Blackpool

“ I have seen Portrush, our humble Irish attempt at a pleasure city. I have seen Blackpool, which far surpasses Portrush in its opportunities for delight. I have seen the Lido, where the Germans bathe. I have seen Brighton, which is spoiled by a want of abandon and a paralyzing respect for gentility. Atlantic City outdoes them all. Atlantic City is Portrush, Blackpool, Brighton, the Lido, and Ostend rolled into one, and then, in all the essential features of such places, raised to the third power, so to speak; multiplied by itself and then multiplied by itself again. ”

“ The summer of 1827 is remarkable as having been an exceptionally prosperous season for Blackpool; vast numbers of carts and other vehicles laden with their living freights arrived from Blackburn, Burnley, Colne, Padiham, and the borders of Yorkshire, and during the month of August so crowded was the place that many were lodged in stables and barns, whilst others sought refuge at Poulton. The following year a fine gravel promenade was tastefully laid out on the sea bank to a considerable distance, occupying a large portion of the site of the old road. ”

“ This road that rises steeply out of Dartmouth is characteristically deep in the shade of rocky banks, and walls built of thin mossy stones. Long hart’s-tongues hang in clusters by the wayside, and every cranny of the walls is filled with tiny ferns. Having climbed to Stoke Fleming by a variety of steep gradients we promptly descend, by two miles of gradients nearly as steep, to the idyllic cove of Blackpool, whose golden sands once flowed with the blood of four hundred Frenchmen. ”

“ One knows them, not well, but a little better when they have tucked up their skirts, put on old blouses and turned to the task of cleaning up after the festivities.
It is more instructive to walk along the broad sea front of Blackpool through a fine chill mist of January rain than to stand there on a blazing August day when the colliers' week of holiday is in full swing. Deeper thoughts come to him who gazes at the forlorn rows of notices that lodgings are to let within than to him who hurries through street after street, looking for some place in which to lay his head. ”

“ The opening of the branch line from Blackpool to join the main railroad at Poulton, on the 29th of April, 1846, gave another marked impetus to the progress of the town; by its formation direct steam [338] communication was completed with the populous centres of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and many, who had previously been deterred from visiting Blackpool by its comparative inaccessibility, now flocked down to its shores in great numbers; building increased, and dwellings arose, chiefly on the front, and in Church and Victoria Streets. ”

“ A dignified, scarcely prosperous quiet seemed the normal air of Blackpool Dock, so that even when it was busiest —and work still came in, almost by tradition, with a certain steadiness—when the hammers of the riveters and the shipwrights awoke the echoes from sunrise to sunset, with a ferocious regularity which the present proprietor could almost deplore, there was still a suggestion of mildewed antiquity about it all that was, at least to the nostrils of the outsider, not unpleasing. ”

“ The wisdom of the authorities in having Blackpool provided with a marine promenade and a frontage unrivalled by any on the coasts of England was soon evinced by the increase in the stream of visitors poured into the place during the summer months. Fresh houses for their accommodation were being rapidly erected in many parts of the town, and everywhere there were ample evidences that prosperity was dealing liberally with the town. ”

“ His piety caused him to be called the ‘Man of Prayer.’ At Blackpool and elsewhere he exerted himself actively for the welfare of the inhabitants, and did much for the prosperity of Blackpool. His geniality, humility, and sympathy made him universally popular as a country gentleman. ”

“ From Preston, Blackburn, Bolton, Oldham, and all those great spinning and weaving towns, you see them turning out by whole wagon and cart-loads, bound for Blackpool and such places; and they who have not seen the swarming loads of these men and women and children, their fast driving, and their obstreperous merriment, have not seen one of the most curious scenes of English life. ”

“ The want at Southport is more sea. The tide not only goes out to an incredible distance, but always seems reluctant to return. It is in respect of this that superiority is so justly claimed by Blackpool, the sea at the latter place, save on exceptional days, being always within view, always grand and inspiring. ”

“ In fact the rooms at the hotels are very extensive. Bank’s is the most commodious. The inhabitants seem to have no taste for ornamenting their doorways or windows with trellis work or verandahs, or with jessamines, woodbines, or hollyhocks, similar to those at Southport, and many of the sea-bathing situations in the south. It is not to be wondered at that there are here frequently at the flux of the season, from eight hundred to a thousand visitors. Blackpool has most certainly been honoured since its commencement as a watering-place by persons of distinction and fashion. ”

“ On every horizon you see floating terrific tramcars which seat ninety people and which ought to be baptised Lusitania and Baltic. You wander with your fellow men down a long street of cookshops with calligraphic and undecipherable menus, and at every shopdoor is a loud-tongued man to persuade you that his is the gate of paradise and the entrance to the finest shilling dinner in Blackpool. ”

“ For in spite of its sordid surroundings and its occasional lapses into bustle, Blackpool Dock, as Rainham would sometimes remind himself, when its commercial motive was pressed upon him too forcibly, was deeply permeated by the spirit of the picturesque.
Certainly Mr. Richard Lightmark, a young artist, in whose work some excellent judges were beginning already to discern, if not the hand of the master, at least a touch remarkably happy, was inclined to plume himself on having discovered, in his search after originality, the artistic points of a dockyard. ”

“ From the time when the subject of incorporation was first beginning to dawn upon the inhabitants as something to which the rapid extension and growing importance of their town was [359] tending with no tardy pace, up to the present year of 1876, buildings have increased at a rate unparalleled in any former period of Blackpool’s history. ”

“ So, Stephen Blackpool’s tombstone, with her father’s record of his death, was almost of the Present, for she knew it was to be. These things she could plainly see. But, how much of the Future?
A working woman, christened Rachael, after a long illness once again appearing at the ringing of the Factory bell, and passing to and fro at the set hours, among the Coketown Hands; a woman of pensive beauty, always dressed in black, but sweet-tempered and serene, and even cheerful ”

