as compared with more recent times. 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 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.
Then it was that the jolting, homely vehicles, and the through coaches,
which had for long been the dashing wonders of the country roads, were
driven off, and a greatly multiplied number of visitors brought into
the town daily by the more expeditious route, at a less cost and with
greater personal convenience than had been possible in earlier days. More
accommodation was soon called for and as readily supplied by the spirited
inhabitants, who erected numerous houses at several points, which served,
at no distant period, as the nucleus for new streets and terraces. The
census of the township in 1841 had risen to 2,168. In 1844 the erection
and opening of a Market House, evinced the growing importance and
prosperity of the watering-place; this building has lately, since 1872,
been enlarged by lateral extension to quite double its original capacity,
whilst the extensive unprotected area opposite, used for similar trading
purposes and occupied by stalls, has been covered over with a transparent
roof. Talbot Road was opened out and the lower end formed into a spacious
square, (furnished with an elegant drinking fountain in 1870) by the
removal of a house from its centre. These improvements were effected at
the sole cost of John Talbot Clifton, esq., of Lytham, the owner of the
soil. The Adelphi and Victoria Hotels, which had sprung into being, were
altered and enlarged; the former by raising it a story, and the latter by
the addition of a commodious dining room, two sitting rooms, and sundry
bedrooms. Several spacious residences were finished on South Beach, and
a handsome terrace of habitations stretching south from Dickson’s Hotel,
was also erected about that time.
In 1845, several houses on a larger scale, including the Talbot Hotel,
were built, and great improvements and additions made to many former
establishments.
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 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.
During the ensuing year the first meeting of the Blackpool Agricultural
Society was held on the grounds of a recently built inn, the Manchester
Hotel, at South Shore; the attendance was both numerous and respectable,
including many of the most influential gentlemen, yeomen, and farmers of
the neighbourhood, and several from the remoter localities of the Fylde.
Cows, horses, and pigs appear to have been the only stocks to which
prizes were awarded. The first Lodge of Freemasons held their initiatory
meeting in that year at the Beach Hotel, another house of entertainment
which had risen shortly before, on the site of some furnished cottage
facing the beach.
A new Independent Chapel was commenced in Victoria Street, to supersede
the small one erected in Chapel Street in 1825; the edifice was finished
and used for divine service in 1849. Serious differences seem to have
arisen a few years later between the pastor of that date, the Rev. J.
Noall, and a limited section of his congregation, who were anxious to
deprive him of his charge, and even went so far, in 1860, as to publicly
read in the chapel, after morning service, a notice convening a meeting
for that purpose. This act, being repeated on the ensuing Sabbath, led to
retaliation on the part of the partizans of the minister, who, unknown to
that gentleman, paraded three figures, intended to represent the three
principal opponents to the continuance of his pastorate, suspended from
a gibbet, which had been erected in a cart, through the streets of the
town, and afterwards gave them up to the flames on the sands. The Rev. J.
Noall was shortly afterwards presented with a testimonial of esteem by
a number of sympathisers. Schools, in connection with the chapel, were
built in 1870.
Two years subsequently, the watering-place had grown, without the
fostering care of a public governing body, into a large and prosperous
town, boasting a resident population of over two thousand persons, but
this very increase and popularity had rendered it impossible for private
enterprise to provide the requisite comforts and conveniences for such
a mixture of classes as visited it during the summer. Acting under this
necessity and for the welfare of the resort a Local Board was formed,
composed of gentlemen elected from amongst inhabitants, into whose hands
was entrusted the government and regulation of all matters connected with
the place. An accession of power was sought in 1853, and on Tuesday, the
14th of June, the Blackpool Improvement Act received the royal assent.
The Board originally consisted of nine members, but in 1871 the number
was increased to eighteen.
One of the earliest acts of the new commissioners of 1853 was to provide
for the proper lighting of the town by the erection of Gas Works, which
they accomplished in their first year of office; for some time it had
been evident that the season was seriously curtailed by the absence of
any illumination along the promenade and thoroughfares during the autumn
evenings, but private speculation had for some reason held aloof from so
important an undertaking, although the question had been much discussed
amongst the inhabitants. Here it may be stated, in order to avoid
reverting to the subject again, that in 1863 there were 650 consumers of
gas; in 1869, 1270; and in 1875, no less than 2,000; the miles of mains
in those years being respectively 5, 7, and 12.
In 1856, the promenade, which had suffered much injury from frequent
attacks of the sea, and perhaps from some amount of negligence in not
bestowing due attention to its proper maintenance, was put in better
order and extended from its northern extremity, opposite Talbot Square,
along the front of Albert Terrace as far as Rossall’s, formerly Dickson’s
Hotel. Four years later a portion of this walk opposite Central Beach
was asphalted and sprinkled over with fine white spar. The Infant
School-house in Bank Hey Street, was opened in 1856.
The Roman Catholic Church, situated in Talbot Road, was erected in 1857,
from the design of Edwin W. Pugin, Esq., and at the sole expense of Miss
M. Tempest, sister to Sir Charles Tempest, Bart., of Broughton Hall,
Yorkshire. It is in the Gothic style, the exterior being built with
Yorkshire flag in narrow courses, hammer dressed and tuck pointed. The
church comprises a chancel, north and south transepts, two sacristies,
confessionals, nave, aisles, south porch, and central western tower. The
chancel, which is separated from the nave and transepts by a richly
decorated and moulded arch, contains four side windows in addition to a
large one at the east end. The nave is divided into five bays of fifteen
feet each, with massive arches ornamented with deeply cut mouldings.
The tower is of great solidity, and rises to a height of one hundred
and twenty-four feet. Almost the whole of the windows are filled with
richly stained glass; and the altar within the chancel is beautified
with elaborately carved groups, designed by J. H. Powell, of Birmingham,
of the “Agony in the Garden,” and the “Last Supper;” whilst that in
the lady chapel is adorned, from the pencil of the same artist, with
illustrations of the “Assumption of the Virgin,” and the “Annunciation,”
all of which are exquisitely carved by Lane. This church is dedicated
to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and was the first one ever
erected in Blackpool for members of the Roman Catholic Faith, service
having been previously celebrated in a room in Talbot Road. In 1866 an
excellent peal of cast steel bells was added to the tower; and ten years
afterwards a magnificent organ was opened in the main building. Attached
to the church, and within the same enclosure, were placed day and Sunday
schools, as well as a residence for the officiating priests. The cost
of this magnificent pile, without the internal decorations, amounted to
£5,500.
