Blackpool
Blackpool photos (102 available)
Blackpool maps (2 available)
Map of Lancashire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Lancashire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Blackpool books (21 available)
- 70 photos on Blackpool appear in 6 Frith books - View photos of Blackpool
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Blackpool and Lancashire
Blackpool memories
Read and share memories of Blackpool and Lancashire inspired by Frith photos
My memories of Blackpool
I remember my parents taking us children to see the Blackpool illuminations as a birthday treat, where we would see all kinds of animations along the prominade and all the trams where also lit up, that was some 48yrs ago. I don't know if this still happens, enjoy.
Contributed by Alan Bond
Visiting Blackpool Illuminations as a child.
Around the year 1950 a coach would take all the children in our road on a trip to see Blackpool Lights. Those days they called the coach a charabanc. Does anybody remember that name? How happy all the children would be going on that trip to Blackpool. I remember very well leaving in the early evening on the coach with our parents so excited. And arriving at Blackpool and riding up the promenade so mesmerized at all the pretty lights and all the differant themes of nursery rhymes. We would have hot baked potatoes on our trip home and always returned with a stick of Blackpool Rock. Happy memories of yesteryear!
Contributed by Brenda Vanderwert
Days out in Blackpool in the Forties and Fifties
Between the years 1944 and 1956 my family and I lived in Preston, Lancashire and from there it was only a short ride on the train or bus to Blackpool, where we spent many happy days. This photo shows the sands and the wooden steps up to the promenade as I remember them. My mother preferred to go to Lytham, where it was quieter and more select, but there was far more to do at Blackpool, where we spent hours on the sands, paddling in the sea or building sandcastles. When the tide was up we played in the paddling pool or went on one of the three piers. Also there were donkey rides - I remember falling off my donkey! ...read more here
Contributed by Diana Dioszeghy
Lancashire memories
My memories of Blackpool
I remember my parents taking us children to see the Blackpool illuminations as a birthday treat, where we would see all kinds of animations along the prominade and all the trams where also lit up, that was some 48yrs ago. I don't know if this still happens, enjoy.
A memory of Blackpool contributed by Alan Bond
Extracts From Blackpool & Lancashire books
Sail boats and bathing machines dominate the beach area between the North Pier and the South Jetty. In the distance we get some idea of the development of this end of the town.
An extract from from"Blackpool Pocket Album".
As with many seaside resorts, one of the popular attractions was a trip in a boat. At Blackpool, sailing boats were often loaded and unloaded by means of portable gangways, one of which is in the picture. In the background is the North Pier, with an excursion steamer alongside its landing stage. This picture was taken from the South Jetty.
An extract from from"Blackpool Pocket Album".
If you think something is missing amongst the buildings overlooking North Pier you are right, for Blackpool Tower was not begun until 1891. Yet the resort’s popularity was already well established and bathing machines and horse-drawn traps line the sands. A wheeled jetty facilitates embarkation for a leisurely sail, whilst the more energetic take their exercise in a rowing boat.
An extract from from"Lancashire - A Second Selection Photographic Memories".
As well as portable gangways, boat-carts were also used to get trippers to and from the sailing boats. In this picture, a boat-cart awaits the call to action, while the bathing machine concession has at least one paying customer in the water.
An extract from from"Blackpool Pocket Album".
By the 1870s, many Lancashire cotton workers received three day’s unpaid holiday a year, which was tacked onto a weekend to give a five-day break. Cheap rail fares and discounts at digs for block bookings boosted the holiday trade at both Blackpool and Southport.
An extract from from"Blackpool Pocket Album".