Blackpool History, Mystery, Heritage and Hauntings

You can come in , and out and in and out , it's like the hokey cokey ! What is a lockdown photographer to do ... In my case I have been sorting out my slides, photo's and postcards , I also thought I had about or around 15, 000 saved....BIG no ! it's now closer to 93,000 ! That was a shock and a new hard drive and more backups were done in the most quick of manners. I had great fun looking back on what I actually had/have some published and some have yet to see the light of day ... below is one I had written about before for a now out of print magazine and redone for the E-Zine OLM  Made me think about the things I do in my spare time and what photos am I actually aiming for in the long run?  Do I want to appear on the weather channels - nice - but folks you just get the kudos and no pay! The 'nationals' are a better bet, but again the shots used on a regular basis are quite niche, say we both took one of Blackpool Tower, one was a drone...

Well it seems that a deal has been done with regards to the land that is Central Car park... the council has agreed to lease the land for 250 years to Nikal Ltd and Media Invest Entertainment who are behind the hi-tech Chariot of the Gods themed flying theatre attraction. 250 years... WOW  do the council know something we do not ! The nine year scheme is set to transform the former Central Station site close to the Promenade in a series of four phases which will create around 1,000 jobs and aims to attract 600,000 new visitors to the resort. However ! The deal means initial development works on the 17 acre plot can get under way. But plans for the first development on the site, a multi-storey car park to replace the parking currently occupying most of the site, is not likely to begin this year. A hybrid outline and part detailed planning application for the car park is set to be submitted late 2020.The man behind the project is Austrian pop music mogul Nor...

Let us explore the history of Blackpool's Palatine Buildings! A prime corner site on Blackpool’s Central Promenade is undergoing a complete reconstruction to create the resort’s first five star hotel and a museum detailing Blackpool’s rich history.   1866 - Palatine Buildings, Palatine Hotel, and The Palatine Buildings were constructed onthe Promenade this year, just to the south of the Royal Hotel, and in 1879, the 120-bed Palatine Hotel wasbuilt next door, on the corner with Bank Hey Street. Queens Terrace – a row of houses built in 1848 – was demolished to make way. The Palatine had its own ballroom, lounge bar, new lounge, and dining saloon. For a short time, it was known as the Palatine Family and Commercial Hotel, but by 1883, had reverted to its shorter name. Queen’s Terrace and the Royal Hotel stables block had stood on the site previously.                   ...

Happy New Year everybody !  I have been set a challenge !  How many pictures can I find of Poulton stocks ?!!!  Ok this was taken last year in 2019... With the red flowers 2014... This is from one of my slides - 1967   Another one of my slides from 1967  Re the image above - Richard benson on Poulton past had the following to say ! - I had a story about the stocks id like to share. My Great Aunt told me this many years ago. Just after the war the stocks where vandalised. At the same time our family farm (Butlers Farm), which was located at the end of First Avenue and land extended to what is now Garstang Road, was bought by the council for housing. The gate posts from the farm where used to rebuild the stocks and are still there today. Quite humbling that I have a small link to my home town land mark. Here's a picture to the old farm and th...

Poolfoot farm has now long gone , but Poolfoot Cottage ( 1675 ) is still on the corner of Crabtree road. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101281132-poolfoot-cottage-wyre   for the link to the British Listed Buildings Website ! Grade 2 listed -  Pair of cottages, probably C18 or earlier, now bungalow. Cobble walls, rendered and whitewashed, formerly thatched and now covered with slate. On the front however is a more modern porch. Map provided by Brian Hughes Below kindly provided by Andy Ball from the excellent sister site on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThorntonCleveleysPast/ Would love to know who lives there now - Just so I could say - would a lovely place that you live in !  ( in case your wondering why the watermark ( now 2020 update ) I am rather upset that people steal and use my photos without the credit - sorry )