The foundation stone of the Union Baptist Chapel, in Abingdon Street,
was laid on the 9th of April, 1860, and on Good Friday in the following
year it was opened for divine worship by the Rev. Dr. Raffles. The
main building, 80 feet long by 49 feet wide, is of brick, and finished
with moulded and polished stone dressings in the Grecian style of
architecture. The principal or west front is surmounted by a bold cornice
and pediment, and contains the two chief entrances, which are approached
by a long range of steps and a spacious landing. The interior is fitted
with substantial open pews of red pine in the body, and similar seats are
placed in the two end galleries, the whole being capable of providing
accommodation for about 650 persons. The communion floor, under a portion
of which is the Baptistry, is enclosed with an ornamental balustrade.
The edifice is well supplied with light through plain circular-headed
windows. A Sunday school was added in 1874, and an organ also purchased
during that year. From 1858 to the completion of the chapel the Baptists
worshipped in the room formerly used by the Roman Catholics in Talbot
Road.
In 1861, the progress and improvement of the town was well shown by
three events which occurred at that date—the first sod of the Lytham and
Blackpool coast line was cut at Lytham Park, on the 4th of September; a
large Market Hall, raised on South Beach, by Mr. W. Read, for the sale of
useful and fancy articles was completed; and the original Christ Church
was opened on Sunday the 23rd of June, by the Rev. C. H. Wainwright,
M.A. This church, which stood until the erection of the present one,
was built of iron by Mr. Hemming, of London, at a cost of £1,000, which
was advanced by eight gentlemen, who were subsequently reimbursed by
contributions from the public and collections from the congregation at
various times.
The population of Layton-with-Warbreck in 1861 amounted to 3,907 persons,
of which number Blackpool contributed 3,506.
The passenger traffic on the Blackpool and Lytham Railway commenced
on the 6th of April, 1862, and between that date and the 30th of June
over 35,000 persons had taken advantage of the line and been conveyed
between the two watering-places. In 1862 a handsome Police Station and
Court-House sprang into being in Abingdon street, including residences,
lock-ups, offices, magistrates’ room, etc.
The streets of Blackpool no longer presented the meagre and broken lines
of earlier days, but were in most instances well filled on each side with
compact blocks of houses. In December, 1861, a few of the townpeople
assembled at the Clifton Arms Hotel to consider the advisability of
erecting a pier, to extend westward from the promenade opposite Talbot
square; and on the 22nd of January, 1862, the memorandum of association
was signed with a capital of £12,000, being immediately registered.
Plans were examined on the 10th of February, and the design of E. Birch,
esq., C.E., selected, that gentleman being also appointed engineer. In
April, the tender of Messrs. Laidlaw, of Glasgow, to construct the pier
for £11,540 was accepted; and a grant of the foreshore required for the
undertaking having been obtained from the Duchy of Lancaster for £120,
and £7 paid to the Crown for the portion beyond low-water mark, the
first pile of the North Pier was screwed into the marl on the 27th of
June, 1862, by Captain Francis Preston, the chairman of the company. A
violent storm in the ensuing October damaged the works to some extent,
and induced the company to raise the deck of the pier three feet above
the altitude originally proposed, at an expense of £2,000. On the 21st
of May, 1863, the pier was formally opened by Captain Preston, the
auspicious event being celebrated by general rejoicings throughout the
town and a procession of the different schools and friendly societies.
The dimensions of the erection at that date were:—Approach, 80 feet
long; abutment, 120 feet long and 45 feet wide; main portion, 1,070 feet
long and 28 feet wide; and the head, 135 feet long and 55 feet wide,
giving a total length of 1,405 feet available as a promenade. The entire
superstructure was placed upon clusters of iron piles, fixed vertically
into the ground by means of screws, those at the abutment and main body
being wholly of cast, and those at the head partly of cast and partly of
wrought iron. The largest of the cast-iron columns measured 12 inches
in diameter, and 1⅓ inch in thickness, each column being filled in with
concrete. The piles were arranged in clusters at intervals of 60 feet,
and firmly secured together longitudinally, transversely, and diagonally,
by rods and braces. The main girders, of the sort known as plated, were
rivetted on the clusters in lengths of 70 feet, and formed parapets,
presenting a pleasing appearance and constituting a most efficient wind
guard to the pier. The tops of the girders were turned to useful account
by converting them into a continuous line of seats. Next to the chief
girders were fixed transverse wrought iron girders, upon the top of
which the planking of the deck was laid, being arranged in longitudinal
and transverse layers, so that no open spaces were left to admit the
passage of wind or spray. The head of the pier, rectangular in form, was
raised 50 feet above low-water mark, and leading from it to ample landing
stages below, was a flight of steps 10 feet wide. The limits of the pier
shore-wards were defined by ornamental iron gates with lamps, immediately
inside which were the toll houses. Upon the main portion of the pier
were erected several ornamental shelter and refreshment houses of an
octagonal shape, and standing on side projections. Another ornamental
shelter house of much larger dimensions was placed, within a few months,
on the head. Lamps were provided along the entire length of the pier. In
1867 the directors determined to erect an iron extension or jetty, and
in less than two years the work was accomplished at a cost of £6,000.
During the month of May, 1869, a tender for the formation of the present
entrance for £2,700 was accepted, and the agreement promptly carried out
by Messrs. Laidlaw, of Glasgow. In October, 1874, the company arranged
with the same contractors to enlarge the pierhead by putting out two
wings, from the designs of E. Birch, esq., C.E., at an expenditure of
£14,000. On the north wing it is intended to build a pavilion, 130 feet
long by 90 feet wide, in an eastern style of architecture, and estimated
to hold 1,200 persons seated. The edifice, around which there will be a
promenade, is to be supplied with an orchestra, refreshment rooms, etc.,
and used as a concert room and fashionable marine lounge. The south wing,
which is about 130 feet long, contains a bandstand, capable of holding
30 performers, at the further end, and on the east and west side two
other buildings 62 feet by 27 feet each, the former being designed for
the purposes of a restaurant, and the latter for the sale of fancy goods
and other commodities. The unoccupied space, nearly 100 feet by 80 feet,
will be provided with seats in the centre, the remainder serving as a
promenade. The contract for the foregoing erections was let in 1875,
to Messrs. Robert Neill and Sons, of Manchester, for nearly £12,000.
