Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston. It is the main settlement in the borough of the same name.
Blackpool was originally a hamlet; it began to grow in the mid-eighteenth century, when sea bathing for health purposes became fashionable. Blackpool's beach was suitable for this activity and, by 1781, several hotels had been built. The opening of a railway station in 1846 allowed more visitors to reach the resort, which continued to grow for the remainder of the nineteenth century. In 1876, the town became a borough. Blackpool's development was closely tied to the Lancashire cotton-mill practice of annual factory maintenance shutdowns, known as Wakes Weeks, when many workers chose to visit the seaside. The town saw large growth during the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. By 1951, its population had reached 147,000.
In the late 20th century, changing holiday preferences and increased overseas travel impacted Blackpool's standing as a leading resort. Despite economic challenges, the town's urban fabric and economy remain centred around tourism. Today, the seafront continues to draw millions of visitors annually; it features landmarks such as Blackpool Tower, Illuminations, Pleasure Beach and the Winter Gardens. The town is home to football club Blackpool F.C.. The population of Blackpool at the 2021 census was 141,000, a decrease of 1,100 since the 2011 census.
History
Early history
In 1970, a 13,500-year-old elk skeleton was found with a barbed bone point embedded in one leg. Now displayed in the Harris Museum, this find provided the first evidence of humans living on the Fylde. Some of the earliest villages on the Fylde, which were later to become part of Blackpool town, were named in the Domesday Book in 1086.In medieval times, Blackpool emerged as a few farmsteads on the coast within Layton-with-Warbreck; the name came from "le pull", a stream that drained Marton Mere and Marton Moss into the sea. 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 the Bispham Parish Church baptismal register include both Poole and for the first time Blackpoole. The first house of any substance, Foxhall, was built by the Tyldesley family of Myerscough Lodge and existed in the latter part of the 17th century. By the end of that century, it was occupied by squire and diarist Thomas Tyldesley, grandson of the Royalist Sir Thomas Tyldesley. An act of Parliament in 1767 enclosed a common, mostly sand hills on the coast, that stretched from Spen Dyke southwards.
Sea bathing and the growth of seaside resorts
In the 18th century, sea bathing gained popularity for health benefits, drawing visitors to Blackpool as a tourist resort. By 1788, there were about 50 houses on the sea bank. Of these around six accommodated wealthy visitors while a number of other private dwellings lodged the "inferior class whose sole motive for visiting this airy region was health." In 1781, The town's amenities, including hotels, archery stall, and bowling greens, slowly expanded. By 1801, the population reached 473. Henry Banks, instrumental in Blackpool's growth, purchased Lane Ends estate in 1819, building the first holiday cottages in 1837.19th century
By the early 19th century, small purpose-built facilities began catering to a middle-class market, although substantial numbers of working people from manufacturing towns were "being drawn to Blackpool's charms." In 1846, a pivotal event marked the early growth of the town: the completion of a railway branch line to Blackpool from Poulton. This spurred development as visitors flocked in by rail, boosting the town's economy. Blackpool prospered with the construction of accommodations and attractions, fostering rapid growth in the 1850s and 1860s. A Board of Health was established in 1851, gas lighting in 1852, and piped water in 1864. The town's population exceeded 2,500 by 1851.North Pier opened in 1863, designed by Eugenius Birch for Blackpool's "better classes", and always retained its unique qualities of being a quieter, more reflective place compared with Blackpool's other two piers. The following half century included the construction of two further piers – South Pier in 1868 and Victoria in 1893 – the Winter Gardens, Blackpool Tower and the earliest surviving rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Blackpool's Royal Palace Gardens at Raikes Hall was a world-famous destination for variety and music hall stars from the mid-18th century. It boasted a Grand Opera House, Indian Room for theatrical and variety performances, a Niagara café with cyclorama, a skating rink and fern house, an elaborate conservatory, monkey house, aviary and outside dancing platform for several thousand people. The gardens also had carriage drives and walkways with Grecian and Roman statues for promenaders to enjoy. There was also a boating lake and a racing track with grandstand for several thousand. More than 40,000 visitors passed through its gates during the opening week in 1872.
