When did Blackpool develop?

Answer 1

By the middle of the 18th century, the practice of sea bathing to cure diseases was beginning to become fashionable among the wealthier classes, and visitors began making the 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 greens, were developed, and the town grew slowly. The 1801 census records the town's population at 473. This growth was accelerated by 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 are still standing today.

The most significant event in the early growth of the town occurred in 1846, with the completion of a branch line to Blackpool from Poulton. Blackpool boomed. A sudden influx of visitors, arriving by rail, provided the motivation for entrepreneurs to build accommodations 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 was formed. Gas lighting was introduced in 1852, and piped water in 1864. By 1851, the town's population was over 2500.

The growth was helped by the practice among the Lancashire cotton mill owners to close the factories for a week every year to service and repair machinery. These became known as wakes weeks. 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 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, 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 of London.

The town was granted a Charter of Incorporation as a municipal borough 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 in 1904.

Much of Blackpool's growth and character from the 1870s came 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's most prominent holiday resort, and its specifically working class character. It was the forerunner of the present-day Blackpool Illuminations. In 1885, one of the world's first electric tramways was laid. 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 on the Promenade.

The first decade of the new century saw the development of the Promenade as we know it today. The Pleasure Beach was first established about this time. Seasonal static illuminations were first set up in 1912, although due to World War I 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.

Answer 2

There is no precise date for this.

Parts were settled in prehistoric times and several villages within it were occupied by the Domesday Book of 1086.

In medieval times Black Poole emerged as a few farmsteads. The first house of any substance, Foxhall, was built toward the end of the 17th century by Edward Tyldesley, the Squire of Myerscough.

In 1801 it was still very small. The census records the town's population at 473.

Now Blackpool has a population of 142,900, making it the fourth largest settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington.

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Answer 3

1887

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Answer 4

The Blackpool Football Club was formed in 1887. C'monthe Pool!!

Answer 5

Since the 1960's