In 1863, the capital of the company was raised to £15,000; in 1864,
to £20,000; in 1865, to £25,000; in 1874, to £40,000; and in 1875, to
£50,000.
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.
Bathing machines abounded on the sands, and during suitable states of the
tide were busily engaged in affording ready access to the briny element
to numbers, who were anxious to experience the invigorating effects of
a bath in Neptune’s domain. In the evenings theatrical representations
were frequently held, since 1861, in the spacious room of Read’s Market.
The Crystal Palace, formerly the Victoria Promenade, was also devoted
to similar purposes, having long been diverted from the use for which
it was first intended. The Number 3 Hotel, under its old name, but in a
more modern building than that described by Mr. Hutton at the close of
last century, still flourished, and proved equally attractive, not so
much, however, on account of its “fine ale” as the wealth of strawberries
and floral beauties adorning its gardens. Carleton Terrace was built in
1863; and on the 10th of March in that year the marriage of the Prince
of Wales and the Princess Alexandra of Denmark, was celebrated with
many manifestations of loyalty and joy. Flags, banners, and ensigns
were suspended from the windows of almost every house, whilst sports of
various kinds were held on the sands during the morning, after which
the school children, belonging to the different denominations, and a
body of Oddfellows, amounting in all to 900 persons, assembled in Talbot
Square, and sang the national anthem, previous to forming a procession
and parading the streets of the town. Subsequently the children were
regaled with tea, buns, etc. The Preston Banking Company established a
branch at Blackpool during 1863; and in the month of January a party
of gentlemen purchased the whole of the land lying between the site
of Carleton terrace and the Gynn, for the purpose of laying it out in
building plots and promenades, the main feature to be a large central
hotel standing in its own grounds. The contracts were let by the company
in October, 1863, for embanking, sewering, and forming the necessary
roads and promenades on their estate, and shortly afterwards an agreement
was entered into for preparing the foundation of the hotel, the work in
both instances being promptly commenced. The magnitude of the scheme
far exceeded that of any undertaking which had ever yet been attempted
in Blackpool, but undisturbed by the speculative character of their
venture the proprietors carried the enterprise through its various phases
with a liberal and vigorous hand, succeeding in the course of time in
creating an acquisition of incalculable beauty and benefit to the town.
The Imperial Hotel has its station on the highest point of the land, now
called Claremont Park, and is a palatial edifice, surrounded by elegant
lawns and walks, walled off from the park outside. In 1876 an extensive
enlargement, consisting of a south wing, containing 39 bedrooms and 6
sitting-rooms, was made to the establishment. The cliffs fronting the
estate, formerly rugged and uneven, were sloped and pitched to form a
protection from the inroads of the tide, whilst a broad marine promenade
was made along the whole length of the park, about a mile, and fenced
with an iron railing on its open aspect. The main promenade of the town
was continued round the west side of the park as far as the Gynn, but on
a lower level than the walk just indicated. Shrubs were planted and toll
houses, with gates, fixed at the entrances to the estate, all of which
was enclosed with railings. The splendid residences denominated Stanley
Villas, Wilton Parade, Imperial Terrace, and Lansdowne Crescent were
not dilatory in rearing their several heads in a locality so congenial
to their aristocratic proclivities, the foundations of the last being
prepared in 1864.
In 1864 the Lane Ends Hotel was levelled to the ground, and the present
handsome structure, in the Italian style of architecture, raised on the
site, being re-opened again two years later. The foundation stone of the
United Methodist Free Church was laid in Adelaide Street on the 30th of
March, in the year specified, by James Sidebottom, esq., of Manchester,
service being held in the building in the course of a few months; whilst
the newly-arrived lifeboat was launched, and the first supply of the
Fylde Waterworks Company passed through their pipes to Blackpool on the
20th of July. The station of the lifeboat, named the “Robert William,” is
situated near the beach at South Shore, close to the Manchester Hotel;
and here we may mention that this boat, under the skilful and intrepid
management of its crew and coxswain, has been instrumental on several
occasions in affording aid in time of shipwreck. Amongst these instances
may be noted the rescue of a crew of fourteen persons belonging to the
barque “Susan L. Campbell,” wrecked on Salthouse Bank on the 11th April,
1867, assistance being rendered also to the barque “A. L. Routh”; and the
rescue of the crew of the schooner “Glyde,” stranded on the South Beach
on the same eventful morning. The annual expense incurred in the support
of this valuable institution is defrayed by voluntary contributions.
The unflagging efforts of the inhabitants to promote the comfort of
their visitors in matters of household convenience and accommodation,
and to render their sojourns by the shore productive of pleasurable, as
well as healthful, sensations, were manifestly well appreciated by those
for whose benefit they were intended. 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. The greater
portion of the Clifton Arms Hotel was pulled down in the autumn of 1865,
and rebuilt on an enlarged and improved scale, being finished and ready
for occupation in the ensuing spring. On the 20th of June, 1865, the
first members of the Blackpool Volunteer Artillery Corps, amounting to
about 60 men, took the oath customary on enrolment, and at the same
meeting appointed their officers. Ten years later a commodious drill-shed
was erected for their use.