Working-class tourists dominated the heart of the resort, which was the go-to destination for workers from the industrial north and their families. Entire towns would close down their industries during Wakes Weeks between June and September, with a different town on holiday each week. Communities would travel to Blackpool together, first by charabanc and later by train. Blackpool still catered to a "significant middle-class market during the spring and autumn", favouring the residential area of North Shore.
Blackpool's growth since the 1870s was shaped by its pioneering use of electrical power. Electric lighting came to the town in 1879, as it became the world's first municipality with electric street lighting along Blackpool Promenade, setting the stage for the Blackpool Illuminations. 100,000 people congregated to see the promenade illuminated on the evening of 19 September 1879.
Work started in Blackpool on the UK's first electric public tramway on 24 February 1884 and the Blackpool Tramway opened officially on 29 September 1885. It established one of the world's earliest electric tramways, initially operated by the Blackpool Electric Tramway Company. By 1899, the tramway had expanded and the conduit system was replaced by overhead wires., the system still remains in service. In 1897, Blackpool became one of the first towns to mark important civic events with illuminated tram-cars when five Corporation trams were decorated with coloured lights to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
By the 1890s, Blackpool had a population of 35,000 and could host 250,000 holidaymakers. Notable structures, like the Grand Theatre and Blackpool Tower, emerged. The Grand Theatre was among Britain's first all-electric theatres. The Victorian and Edwardian period saw a significant construction of hotels and other accommodation, including the Grand Metropole Hotel, the Imperial Hotel and the Norbreck Castle Hotel. These hotels remain extant.
In 1897, Blackpool Corporation prohibited "phrenologists, 'quack' doctors, palmists, mock auctions and cheap jacks" from hawking on Blackpool sands. The outliers moved onto Central Promenade, where they erected stalls in front gardens. The stretch became known as the Golden Mile and sideshows became one of its key features until the 1960s.
1900 to 1960s
In 1911, the town's Central station was the busiest in the world; in July 1936, 650 trains came and went in a single day. In May 1912, Princess Louise officially opened a new section of North Promenade – Princess Parade; lights were erected to mark the occasion. The First World War called a temporary halt to the display in 1914 but, by 1925, the lights were back with giant animated tableaux being added and extending the Blackpool Illuminations to almost six miles from Squires Gate to Red Bank Road.The inter-war period saw Blackpool develop and mature as a holiday destination. By 1920, Blackpool had around eight million visitors per year, still drawn largely from the mill towns of East Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Blackpool's population boom was complete by 1951, by which time some 147,000 people were living in the town; this compared with 47,000 in 1901 and 14,000 in 1881. In the 1920s and 1930s, Blackpool was Britain's most popular resort, which JB Priestley referred to as "the great, roaring, spangled beast." It provided visitors with entertainment and accommodation on an industrial scale. At its height, it hosted more than 10 million visitors a year and its entertainment venues could seat more than 60,000 people. In 1939, the illuminations were again suspended for the Second World War, not resuming until 1948.
Blackpool remained a popular resort through much of the 20th century and, in contrast to most resorts, increased in size during the Second World War; it remained open while others closed and with many civil servants and military personnel sent to live and work there. The town continued to attract more visitors in the decade after the war, reaching a peak of 17 million per year.
1960s to present
By the 1960s, the UK tourism industry was undergoing radical changes. The increasing popularity of package holidays took many of Blackpool's traditional visitors abroad. The construction of the M55 motorway in 1975 made Blackpool more feasible as a day trip rather than an overnight stay. The modern economy, however, remains relatively undiversified and firmly rooted in the tourism sector.Many seaside resorts fell from grace during the latter half of the 20th century as mobility, wealth, visitor aspirations and competition were in a state of flux, but Blackpool managed to retain its popular/working-class appeal as the "Las Vegas of the North".
Despite economic restructuring, increased competition and other challenges, Blackpool continues as a seaside visitor destination. Tourism in the town supports 25,000 full-time equivalent jobs – one in five of the workforce. In 2023, the town was named the nation's best-value holiday destination. In 2021 18.8 million visitors contributed £1.5 billion to the local economy, making Blackpool the nation's biggest seaside resort. In 2022, the resort attracted a further 1.5 million visitors – a total figure of 20.33 million - contributing £1.7bn to the local economy and supporting more than 22,000 jobs.