's childhood home. Another Tull track about the beach attractions of Blackpool is "Big Dipper", from the 1976 album ''Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!''.
In the early 1980s the then Blackpool-based band The Membranes used the town as the subject matter for their "Tatty Seaside Town" 1988 single, which was later covered by Therapy? in 1994.
Other songs written about Blackpool include ''Oh Blackpool'' by The Beautiful South and several different songs called "Blackpool", by Sham 69, Macc Lads, Roy Harper (singer), Roy Harper and The Delgados. "Blackpool" is also the title song from a production co-written with author Irvine Welsh and Vic Godard (Subway Sect) in 2002, later released as a four-song EP called ''Blackpool''. A song called "Blackpool Fool" appears on the Frank Sidebottom album A, B, C & D (1997).
Franz Ferdinand (band), Franz Ferdinand's 2013 "Love Illumination" single was originally called "Blackpool Illuminati".
Songs that mention Blackpool in the lyrics include "Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier", the opening track of the Manic Street Preachers album ''Everything Must Go (Manic Street Preachers album), Everything Must Go'', which contains the lyric "20ft high off Blackpool Promenade" amongst other references to Blackpool. The opening line of Soft Cell's 1982 "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" hit (later a hit for David Gray in 1998) "Standing at the door of the Pink Flamingo, Crying in the rain" is believed to be a reference to Blackpool's famous gay nightclub The Flamingo. Låpsley's chillout song "Painter (Valentine)" includes the lines "you can paint these wings and make me fly / crush coming over like the R.E.M kind / orange in the colour like Blackpool on the sunrise".
Folk songs written about the town include The Houghton Weavers anthem "The Blackpool Belle" ("Oh the Blackpool Belle was a getaway train that went from Northern stations. What a beautiful sight on a Saturday night bound for the illuminations"), Jasper Carrot's "Day Trip To Blackpool" ("Didn't we have a miserable time the day we went to Blackpool? An 'orrible day, we got drunk on the way And spent our money on chips and bingo...") and Mike Harding's single "Talking Blackpool Blues" ("Well my Mam and Dad and Gran and me / We went to Blackpool by sea / It rained and rained for most of the day / But we all got tanned in a funny sort of way").
Notable musicians born in Blackpool
* John Evan, keyboard player with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull (1969–1980), leader of The Blades, John Evan Band and John Evan Smash
* Jeffrey Hammond, bass guitarist with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull, (1970–1975)
* Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys
* Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand (band), Franz Ferdinand
* Larry Cassidy of Section 25 (band), Section 25
* Gary Miller (singer), Gary Miller (1924–1968), had a hit with The Yellow Rose of Texas (song), The Yellow Rose of Texas
* Graham Nash of The Hollies / Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
* Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith of The Cure
* John Robb (musician), John Robb, singer and bass guitarist
* Jon Gomm acoustic guitarist
* Maddy Prior, folk singer
* Rae Morris, singer-songwriter
* Victoria Hesketh, better known as her stage name Little Boots
* David Atherton, conductor and co-founder of the London Sinfonietta
* Boston Manor (band), Boston Manor, alternative rock band
Media
Newspapers that cover the Blackpool area include the ''Blackpool Gazette'', the daily newspaper covering the Fylde Coast area, known locally as ''The Gazette''. They also publish a free weekly newspaper, the ''Blackpool Gazette, Blackpool Reporter'', which is delivered to householders in Blackpool. The Gazette also publishes a daily online version in Polish, ''Witryna Polska'' (''Polish Gazette'') to cater for the local Poles, Polish community. The ''Lancashire Evening Post'' is a daily evening newspaper covering the county of Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
Blackpool has a pioneering publicly owned ''Municipal wireless network'', Wi-Fi that covers the entire town centre, promenade and beach front. Full internet access is available via the publicly owned ''Municipal wireless network''.
Local radio was provided by Radio Wave 96.5, Radio Wave, a commercial radio station, based on Mowbray Drive in Blackpool, which covered the Fylde Coast area. This radio station closed and last aired on 20 August 2020. Blackpool also falls in the coverage area of BBC Radio Lancashire, Rock FM (British radio station), Rock FM, Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire, Smooth North West and Heart North West.
Blackpool Gay Radio provides a part-time radio service catering for the local gay community featuring a mix of music, local features, news and celebrity interviews.
Blackpool also has four music related internet radio stations:
* Fylde FM, the Fylde Coast's largest internet radio station.
* Radio Vibe 2001 – 2003 (Blackpool Fylde & Wyre), an online music service only.
* Splash Net Radio
* Lancashire's Lighthouse Radio (Part of LLR Ministries)
Radio Victoria, based in Victoria Hospital, broadcasts throughout the hospital.