In 1866 the temporary iron church, to which allusion has been made in
a late page, was superseded by the existing substantial one in Queen
Street, bearing the name of its predecessor. The edifice was opened for
divine service on Thursday, the 3rd of May, by the Rev. E. B. Chalmers,
M.A., of Salford, but was not consecrated until 1870. The architecture
is an early and simple style of decorated Gothic, with thick walls and
prominently projecting buttresses. The east and west ends are lighted
respectively by four and five-light traceried windows and lancets. The
steeple, which is well buttressed, has in its upper stage a belfry for
six bells, and is surmounted by a vane. Until recent additions were made,
the church contained sittings for 1,000 persons. The building originally
comprised a broad nave, with a central aisle and two side passages giving
access to the seats, all of which were open benches with sloping backs;
north and south transepts with galleries, lighted by bay windows; a
spacious chancel, with north and south aisles, the former being fitted up
as a vestry, and the latter used as the organ-chamber; a spacious porch
at the west end, with a wide double door; a west gallery extending over
the porch, and approached by a staircase along the basement of the tower;
and a baptistry covered with a separate hipped roof. The alterations
just alluded to were carried out in 1874, and consisted of the erection
of north and south aisles to the nave, providing accommodation for about
300 more worshippers. The district assigned to Christ Church in 1872 was
converted into a parish in 1874, and the title of vicar given to the
incumbent. The Rev. C. H. Wainwright, M.A., to whose exertions the new
structure mainly owes its existence, was the first incumbent, and is the
present vicar. The schools connected with the church are situated in
Queen Street, and were built in 1872.
During the year 1866 the Lancaster Banking Company and the Manchester and
County Banking Company each opened a branch in Blackpool, and like the
Preston Bank, previously referred to, now transact business daily.
In July, 1867, the Prince of Wales Arcade on Central Beach was finished
and opened, comprising a block of building, with extensive market
accommodation, assembly rooms, etc., erected on the site between
the Beach and Royal Hotels in an imposing and ornamental style of
architecture; and on the 19th of December, the corner stone of the
Temperance Hall in Coronation Street was laid by the Rev. R. Crook,
and in the following July the erection was completed and opened. The
temperance movement had been commenced in Blackpool four years anterior
to that date, when a Band of Hope in connection with the United Methodist
Free Church was formed, and the number of its members increased so
rapidly in the intervening time that it was considered advisable to build
the present Hall for their meetings, and for those of others who were
interested in the same cause.
The marked success which had attended the construction of the North Pier
induced a company of gentlemen to erect a similar one, running seaward
from the margin of the promenade at the south of Blackpool. The first
pile was screwed in July, 1867, and on the 30th of May, 1868, the South
Pier and Jetty were thrown open to the public without any inaugural
ceremony. It is built of wrought iron and timber, and has the following
dimensions:—Total length 1,518 feet, the main promenade being 1,118
feet, and the lower promenade or jetty 400 feet; the entrance is on an
abutment 60 feet wide, where there are gates, toll-houses, waiting and
retiring-rooms; the pier head is rectangular in form, and composed of
strong timber, containing an area of 8,120 superficial feet. The chief
promenade is furnished with seats on each side throughout its whole
length, together with twelve recesses, on which are shops for the sale
of fancy articles and refreshments. On the head of the pier are placed
two large waiting and refreshment rooms, as well as a commodious shelter
and wind guard. At the extremity of the jetty is a beacon and light as
required by the authorities at Trinity House.
In 1868 a magnificent pile of buildings, erected in Talbot Square, and
called the Arcade and Assembly Rooms, was completed. This structure
contains a basement and arcade of very elegant shops, a restaurant,
refreshment and billiard rooms, together with a handsome and spacious
saloon, surrounded within by a gallery, and furnished with a neat stage
for theatrical representations and other entertainments. Several sleeping
apartments were added in 1874, and a certain section of the edifice
arranged as a private hotel.
The promenade had always been esteemed so much the property of the house
and land owners on the front of the beach that to them was delegated
the onerous duty of maintaining in repair such portions of the hulking
as ran before each of their possessions, the walk itself being kept
in order and supported by subscriptions amongst the visitors and
residents generally. Under this arrangement although the embankment was
ensured from being carried away by the waves, there was no certainty
that its upper surface would invariably present that neat and finished
appearance so necessary to the success of a marine promenade. Voluntary
contributions are in most instances but a precarious support on which
to rely exclusively, and at Blackpool their unfortunate characteristic
was prominently exemplified, more particularly during the earlier years
of the watering-place, when visitors, whom the summer had drawn to the
coast, too frequently discovered their favourite lounge in a state far
from attractive to the pedestrian. Recently there had been comparatively
little cause for complaint as to the condition in which each opening
season found the promenade, but it was felt on all sides that the day had
arrived when a new and much more extensive walk should be laid out, and
that the responsibility of maintaining both it and the fence in proper
order should devolve upon the town, from the funds, or rather borrowing
powers, of which it was proposed to carry out the undertaking. In 1865 a
special act of parliament had been obtained with this object by the Local
Board of Health, at a cost of £2,159, by which permission to borrow up
to £30,000 was granted, but no active steps were then taken, and three
years later a supplemental act was procured to borrow up to an amount
which, when added to the amount already in hand under the former act,
would not exceed altogether two years’ assessable value, the whole to
be repaid within a period of fifty years from the date of receiving the
loan. There were other difficulties to encounter, notwithstanding that
the Board had the power of compulsory purchased granted, in the buying of
land to prosecute the purpose of the act. These were ultimately overcome
by arbitration in cases where disputes had arisen. A supplemental act
in 1867 allowed the board to amend and curtail several clauses in the
original act, the first of which was to abridge the dimensions of the
proposed work, the second to empower the levying of rates according to
the act of 1865 on the completion of each section of the undertaking,
and the third to extend the time for the compulsory purchase of land
from three to five years. According to the act the commissioners gained
a right to collect tolls for the usage of the promenade from all persons
not assessed or liable to be assessed by any rate leviable by the Local
Board of Health, with the exception of those crossing to the piers. This
power, it may be stated, was not intended to be, and never has been, put
in force. The promenade proposed to be made would reach from Carleton
Terrace to the further end of South Shore, a distance of about two miles;
and the work was divided into three sections, the first of which, begun
