Blackpool History, Mystery, Heritage and Hauntings

  During the second world war, the hotel was taken over by the government as were many of the other Blackpool hotels for office accommodation and when the directors regained possession 11 years later many costly improvements (including over 7 miles of carpeting! ) this was carried out with a total expenditure of over £100, 000. With the new influx of renovation and regeneration the Imperial’s appeal as a first class hotel and centre for social events and conferences. Every bedroom in the hotel now had its own bathroom suite, each with telephone, television, radio and fire alarm. The old banqueting hall at the north end of the basement which was created in 1904 was transformed into a full Masonic suite, with an appointed temple. This suite comprised in addition to the temple a dining room, lounge, bar and two changing rooms and a few years later another dining room added which was known as the Rutherford room was added. The unused old Turkish baths in the south wing of the basem...

  Early history of the Imperial The Imperial Hotel at North Shore cannot, like the Clifton and others boast a tradition dating back to the 18 th Century, It was established in 1867 and is situated in a large Victorian red brick building, in what, before development, was once Claremont Park. A syndicate which included two directors of the North Pier formed a company known as the Blackpool Land and building company which purchased the whole of the land on the northern sea front that was lying between Carlton Terrace and the Gynn Inn and created the Claremont Park estate. The site of Regent Terrace is described as land sold to a Mr Lowe and then later the plot of the Imperial. When taken over by the building company the estate was to some extent agricultural and a farm house one stood on the site. Many older residents remembered that cattle used to graze on the land between Derby and Warley Road where once the baths ( now demolished ) stood. It is interesting to note that steps w...

Nurses have never had a more difficult time providing care, and we’ve seen them rise to the challenge, from moving into frontline roles, helping families to keep their loved one safe and addressing the understandable anxieties that are being felt at this time. International Nurses Day is a special time for us all to come together to celebrate and thank every nurse for their courage and commitment. A bit of the back history of our own ‘Nightingales’, On the 29 th September in 1936, Blackpool Victoria Hospital moved into its brand new premises on Whinney Heys Road with ‘clockwork precision’, as the Gazette reported, " and in under 10 hours." The new hospital had 10 wards with 182 beds, and had been paid for almost completely by public subscription during a time of great hardship during the Hungry Thirties. The original building was made so well and so strong that very little has needed to be replaced over the past 81 years - though it has been almost completely covered ov...