National television with local opt-outs is provided by ITV Granada, the ITV franchise holder for the North West, BBC North West, the regional BBC station for the North West region.
Blackpool also has a dedicated local TV news service, That's Lancashire, part of the That's TV network, broadcast from their studio in Preston.
Sport
Boxing
Blackpool has two main venues for boxing fight nights, the Blackpool Tower, Tower Circus Arena and the Winter Gardens, which both hold regular fight nights throughout the year. Events at these venues have been screened on Sky Sports, British Eurosport and Channel M.
Blackpool is home to many current and former professional boxers including Brian Rose (boxer), Brian Rose (born in Birmingham), Jack Arnfield, Jeff Thomas (boxer), Jeff Thomas (born in Dordrecht), Mathew Ellis (born in Oldham), Matty Askin (born in Barnsley), RP Davies and Scott Cardle.
Cricket
Blackpool Cricket Club are Blackpool's major cricketing team; they won the League Cup in 2013 and were National Champions in 1990. They won the Lancashire Cup on eight occasions between 1973 and 1996 and were League Champions fourteen times. Their home is in the grounds of Stanley Park, which also hosts Lancashire County Cricket Club.
Football
The town's professional association football, football club is Blackpool F.C., who have spent 31 seasons in the top division and won the FA Cup Final 1953, 1953 FA Cup Final. There are other, smaller football clubs located within Blackpool, including A.F.C. Blackpool, Blackpool Wren Rovers F.C., Blackpool Wren Rovers and Squires Gate F.C., Squires Gate.
Golf
There are three golf clubs in Blackpool. Blackpool North Shore Golf Club opened in 1904, moving to its present site on Knowle Hill in 1927; the new golf course, course was designed by Harry Colt. In 1926, an Alister MacKenzie designed course opened within Stanley Park; it is home to Blackpool Park Golf Club. The newest addition is Herons' Reach Golf Resort, which was designed by Peter Allis and Clive Clark (golfer), Clive Clark and opened in 1992. Blackpool Golf Club, which opened in 1894, was located in South Shore, Blackpool, South Shore; it closed at the beginning of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, with the land subsequently becoming part of Blackpool Airport.
Rugby
Blackpool Borough were the first professional rugby league club in the town. However, they eventually folded after leaving the town in 1987. Blackpool Panthers were formed in 2004 and played in Rugby League Championships, Co-operative Championship One. They ground-shared at Bloomfield Road then in 2007 at Woodlands Memorial Ground, the home of Fylde Rugby Club in the neighbouring town of Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...
. The club ceased to exist after the 2010 season due to lack of finance.
Blackpool Stanley, Blackpool Scorpions and Blackpool Sea Eagles are amateur rugby league clubs in the town.
The resort formerly held the now discontinued Northern Rail Cup Final at Bloomfield Road, a Rugby League knockout competition for all clubs outside of the Super League attracting many thousands of visitors.
Blackpool is currently home to the annual 'Summer Bash' rugby league tournament held at Bloomfield Road, where an entire round of Championship matches are played in the city to showcase the sport.
Blackpool also has a rugby union club, called Blackpool RUFC. Their home ground is Norbreck Rugby Ground.
Running
The annual Blackpool Marathon is staged on the Promenade each April. Thousands of competitors run on the closed Promenade, organised by Fylde Coast Runners.
Professional wrestling
The Pleasure Beach's Horseshoe Show Bar was home to professional wrestling events throughout the season, promoted by Bobby Baron. The bar shows were home to a "wrestling booth" where members of the public could challenge the wrestlers for cash prizes for each round they survived. These challenges would be taken by Catch wrestling, shooters, wrestlers skilled in the brutal submission holds of catch wrestling, which they could deploy to defend the prize money even against skilled amateur wrestlers. Booths such as these had been a foundation of the professional wrestling industry since the 19th century, and Baron's booth is reputed to have been the last of its kind in the world.
Numerous renowned professional wrestlers worked as carnival shooters at the booth, including future WWE star William Regal; his tag team partner Robbie Brookside; Shak Khan, who runs a catch wrestling school in the area; and future women's champion Klondyke Kate. The booth ended with Baron's death in 1994, although other promoters have since held shows in the bar.[''Walking A Golden Mile'' William Regal, WWE Books 2005] Additionally, the Tower Circus was a frequent venue for wrestling shows. A photograph of noted wrestling Heel (professional wrestling), villain Jack Pye in action at the circus was, for some time in the late 2000s, displayed by the entrance to the circus. The tradition was revived by All Star Wrestling, ASW when they promoted a summer season at the venue in 2008, and a similar summer season in 2012 at the Winter Gardens. The Tower Ballroom hosted one date of the six show live tour of the ''World of Sport Wrestling'' TV show in February 2019.