in 1868, was let to Mr. Robert Carlisle, contractor, for £16,043, and
extended from South Shore to the Fox Hall Hotel. The storm which occurred
on January 31st, 1869, washed away 350 yards of the newly-constructed sea
fence and carriage-drive, with about 16,000 cubic yards of embankment,
and about 6,000 square yards of pitching. Another storm which took place
on the 28th of February, added considerably to the damage just stated,
by tearing down a length of 250 yards, which was entirely completed, so
that the total injury inflicted by the waves during the gale represented
600 lineal yards of sea fence, carriage-drive, and promenade, comprising
21,000 cubic yards of embankment, all of which had to be replaced from
the shore at a considerable expense, in addition to 9,500 square yards
of pitching, etc., connected therewith. No. 2 section, running from
the Fox Hall Hotel to the New Inn, was contracted for by a Manchester
gentleman at £3,964, but in consequence of his not being able to carry
out the work, it was re-let, and Mr. Chatburn succeeded him on the
increased terms of £4,942. No. 3 section, stretching from the New Inn
to the southern extremity of Carleton Terrace, was also constructed by
Mr. Robert Carlisle, at a cost of £10,356. The whole of the ironwork was
supplied by Mr. Clayton, of Preston, and necessitated an expenditure of
£3,275. The sea fence consists of a sloping breastwork, pitched with
stones on a thick bed of clay puddle, the interstices between the stones
having been filled in with asphalt or cement concrete. The slope is
curvilinear, and one in four on an average. Next to the breast is the
promenade and carriage-drive. The promenade is seven yards wide, and has
an even surface of asphalting, being separated from the carriage-drive
by a line of side stones. In order to obtain space between the houses
and the sea for the promenade and carriage-drive, a part of the shore
was regained by an embankment along South Shore, and along the northern
district by an iron viaduct, which projects considerably over the sea
fence, and encircles the marine aspect of Bailey’s Hotel. The floor
of the viaduct is formed with patent buckled plates, filled in with
concrete, and finished with asphalt. The plates are fixed to rolled
joists, and supported on neat cast-iron columns, screwed down into the
solid. The west front of the promenade is guarded by an iron railing, and
furnished at intervals with seats of the same material, situated on the
embankment to the south, and on projecting ledges of the viaduct along
the northern length. The carriage-drive, twelve yards wide, runs parallel
with the promenade throughout the entire extent, and is formed of
shingle, clay, and macadam. It has a footway along the frontages of the
adjoining property, the whole being well drained and lighted with gas.
The complete structure was finished and formally opened to the public on
Easter Monday, 18th of April, 1870, by Colonel Wilson-Patten, M.P., the
present Lord Winmarleigh. The town was profusely decorated with bunting
of every hue; triumphal arches of evergreens and ensigns spanned many of
the thoroughfares, notably Talbot Road and along the front; whilst an
immense procession, consisting of the Artillery Volunteers, Yeomanry in
uniform, trades with their emblems, friendly societies, schools, etc.,
headed by a band, and comprising in its ranks no less than twelve mayors
from important towns of Lancashire, conducted Colonel Wilson-Patten to
that portion of the promenade opposite Talbot Square, where the ceremony
of declaring the walk accessible for public traffic was gone through.
During the evening the watering-place was illuminated, and the eventful
day closed with a large ball, held in honour of the occasion.
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. The wooden railings, which heretofore had been deemed sufficiently
ornamental fences for the residences facing the sea, were removed, and
elegant iron ones substituted, apportioning to each habitation its own
plot of sward or garden. The proprietor of Bailey’s Hotel hastened to
follow the example which had been set by those who were interested in the
Clifton Arms and Lane Ends Hotels, and commenced a series of levellings
and rebuildings, under the superintendence and according to the designs
of Messrs. Speakman and Charlesworth, architects, of Manchester, which
extended over several years, and have now rendered the hotel one of
the most imposing and handsome edifices in the watering-place. Further
alterations, consisting in the erection of shops on a vacant piece
of land lying on the north side of the hotel, in the same style of
architecture, and continuous with it, were carried out in 1876.
In 1871 a project was launched for purchasing Raikes Hall with the
estate belonging thereto, situated on the east aspect of Blackpool, and
converting the latter into a park and pleasure gardens. In that year a
company was formed, entitled the Raikes Hall Park, Gardens, and Aquarium
Company, and the land obtained without delay. Vigorous operations were
at once commenced to render the grounds of the old mansion suitable for
the purposes held in view, whilst the building itself speedily underwent
sundry alterations and additions in its transformation into a refreshment
house on a large scale. A spacious terrace, walks, promenades, and flower
beds were laid out, and an extensive conservatory constructed with all
haste, and in the summer after gaining possession of the estate, the
works had so far progressed that the public were admitted at a small
charge per head. Since that date a dancing platform has been put down,
an immense pavillion erected, and many other changes effected in the
wide enclosure. Pyrotechnic displays, acrobatic performances, etc., are
held in the gardens, which comprise about 40 statute acres, during the
season, whilst agricultural shows and other meetings occasionally take
place within its boundaries. An extensive lake was formed in 1875, and
an excellent race-course marked out. Raikes Hall has a brief history of
its own, and was erected about the middle of the eighteenth century by
a Mr. Butcher, who resided there. Tradition affirms that this gentleman
sprang suddenly into an ample fortune from a station of obscurity and
poverty, giving rise to a supposition that he had appropriated to his own
uses a large mass of wealth asserted to have been lost at that time in a
vessel wrecked on the coast. It is probable, however, that the foregoing
is merely an idle tale, utterly unworthy of credence. Mr. Butcher, who
was succeeded by his son, died in 1769, at the ripe age of 80, and was
interred in Bispham churchyard, the following words being inscribed on
his tombstone:—
“His pleasure was to give or lend,
He always stood a poor man’s friend.”
The mansion and estate were purchased by William Hornby, esq., of
Kirkham, shortly before his death in 1824, and by him bequeathed to his
brother John Hornby, esq., of Blackburn, who married Alice Kendall, a
widow, and the daughter of Daniel Backhouse, esq., of Liverpool. Daniel
Hornby, esq., the eldest son of that union, inherited the property on the
decease of his father in 1841, and took up his abode at the Hall until
the early part of 1860, when he left the neighbourhood. Raikes Hall then
became the seat of a Roman Catholic Convent School, which continued in
possession for several years, until the new and handsome edifice standing
on a rising ground in Little Layton was erected and ready for its
reception. Shortly after the removal of the school the land and residence
were purchased by the company above named, and their aspects began to
undergo the changes already indicated. The census returns of the township
collected in 1871, furnished a total of 7,902 persons, all of whom, with
the exception of an insignificant proportion, were resident in Blackpool.
