Blackpool History, Mystery, Heritage and Hauntings

Goodbye to another building ! Council chiefs agreed in December that the Star Inn, on South Promenade, should be bulldozed to make way for a new £12m hotel on the site. Blackpool Pleasure Beach managing director Amanda Thompson revealed ambitious proposals to redevelop the land by building a 120-bedroom hotel to sit alongside the existing four-star Big Blue. A heritage report accompanying the application to pull down the Star describes the pub’s design as being “at odds” with the scale of surrounding buildings. It says the Star has “limited heritage merit” and the loss of the building will be outweighed by the value of the proposed replacement. Although the pub is a locally listed building, there was no objection to the demolition by Blackpool Council’s conservation officer, but a request has been made for a historical record to be made of the site prior to any work commencing. Read more at: https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/business/demolition-of-well-known-bl...

Life gets in  the way sometimes - you know how it is !  Good news for me this year ( I did need some ! Won't bore you with what has been going on behind the scenes and door of  'House ala Gregson & Hart ' !  Early Jan saw me dip a toe into the Grundy ART gallery as they held an exhibition where you could enter just the one piece - I did - and to my utter surprise and delight , was one of only six that sold ! I had the great honour of being able to place artwork in a shop on Talbot Road in Blackpool town centre ( left on the image below all three )  I have also been asked to take photographs for a UFO conference next weekend in St Annes !  Later in the year I will also be speaking at this event - again in St Annes - I do owe then a guest talk and I really do need to crack on penning my 2nd book ! The above  is in Cleveleys and I rather think it looks like a UFO - think will have to incorporate this int...

Why do I love old vintage buildings or one's in a state of dereliction ! It does seem that I am not the only one thank goodness ! My Junior school - Hawes Side has now been knocked down and rebuilt - below is the old hall Next was Bispham High also known as Greenlands when I attended ( I could do an entire blog on that school but will not waste my time or yours ! ) I used to live near Arnold school and did wish I could attend - however the fee's were rather expensive - years later when they merged with King Edwards and Queen Mary's in Lytham the school had an auction around 2015 - of course I attended ! I have a thing about tiles you see , stair rails and old doorways ! Ohh it was a joy to capture the old fashioned style that was soon to be gone. I have tried to include old, new and nearly gone for you !  T he new school has been named after Jimmy Armfield in the hope that it will be a fitting tribute to such a well-known loca...

In 2015 vintage railway track over 100 years old has been revealed in Station Road Poulton. The long derelict site is at the junction of Breck Road and Station Road, adjacent to the traffic lights near the entrance to Wyre Council - it's being cleared in readiness to erect some assisted living apartments.   Plans to demolish a landmark Poulton pub are set to be given the green light tomorrow. Blackpool-based Keystone Design Associates has applied for planning permission to pull the derelict Royal Oak down completely and replace it with a three-storey block of 12 apartments Read more at: https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/decision-on-poulton-s-historic-royal-oak-pub-due-1-8581036 It had been hoped the Victorian frontage of the Royal Oak in Poulton could be saved and incorporated into a new flats development. But concerns have been raised over the potential stability of the building shell which dates from the 1840s. Blackpool-based K...