WWE held a tournament at the Empress Ballroom on 14 and 15 January 2017 to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. In attendance were Regal and Triple H, with the latter commenting to local journalists, "Blackpool has this reputation. It's easy to get to, a lot of people come here and when they come here they lose it and that's what we wanted. I almost feel like there wasn't really another choice." Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.
Several renowned wrestlers have invested in Blackpool. Peter Thornley, Kendo Nagasaki owns the Trades Hotel and KAOS Nightclub, Rex Strong (born Barry Shearman, 1942–2017) owned the Hadley Hotel, and Johnny Saint owned a block of holiday flats in the town. Shirley Crabtree, Shirley "Big Daddy" Crabtree worked as a lifeguard on Central Pier. He was reunited, on a 1979 edition of ITV's ''This Is Your Life (British TV series), This Is Your Life'', with a woman whose life he had saved in the course of his duties.
The Blackpool Combat Club, a heel faction in All Elite Wrestling led by Regal, was named in honour of Blackpool.
Religion
Blackpool has a number of Christian churches, including 18 Church of England, Anglican and 10 Catholic churches. Other Christian groups in the town include Blackpool Baptists, Baptist Tabernacle, Blackpool Christian Centre, Blackpool Community Church, Kings Christian Centre, Metropolitan Community Church, Liberty Church, and New Life Community Church. The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool, Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes is now redundant church, redundant and is being converted into a community centre by the Historic Chapels Trust.
There were previously two synagogues in Blackpool for its Jewish population, now down to one. The Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation caters to the Reform Judaism, Reform population and is located on Raikes Parade with a synagogue hall and classroom facilities, a purpose-built sanctuary hall and an assembly room. Blackpool United Hebrew Congregation was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox synagogue located on Leamington Road with a synagogue hall and community centre. The synagogue closed in May 2012 due to a declining Orthodox population, with the final rabbi David Braunold having retired in 2011. As of January 2022, the building which formerly housed the synagogue was awaiting new use.
There is a residential Buddhism, Buddhist Centre in North Shore called Keajra Kadampa Buddhist Centre which is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition. There are also two mosques for the Islam, Muslim population: the purpose-built Blackpool Central Mosque, Blackpool Central Mosque & Islamic Community Centre is located on Revoe Street and provides prayer facilities while the Blackpool Islamic Community Centre (BICC) offers Islamic studies, Islamic education.
Blackpool also has small communities of Bahaʼi Faith, Bahaʼis, Hinduism, Hindus, Jainism, Jains, Mormonism, Mormons, and Sikhs. The Blackpool Faith Forum was established in 2001 in conjunction with Blackpool Council to provide interfaith dialogue between the various faith groups in the town, to raise awareness of the various faiths in the town and to promote a multifaith community. It is linked to the Interfaith Network of UK. In February 2007 a youth forum was established, Blackpool Faith Forum for Youth (BIFFY).
Education
As well as 29 state primary schools and eight state secondary schools, there is also a range of activities for children and young people in the town. Some of these are delivered by ''Blackpool Young People Services'' (a part of Blackpool Council).
Shipwrecks
A number of shipwrecks have occurred on the coastline of Blackpool. The most recent occurrence was the grounding of the cruiser ''Coco Leoni'' in March 2008. Famously, in 1897, HMS Foudroyant (1798), HMS ''Foudroyant'', Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, Nelson's flagship before HMS Victory, HMS ''Victory'', was grounded close to North Pier in a storm.
Crimes
Blackpool has experienced numerous high-profile crimes since the early 20th century. In 2012, Blackpool was identified as a "crime hotspot", and in 2016 was revealed as having the fourth-highest murder rate in the UK. Rates of violent crime, sexual assault and domestic violence exceed national averages.
In 1913, the "Brides in the Bath" serial killer George Joseph Smith drowned his second wife Alice in their rented room of a boarding house on Regent Road. He was due to be the beneficiary of a sizeable life insurance policy upon his wife's death.
In 1971, Supt Gerry Richardson, 38, was shot dead while chasing a gang of London thugs who had robbed a resort jewellers. The five-man group bungled the raid on Preston's Jewellers in the Strand. They arrived late and failed to check a back room where the shop manager had already raised a silent alarm connected to Blackpool Police Station. As the gang made their getaway they became involved in a high-speed chase through the streets of North Shore which ended with Supt Richardson's tragic murder at the hands of "Fat" Freddie Sewell. Supt Richardson was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1972. Wounded Inspector Carl Walker also received the George Cross.
In 1972, Dr Ahmad Alami (the son of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem) murdered three sleeping children at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He also stabbed two nurses and other children sleeping on the ward. Alami was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and judged unfit to stand trial. He was detained at Broadmoor Hospital, Broadmoor high security hospital for several years before being released and deported back to his native Jordan.
