In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Blackpool like this:
BLACKPOOL, a town and a par. chapelry in Bispham parish, Lancashire. The town is in Layton-with Warbreck township, and stands on the coast, at the ten mini of two branch railways, from Poulton st. and from Lytham, 18 miles WNW of Preston. It was not long ago an obscure place, but is now a fashionable watering resort. ...
It stands on a ridge of low clay cliffs; overlook a fine bathing beach, provided with machines; command charming views, along the coast and across the sea, t Wales and the Lake district; and consists of well-built houses, ranged in an irregular terrace about two miles long It has a post office‡ under Preston, a telegraph, a police station, a number of hotels, a newsroom, a library, an athenæum, a theatre, three churches, five dissenting chapels, and a R. Catholic chapel. The church of the chapelry was built in 1821, and has been twice enlarged The other two churches are recent ones, for the South shore and Claremont-Park parts of the town, beyond the chapelry. The R. Catholic chapel is a handsome Gothic edifice. The ruin of a mansion, the seat of Sir Thomas Tyldesley and the retreat of the Pretender in 1715 while the measures were in progress for the rebellion, stood a the west end of the town. A handsome pier, upwards o 500 yards long, was built in 1863. Pop. of the town in 1851, 1,664; in 1861, 3,506. Houses, 684. The chapelry was constituted in 1860. Pop., 1,957. Houses, 387. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester Value, £340.* Patrons, Five Trustees. Southshore and Claremont-Park or Christchurch are p. curacies. Value of the former, £200. Patron, Col. Clifton.
Blackpool through time
Click here for graphs and data of how Blackpool has changed over two centuries. For statistics for historical units named after Blackpool go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Blackpool in Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/990
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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