Like many smaller seaside towns without major ports, Blackpool was of little significance for most of its existence. A quite little hamlet by the sea, the town drifted by with a small population as history in the region went on around it with Manchester, Liverpool and other Lancashire towns playing their part of the historical stage.

Consequently there is little of note recorded about Blackpool until the 18th Centaury when it began its long affair with tourism, becoming popular for locals as a place to visit by the sea. There is a recording of it in 1416, when it is known as Le Poole, its name deriving from a stream which ran in the area. Because the bogs in the area made the stream turn black, it is thought that this is how the name was changed into the Blackpool we know today. The hamlet by the river was expanded towards the coast through a network of fishing huts. And this is largely how the village remained, until the initial sparks of tourism began in the area.

Early Tourism

The first people who started coming to Blackpool were the local landowners, captains of industry of the otherwise ‘well to do’. This was partly built on the belief that bathing in sea water could cure diseases. The first guest house to serve these people was created by Ethart Whiteside. However, Blackpool was hard to reach at the time, so it really stayed an exclusive resort which only those who had the time and money to make the journey could visit. This changed a little with the building of a private road by Thomas Clifton and Sir Henry Hoghton in 1781.

This road however did not exactly bring in a flood of tourists, although it did allow transport companies to start running services to the town from Manchester (also in Lancashire) and Halifax (over the border in Yorkshire). However, at the beginning of the 19th century the town still only had a population of 500 and was occasionally visited by the rich for their sea-salt cures. By 1851 the town’s population had risen to over 2,500 as Henry Banks and his grandson John Cocker built extensively in Blackpool. This expansion in housing obviously brought people in from the surrounding countryside, along with the St John's Church in Blackpool, which was consecrated in 1821, Victoria Terrace built in 1837 and St John's Market built in 1844.

Expansion

As with a lot of towns in the north of England, expansion only really came to Blackpool with the opening of a railroad, which happened in 1840. Many other towns in the region were started to become connected via the rail network at the same time and so with inter regional mobility in its first throws, Blackpool started to boom. The growing population demanded better amenities and so within a 15 year period a Board of Health was formed, gas light came to the town and piped water supply gave fresh waters to the inhabitants and the tourists alike.

In the later half of the century much of what makes Blackpool a unique place came into fruition. Over a 14 year period until 1870 a promenade was built along the sea front. This coupled with the North and Central Piers (1863 and 1868 respectively) added glamour to a place which was becoming known not just regionally, but nationwide as a hot place to visit. In 1871 a company undertook the task to turn the Raikes Hall grounds into Gardens and this coupled with the construction of the Winter Gardens (1878) meant that town was already innovative and exciting before electricity cam to the town and changed it forever.

Electric Times by the Sea

In 1879 Blackpool become the first town in the country to introduce electric streetlights. Although now common throughout the world, at the time they drew people in from far and wide to marvel at the use of technology. However, the world famous Blackpool Illuminations, which use coloured lights to form patterns and pictures did not open until 1912 (though they are still going strong today). An electric tramway, running across the sea front and in other parts of the town, was opened in 1885 allowing the visitors to access the attractions in a novel way. A third pier was also constructed, along with the town’s first Opera house (marking a turning point in the provision of live night time entertainment to compliment its other sights) and the world famous Blackpool Tower before the end of the century. The Blackpool Tower, based on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, remains to this day one of the defining landmarks of the city and further increased the amount of tourists accessing the city.

From a Peak to a Decline

Entering into the 20th Centaury with a population of 47,000 Blackpool continued to grow and was at its peak, both in terms of town development and tourist popularity. Buildings continued to be constructed, including the Town Hall (1900), Grand Theatre (1904), the first cinema (1905) and Grundy Art Gallery (1911).

The factories which had sprung up throughout the region, coupled with the better transport links allowed large numbers of people to take holidays en masse for the first time. Blackpool became the number one spot for people. Photographs form this period show the beach heaving with tourists. It proved especially popular with people from Glasgow in Scotland, making the trip down for the warmer weather. With the arrival of large numbers of working class tourists the rich started to take their holidays elsewhere, but the town did not suffer economically as the large numbers of tourists, taking their 2 weeks holidays a year, spent well.

It was during this period that the Pleasure Beach began to develop and the first rides were built. The Pleasure Beach was (and still is) large expansive of fun fair rides, arcades and stalls. All of these attractions increased the numbers of tourists coming to the area, and it also increased the population of the town as the many people needed to work in the industry started to put down roots in the area. Consequently by 1951 the population had grown to 147,000. However this was the peak of the growth and population as the world began to change and Blackpool did not mange to change fast enough with it.

Cheap air travel arrived in Western Europe in the 1960s and so many people who were previously loading up the trains on the trip to Blackpool, started to prefer the flights to the south of Spain. The accommodation, food and beer were all cheaper and the weather was far more likely to be warmer than on the blustery northern coast. As the tourists drifted away parts of Blackpool began to look like a ghost town, especially off-season. Poverty increasingly took hold of the town and the lack of revenue generated by tourists meant that the town became a little shabby, as shop fronts went unpainted and fresh amusements and talents failed to come into the area.

A Bright Future

Recently however Blackpool began fighting back. It still remains the most visited town in the country with the annual illuminations still a big draw: celebrities come to turn them on with thousands of youth coming form the surrounding towns to see them, whilst the Pleasure Beach hosts some of the country’s most up-to-date and inspiring rides. Realising that Blackpool will no longer be the home for those on a two week holiday, Blackpool started to mould itself more at those wanted an entertainment packed long weekend.

Many of the most popular touring entertainment shows give a long stint at Blackpool and famous performances have been recorded there over recent years. Moreover, visions into the future see Blackpool as being allowed to host one of the few granted Super-Casinos, which will come into force over the coming years. A sprucing up of the promenade and theme parks has already taken place and there is a buzz around the town that it is moving in the right direction once again and it will become a thriving tourist resort, and stay so for years to come.