In 1999, Stuart Michael Diamond was convicted of the brutal murder of a homeless 17-year-old heroin addict, Christopher Hartley. Diamond murdered Hartley and dismembered his body before 'dumping' the remains in a hotel 'swill bin'; Hartley's head was never recovered.
In 2007, the jury in the case of the alleged rape and murder of Blackpool schoolgirl Disappearance of Charlene Downes, Charlene Downes, 14, heard a police surveillance tape of Jordanian Iyad Albattikhi, 29, and Iranian Mohammed Reveshi, 50, allegedly detailing her stabbing, and her later alleged disposal in their "Funny Boyz" kebab shop's mincing machine by the prosecution. Albattikhi allegedly boasted that he had sold her remains in kebabs. Both men were acquitted of the alleged offence. John Bromley-Davenport, for the defence, said: "We have uncovered within the Blackpool Police force an astonishing catalogue of incompetence, failure to disclose, manipulation and lies, some of which were uttered on oath during the trial last year. If the jury at that trial had swallowed the lies and been duped by the manipulation then a grave miscarriage of justice would have occurred."
Fifteen-year-old Paige Chivers went missing in 2007 after leaving her home in Bispham. In 2015 Robert Ewing was convicted of her murder. Her body has never been found. Her father Frank Chivers was murdered in 2013.
On 25 July 2010, nurse Jane Clough was stabbed to death in Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Victoria Hospital's car park. Her ex-boyfriend Jonathan Vass, a paramedic, was later found guilty of her murder.
On 31 January 2013, 16-year-old student Murder of Sasha Marsden, Sasha Marsden was sexually assaulted, stabbed to death and her body set on fire.
Notable people
Blackpool has been the birthplace and/or home to a number of notable people.
Twin towns/Sister cities
Blackpool is Town twinning, twinned with:
* Bottrop, Germany
* Sanya, China
Freedom of the Borough
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City, Freedom of the Borough of Blackpool.
Individuals
* William Henry Cocker: 19 June 1897.
* Joseph Heap: 19 November 1907.
* John Bickerstaffe: 6 February 1912.
* James Fish: 6 February 1912.
* James Ward: 16 November 1914.
* Robert Butcher Mather: 16 November 1914.
* John Grime: 3 November 1915.
* James Heyes: 3 November 1915.
* David Lloyd George, Rt Hon David Lloyd George: 6 August 1918.
* Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier General Thomas Edward Topping: 2 August 1922.
* Thomas Bickerstaffe: 4 August 1926.
* Albert Lindsay Parkinson, Sir Lindsay Parkinson: 4 August 1926.
* William Henry Broadhead : 4 August 1926.
* Henry Brown : 3 October 1928.
* Samuel Hill : 3 October 1928.
* John Collins : 3 October 1928.
* Thomas Fielding : 3 October 1928.
* Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, Lord Derby : 1 August 1934.
* Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, Lord Stamp: 23 March 1937.
* Sir Cuthbert Cartwright Grundy: 31 January 1938.
* Winston Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill: 4 September 1946.
* Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Lord Montgomery of Alamein: 21 July 1948.
* Eli Hey Howe: 3 March 1950.
* Tom Gallon Lumb: 3 March 1950.
* Thomas Fenton: 3 March 1950.
* Sir Harold R Grime : 3 March 1950.
* Rhodes William Marshall: 2 May 1973.
* Harold Grimbledeston: 2 May 1973.
* Ernest Alfred Machin: 2 May 1973.
* Joseph Shepherd Richardson: 2 May 1973.
* Leonard Broughton: 2 May 1973.
* Raymond Jacobs: 25 June 1984.
* Walter Uriah Robinson: 25 June 1984.
* Harold Leslie Hoyle: 25 June 1984.
* Percy Patrick Hall: 25 June 1984.
* Stan Mortensen: 29 November 1989.
* Doris Thompson: 9 April 2003.
* Jimmy Armfield: 9 April 2003.
Military units
* R (Blackpool) Battery 288 (2nd West Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery, Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army: 1961.
* HMS Penelope (F127), HMS Penelope Royal Navy, RN: 1990.
* 12th Regiment Royal Artillery: 2005.
* The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 2017.
* The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.
* HMS Triumph (S93), HMS Triumph Royal Navy, RN: 2017.
See also
*Blackpool High Tide Organ
*Listed buildings in Blackpool
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Business in Blackpool
*
Blackpool Council
*
{{authority control
Blackpool,
Seaside resorts in Lancashire
Towns in Lancashire
Beaches of Lancashire
Populated coastal places in Lancashire