“ About the period when the North Pier was constructed, and for years previously, the visitors to Blackpool could certainly complain of no lack of ordinary amusements during their brief residence by the sea. Horses, donkeys, and vehicles were ever in readiness to administer to their entertainment, either by conveying them for short drives to explore such objects of interest as the country afforded, or translating them for the day to the seaport of Fleetwood, or the neighbouring resort of Lytham. ”

“ It is expected that in course of time the coast line thus established from Preston through Kirkham, Lytham, St. Anne’s, South Shore, to Blackpool will supersede the old route through Poulton to the last named resort for the conveyance of passengers. Important alterations, it should be noted, were effected in the course of the branch from Kirkham to Lytham immediately preceding its junction with the Blackpool and Lytham line, by which the [449] corner lying north of and between Kirkham and Wrea was cut off. ”

“ The daily crowds parading the recently-erected pier were satisfactory evidence of the high estimation in which that elegant addition to the attractions of the place was held, whilst the thronged thoroughfares during the heat of summer bore witness to the growing affection which Blackpool was gaining for itself in the hearts of the million. Active exertions were necessary on the part of the builders to keep pace with the ever-increasing demand for more extended residential provision, houses being scarcely completed before the eager tenants had established themselves in their new domiciles. ”

“ No implicated man or woman took untimely courage, or made a self-betraying step. More remarkable yet, Stephen Blackpool could not be heard of, and the mysterious old woman remained a mystery.
Things having come to this pass, and showing no latent signs of stirring beyond it, the upshot of Mr. Bounderby’s investigations was, that he resolved to hazard a bold burst. He drew up a placard, offering Twenty Pounds reward for the apprehension of Stephen Blackpool, suspected of complicity in the robbery of Coketown Bank on such a night ”

“ On all sides the growth of trade was calling into existence new villages and towns, and the rapidly increasing number of wealthy families led to the formation of that now world–renowned place of resort—Blackpool. ”

“ The stations, besides those at the two termini, were to be placed at the barracks, Rossall, and Bispham. At Fleetwood the promoters proposed to form a junction with the Preston and Wyre Railway near the old timber pond, for the purpose of passing carriages from one line to the other, whilst at Blackpool a similar object would be effected with the Lytham and Blackpool Railway by deviating eastward from Queen Street, so as to avoid the town, and establishing a junction with the latter line near Chapel Street. ”

“ It is now a fashionable and well-frequented watering-place, deriving a certain annual revenue from its visitors, and enjoying a considerable share of trade, with every reasonable prospect of a progressive increase. These are gratifying facts which abundantly prove the healthful vigour with which the country is animated, and the boundless resources which are everywhere thrown open to native industry and talent.
The line of coast at Blackpool runs in a nearly straight direction for several miles ”

“ When these had finished their revels and duly retired to their homes, the bell rang a second time, and the males, released from durance vile, made their way to the beach, and were not long in following the example of their fair predecessors.
Mr. Hutton, in his small pamphlet descriptive of Blackpool in 1788, says:—“The tables here are well supplied; if I say too well for the price I may please the innkeepers, but not their guests. Shrimps are plentiful; five or six people make it their business to catch them at low water, and produce several gallons a day, which satisfy all but the catchers. ”

“ In the latter year the opening of the Preston and Wyre Railway to Poulton, initiated a mode of travelling until then unknown in the Fylde [337] district, and by its means Blackpool became nearer in point of time to Preston, Manchester, and many other large towns already possessing railway accommodation, a great accession of company being the immediate result. Omnibuses, coaches, and other carriages met every train at Poulton station, and the four miles of road were scampered over by splendid teams in less than half an hour. ”

“ Mary Tyldesley, the widow of his father, whom it will be remembered he married as his second wife, was living there as owner in 1720, and from that circumstance we must infer that the Blackpool house was bequeathed to her by her husband Thomas Tyldesley, and that the other portion only of the estates fell to Edward, the son of his first marriage and his heir. Poverty seems to have overtaken the family with rapid strides ”

“ Lytham is a very salubrious place; its walks are pleasant and diversified. You may walk for miles on the sand westward. You may trip to the Hey-houses and get bad ale. Common-side offers a journey, which, if you please, ends at Blackpool. The walks are many and various for those who love exercise; the lazy will soon tire here, but the active will never be at a loss. The sands are fine—the sea breeze pleasant—the air is impregnated with health. Sailing may be had at tide time; boats are occasionally going to Preston and over the water to Southport. ”

“ Penny Stone: a Tradition of the Fylde.
It was a bonny day on the 5th of March, 1860, when I visited Norbreck, just before those tides came on which had been announced as higher than any for a century previous. This announcement brought thousands of people from the interior into Blackpool and other places on that coast. Many came expecting the streets to be invaded by the tide, and a great part of the level Fylde laid under water; with boats plying above the deluged fields, to rescue its inhabitants from the towers of churches and the tops of farmhouses. ”

“ The last male heir joined the standard of the Chevalier in 1745. One of his ancestors was slain at the battle of Wigan Lane, in that county, while marching to the assistance of Charles II.; a monument to his memory was erected by one of his officers in 1679. It is still in tolerable preservation, and bears an appropriate inscription.
East of Blackpool are situated the townships of Great and Little Marton, where a subterraneous forest has been discovered, by digging out the timber from which many of the peasantry obtain considerable sums. ”

“ It has a pier, a pleasant promenade and drive along the shore, and other appointments of a seaside resort, but it is less wholly devoted to holiday visitors than Blackpool, which lies 8 m. N.W. A Benedictine cell was founded here at the close of the 12th century by the lord of the manor, Richard Fitz-Roger. ”