In consequence of a letter from the Secretary of State, giving notice
that the burial ground in connection with St. John’s Church must be
closed after the 31st of December, 1871, the responsibility of providing
a suitable place for interments was thrown upon the authorities, and the
members of the Local Board of Health formed themselves into a Burial
Board, their first meeting being held on the 20th of June in the year
just specified. A committee was appointed, and in the ensuing August
purchased for £1,759 an eligible site of 8½ acres, lying by the side of
the New Road, into which the entrance gates of the cemetery now open.
The plans for the requisite erections were prepared by Messrs. Garlick,
Park, and Sykes, architects, of Preston, and the work of preparing the
ground commenced in October, the contract for the chapels and lodge being
let in December. As such a brief interval had to elapse before the order
for closing the churchyard would be put in force, the Board applied,
successfully, for permission to keep it open six months longer. The
cemetery, however, progressed so tardily that it was necessary to renew
the application on two future occasions, and the churchyard continued
in use until the 31st of May, 1873. Five acres of the land were laid
out from plans supplied by Mr. Gorst, surveyor to the board, and were
divided into nine sections, four of which were apportioned to the Church
of England, three to the Nonconformists, and two to the Roman Catholics.
The cemetery was enclosed from the highway by stone palisadings and
boundary walls, having massive iron railings. The approach to the grounds
is through a spacious entrance, with a double iron gate in the centre,
and a single gate on either side, hung to stone pillars. Inside the
gate is the lodge, built of stone and comprising a residence for the
keeper, offices, etc. The mortuary chapels, which are all of stone, have
an elegant appearance, that of the Church of England being stationed in
the middle, with the Nonconformists’ and Roman Catholics’ edifices lying
respectively west and east of it. The style of the buildings is Gothic
of the first pointed period. The roofs are open-timbered, high-pitched,
and covered with Welsh slates in bands of different colours, being
also crested with tiles. Entrance to the chapels is gained by a porch,
and there is a vestry attached to each. The floors are laid with plain
tiles of various tints. Evergreens, shrubs, and forest trees have been
planted on the borders of the grounds, whilst the walks are wide and
well cared for. The Nonconformists were the first to take possession of
their portion, which was dedicated to its solemn uses by a service held
on the 7th of February, 1873, exactly one week after which an interment
took place, being the earliest not only in their land but in the whole
ground. On the 2nd of August in the same year the Right Rev. Dr. Fraser,
bishop of Manchester, consecrated the division set apart for the Church
of England, which had been licensed for burials in the previous May. The
Roman Catholics deferred their ceremonial until the month of June, 1874,
acting under license during the interval.
On the 26th of August, 1872, the Blackpool Sea Water Company was
registered under the limited liability act, with a capital of £10,000,
in shares of £10 each, for the purpose of supplying water from the deep,
together with the requisite appliances for conducting it to the houses
and elsewhere, to the inhabitants of Blackpool; and rather more than
two years later a main of pipes had been laid along the front from the
Merchants’ College in South Shore as far as their steam pumping works in
Upper Braithwaite Street.
In 1874 the watering-place had developed so rapidly during past years
that the members of the Local Board of Health felt that the powers
appertaining to a body of that description were no longer adequate to
the proper government of the town, and a public meeting to ascertain the
opinion of the ratepayers on the subject of incorporation was called
on Tuesday, the 6th of November, 1874. After considerable discussion,
it was proposed by the Rev. N. S. Jeffreys: “That a petition be drawn
up and signed by the chairman on behalf of the meeting, praying that
a Charter of Incorporation be granted for the town of Blackpool, and
that the same be forwarded to the proper authorities; and that the
necessary steps be taken to obtain such Charter.” The proposition was
adopted without a dissentient; and at the ensuing assembly of the Local
Board of Health on Tuesday, the 10th of November, a similar motion was
brought forward by W. H. Cocker, esq., J.P., with an equally successful
result. The prayers were forwarded to the appropriate official quarters
in London, and on the 26th of May, 1875, Major Donnelly, R.E., the
commissioner appointed by Her Majesty’s Privy Council, attended at
the Board-room to hold an inquiry as to whether the importance and
necessities of the place warranted a favourable answer to the request.
In the course of the examination, it was stated, amongst other things,
that the rateable value of the proposed borough was in 1863, £17,489;
1866, £35,175; 1869, £45,755; 1872, £55,653; 1874, £63,848; and in 1875,
£73,035. Also that the town contained three churches, seven chapels,
three rooms used for religious services, two markets under the Local
Board, other markets owned by private individuals, four public sea-water
baths, three banks, an aquarium, public gardens, etc. On the 16th of the
following July information was officially conveyed to W. M. Charnley,
esq., the law-clerk of the board, that the lords of the Privy Council
had determined to accede to the prayer of the town, and that the borough
should consist of six wards, with one alderman and three councillors
for each. A draft of the scheme of incorporation was prepared by the
law-clerk, and forwarded to London. On the 22nd January, 1876, the
charter, having passed through the necessary forms, obtained the royal
assent, being received by W. M. Charnley, esq., two days later. The
document, after quoting several acts of parliament, proceeds to “grant
and declare that the inhabitants of the town of Blackpool and their
successors, shall be for ever hereafter one body politic and corporate in
deed, fact, and name, and that the said body corporate shall be called
the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Blackpool, who
shall have and exercise all the acts, powers, authorities, immunities,
and privileges which are now held and exercised by the bodies corporate
of the several boroughs” similarly created. Further, the deed “grants
and declares that the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses and their
successors shall and may for ever hereafter use a common seal to serve
them in transacting their business, and also have armorial bearings
and devices, which shall be duly entered and enrolled in the Herald’s
College;” also shall they have power “to purchase, take, and acquire
such lands, tenements, and heriditaments, whatsoever, situate, lying,
and being within the borough, as shall be necessary for the site of
the buildings and premises required for the official purposes of the
corporation.” The Council was ordained to consist of “a Mayor, six
Aldermen, and eighteen Councillors, to be respectively elected at such
times and places, and in such manner” as those of other boroughs existing
under the same acts, in common with which they “shall have, exercise, and
enjoy all the powers, immunities, and privileges, and be subject to the
same duties, penalties, liabilities, and disqualifications” appertaining
to such positions. The first election of councillors was directed to
be held on the eleventh day of April, 1876, followed by another on the
1st of November, at which latter date one-third part of the councillors
should go out of office each year, and the vacant seats be refilled as
specified; the councillors to retire in the November, 1876, being those
who had obtained the smallest number of votes, and in November, 1877,
those with the next smallest number of votes. The first aldermen of the
borough “shall be elected and assigned to their respective wards on the
19th day of April, 1876, and the councillors immediately afterwards shall
appoint who shall be the aldermen to go out of office upon the 9th day
of November ensuing,” and in subsequent years those so retiring to be
aldermen who have retained their seats for the longest period without
re-election. The first mayor of the borough “shall be elected from and
out of the aldermen and councillors of the said borough, on the 19th day
of April, 1876,” the earliest appointment of auditors and assessors being
made on the 19th day of the following month. The subjoined extent and
names of the wards are also taken from the charter:—
CLAREMONT WARD.
“Commencing at the Sea beyond the Gynn, at the junction of the
old existing township boundary, thence running inland along the
same boundary across the fields, across Knowle-road, behind
Warbrick and Mill Inn, across Poulton-road to the centre of the
Dyke at Little Layton, thence along the Dyke to the centre of
Little Layton Bridge, thence westward along and including the
north side of Little Layton-road, north side of New-road, north
side of Talbot-road, to Station-road, thence along and including
the east side of Station-road to Queen-street, thence along and
including the north side of Queen-street, Queen’s-square, across
the Promenade to the sea.
TALBOT WARD.
“Commencing at the Sea opposite the centre of Queen’s-square,
thence along and including the south side of Queen’s-square,
south side of Queen-street to Station-road, thence running along
and including the west side of Station-road to Talbot-road,
thence along and including the south side of the upper portion
of Talbot-road, south side of New-road, the south side of Little
Layton-road to the centre of Little Layton Bridge, thence along
the Dyke to the old township boundary, thence south-east by the
township boundary to the centre of Dykes-lane, thence westward
along and including the north side of Dykes-lane, the north side
of Layton-road, the north side of Raikes-road, the north side of
Raikes Hill, the north side of Church-street to Abingdon-street,
thence along and including the east side of Abingdon-street
to Birley-street, thence along and including the north side
of Birley-street, the north side of West-street, across the
Promenade to the Sea.
BANK HEY WARD.
“Commencing at the Sea opposite the centre of West-street, thence
along and including the south side of West-street, the south side
of Birley-street to Abingdon-street, thence along and including
the west side of Abingdon-street to Church-street, thence
along and including the south side of Church-street to Lower
King-street, thence along and including the west side of Lower
King-street to Adelaide-street, thence along and including the
north side of Adelaide-street, the north side of Adelaide-place,
across the Promenade to the Sea.
BRUNSWICK WARD.
“Commencing at the Sea opposite the centre of Adelaide-place,
thence along and including the south side of Adelaide-place,
the south side of Adelaide-street to Lower King-street, thence
along and including the east side of Lower King-street to
Church-street, thence along and including the south side of
Church-street, the south side of Raikes Hill, the south side
of Raikes-road, the south side of Layton-road, the south side
of Dykes-lane to the existing township boundary, thence along
the same boundary beyond the Whinney Heys, around the Belle
Vue Gardens, southward of Raikes Hall Gardens to the centre
of Revoe-road, thence along and including the north side of
Revoe-road, the north side of Chapel-street, across the Promenade
to the Sea.
FOXHALL WARD.
“Commencing at the Sea opposite to the end of Chapel-street,
thence along and including the south side of Chapel-street, the
south side of Revoe-road to the existing township boundary,
thence south-westerly, and thence south-easterly along the
same boundary to the centre of Cow Gap-lane, thence west along
and including the north side of Cow Gap-lane to Lytham-road,
thence along and including the east side of Lytham-road to
Alexandra-road, thence along and including the north side of
Alexandra-road, across the Promenade to the Sea.
WATERLOO WARD.
“Commencing at the Sea opposite the centre of Alexandra-road,
thence along and including the south side of Alexandra-road
to Lytham-road, thence along and including the west side of
Lytham-road to Cow Gap-lane, thence eastward, along and including
the south side of Cow Gap-lane to the existing township boundary,
thence south-easterly, along the same boundary on the easterly
side of Hawes Side-road, the north side of Layton-lane, across
the Blackpool and Lytham Railway to the Sea at Star Hills.”
The election of councillors took place at the date specified in the
charter, under the superintendence of Mr. William Porter, of Fleetwood
and Blackpool, who had been nominated by the authorities of the town as
returning officer. On the 19th of April the gentlemen elected assembled
in the old board-room and appointed aldermen and a mayor from amongst
themselves, the vacancies thus created being supplied by another appeal
to the burgesses of those wards whose representatives had been elevated
to the aldermanic bench. The first completed town council of Blackpool
consisted of—
Alderman William Henry Cocker (the mayor) Bank Hey Ward.
” Thomas McNaughtan, M.D. Claremont ”
” Thomas Lambert Masheter Talbot ”
” John Hardman Foxhall ”
” Francis Parnell Waterloo ”
” J. E. B. Cocker Brunswick ”
Councillor John Braithwaite ⎫
” William Bailey ⎬ Claremont ”
” Leslie Jones, M.D. ⎭
” T. Challinor ⎫
” R. Marshall ⎬ Talbot ”
” John Fisher ⎭
” John Coulson ⎫
” George Ormrod ⎬ Bank Hey ”
” Henry Fisher ⎭
” George Bonny ⎫
” Robert Mather ⎬ Brunswick ”
” John William Mycock ⎭
” James Blundell Fisher ⎫
” Alfred Anderson ⎬ Foxhall ”
” Robert Bickerstaffe, jun. ⎭
” Francis Parnell ⎫
” Richard Gorst ⎬ Waterloo ”
” Lawrence Hall ⎭
William Mawdsley Charnley, esq., solicitor, town-clerk.
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 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. No longer
solitary erections, or even small groups, but whole streets have been
added to the expanding area of the place, consisting of handsome and
spacious edifices, of, indeed, notwithstanding their being situated to
the rear, exteriors which would, not many years ago, have been deemed
highly ornamental to the beach itself. In 1874 the south section of the
noble market-hall, on Hygiene Terrace, was being arranged and fitted
up with roomy tanks to form an aquarium on a fairly large scale by W.
H. Cocker, Esq., J.P., who had recently acquired the proprietorship of
the entire pile. The open space in front of the building was fenced in,
and furnished with three tanks for seals, and other novel features to
render it attractive and pleasing. The walls of the interior were adorned
with landscapes in the spacious saloon, where the main tank, divided
into numerous compartments, each being supplied with a variety of fish
differing from its neighbours, occupies a central position. Subsidiary
tanks, filled with curious specimens of animated nature from the “vasty
deep,” stand in the entrance hall and recesses. The aquarium was opened
to the public on the 17th of May, in the ensuing year.
On the 22nd of May, 1875, the foundation stone of a Primitive Methodist
chapel was laid in Chapel Street by Mr. J. Fairhurst, of Wigan.
Heretofore the members of that sect had met for religious purposes in a
mission room located in Foxhall Road. The earliest service in the new
chapel was conducted by the resident minister, the Rev. E. Newsome, on
Sunday, the 29th of the following August. The Unitarians have a chapel
in Bank Street, which was formally opened by the Rev. J. R. Smith, of
Hyde, also in August, 1875. During the same month a number of influential
gentlemen purchased the estate of Bank Hey from W. H. Cocker, esq., J.P.,
for £23,000, with the intention of converting it into Winter Gardens.
Possession was gained, according to agreement, on the 1st of October. The
design of the company is to place on the land a concert room, promenades,
conservatories, and other accessories calculated to convert the estate
into a pleasant lounge, especially desirous during inclement days.
Although South Shore is now intimately connected and associated with
Blackpool as one town, there was a period, and not a very remote one,
when it flourished as a separate and distinct hamlet, widely divided
from its more imposing neighbour. The first house of South Shore was
erected in 1819 by Mr. Thomas Moore, who speedily added about ten more
to the solitary edifice. The growth of the village in earlier years was
not characterised by any great rapidity, and in 1830 the whole of the
buildings comprised no more than a thin row of respectable cottages
overlooking the sea, with a lawn or promenade in front. In 1836 a church
was built, partly by subscription and partly from Queen Anne’s Bounty,
and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Twenty-two years afterwards, owing to
the development of South Shore through the number of regular visitants
who preferred the quietude of its beach to the greater animation which
prevailed at Blackpool, the building was enlarged by the erection of
transepts and a new chancel, alterations which supplied further sitting
room for about 380 worshippers. The church is of brick, and contains a
handsome stained-glass east window, representing the baptism of Christ
by St. John the Baptist, another ornamental window being inserted in
the south wall. The mural tablets are in memory of William Wilkinson,
“who for twenty-five years was an indefatigable teacher in the Sunday
Schools of Marton and South Shore,—he served his country in the battles
of Talavera, Busaco, Albuera, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nive, Nivelle, and
Toulouse,” died 11th September, 1853, aged 66 years; and of James
Metcalf, “curate of South Shore, who departed this life July 24th, 1875,
aged 42 years, and was interred at the Parish Church of Bolton-le-Sands.”
The font is of grey stone, massive and carved. The first organ obtained
by the congregation was purchased in 1847. In 1872 a tasteful lectern
was forwarded to the church by the Rev. J. B. Wakefield, to whom it had
been presented by his parishioners, as a token of esteem, about the close
of his ministry amongst them in 1870. The burial ground encircling the
church of Holy Trinity contains no monuments of special interest, if we
except a stone pedestal, surmounted by a broken column, erected by public
subscription to the memories of three fishermen, drowned off Cross-slack,
whilst following their avocation on the 11th of October, 1860.
PERPETUAL CURATES AND VICARS OF HOLY TRINITY.
------------+------------------+------------------+-----------------
Date of | NAME. | On whose |Cause of Vacancy.
Institution.| | Presentation. |
------------+------------------+------------------+-----------------
1837 |G. F. Greene, M.A.|J. Talbot Clifton,|
| | esq. |
1841 |John Edwards |Ditto |Resignation of
| | | G. F. Greene
1845 |C. K. Dean |Ditto |Resignation of
| | | J. Edwards
1848 |T. B. Banner, M.A.|Ditto |Resignation of
| | | C. K. Dean
1853 |J. B. Wakefield |Ditto |Resignation of
| | | T. B. Banner
1870 |J. Ford Simmons, |Ditto |Resignation of
| M.A. | | J. B. Wakefield
------------+------------------+------------------+-----------------
There is now an ecclesiastical parochial district attached to the church,
of which the incumbent is the vicar.
On Thursday, the 24th of March, 1869, the corner stone of a Wesleyan
chapel in Rawcliffe Street, built at the sole expense of Francis Parnell,
esq., of South Shore, who subsequently added the schools, was laid by
Mrs. Parnell, wife of the donor. For four or five years the members
of this denomination had met on the Sabbath in a small room in Bolton
Street, originally designed for a coach-house, and the necessity for
more suitable and extended accommodation through growing numbers had of
late pressed urgently upon the limited and not over wealthy assembly, so
that the generous offer of their townsman was gratefully appreciated.
The structure is in the Gothic style of architecture, about fifty feet
in length and forty feet in width, with brick walls and stone facings,
and will contain upwards of three hundred persons. Service was first
held in the new place of worship, styled the Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel,
on Thursday, the 2nd of September, 1869, the officiating minister being
the Rev. W. H. Taylor, of Manchester. The room in Bolton Street was
subsequently converted into a Temperance Hall, and remained in that
capacity until the 30th of March, 1873, when it was appropriated as a
meeting-house by the Baptist sect. The progress of South Shore has not
until the last two or three years been marked by that wonderful rapidity
which has already been noticed whilst delineating the prosperous career
of Blackpool. Nevertheless a steadily-increasing patronage was always
extended to the milder climate of the village under consideration, from
its earliest existence. Terraces of pretty and commodious residences
arose at intervals along the marine frontage, whilst elegant villas
have been erected both opposite the sea and nearer to the Lytham
Road. Building is at present (1876) being pushed forward with great
activity, houses springing up in endless succession along the sides of
thoroughfares but recently mapped out.
[Illustration]