Blackpool
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- This article is about the town in England. For other uses of the name, see Blackpool (disambiguation).
Borough of Blackpool | |
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Geography | |
Status: | Unitary, Borough |
Region: | North West England |
Ceremonial County: | Lancashire |
Area: - Total |
Ranked 330th 34.92 km² |
Admin. HQ: | Blackpool |
Grid reference: | SD305365 |
ONS code: | 00EY |
Demographics | |
Population: - Total (2003 est.) - Density |
Ranked 116th 142,429 4,079 / km² |
Ethnicity: | 98.4% White |
Politics | |
![]() Blackpool Borough Council http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/ |
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Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
Executive: | Labour |
MPs: | Joan Humble, Gordon Marsden |
Blackpool is a seaside town in England, on the coast of the Irish Sea. It is traditionally part of Lancashire but on April 1, 1998 was made into an independent unitary authority.
It is believed to get its name from a long gone drainage channel which ran over a peat bog. The water which ran into the sea at Blackpool was black from the peat and formed a "black pool" in the relatively clean waters of the Irish Sea.
It is generally believed locally that people originating from Blackpool are called "Sand Grown" or "Sandgrown'uns," but these terms may be applied to natives of any littoral settlement; the correct appellation is "Blackpudlian" (on the model of "Liverpudlian", namely a native of Liverpool).
The town boundaries are drawn very tightly, and exclude the nearby settlements of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde and Lytham St Anne's. Blackpool Borough, unlike its neighbours, is almost completely urbanised.
Blackpool is also seen as the hometown of the rockband Jethro Tull. Bandleader Ian Anderson grew up in Blackpool, and founded the precursor of the band here.
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Tourism
Blackpool is heavily dependent on tourism. Major attractions include:
- The three piers: the North (built in 1863), Central (1868) and South (1893).
- Blackpool Tower, built in May 1894, is a 518-foot-tall copy of the Eiffel Tower. It was painted gold for its centenary.
- The Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park, near to the South Pier.
In what is often regarded as its heyday (1900-1960), Blackpool heaved as the factory workers of northern England took their annual holidays there en masse. Any photograph from that era shows large crowds on the beach and promenade. Blackpool was also a preferred destination of visitors from Glasgow and remains so to this day. The town still has more hotel beds than the whole of Portugal. The town went into decline when cheap air travel arrived in the 1960s and the same workers decamped to the Mediterranean coast resorts due to competitive prices and the more reliably favourable weather. Today, many visitors stay for the weekend rather than for a week at a time. Blackpool is continually striving to improve its position within today's tourist industry. One controversial proposal, which has the involvement of the local council, is to transform Blackpool into a casino resort along the lines of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, making it the centre point of gambling in the UK. This plan is dependent on the selection of Blackpool as the location of Britain's first "super-casino", following the slight liberalisation of Britain's gambling laws.
A controversial aspect of Blackpool's night-life is its hen and stag parties. Brides or bridegrooms-to-be respectively, along with their friends, often dressed alike in absurd or risqué attire, roam the town's many bars and clubs getting increasingly drunk. Their rowdy behaviour is claimed to discourage family visitors and has led to complaints from hotel and guest house owners keen to attract a more upmarket clientele.
Blackpool has gained renown as a lesbian and gay destination, with clubs such as the Flamingo and Mardi Gras, the Flying Handbag pub, and many gay-only hotels and guest-houses. These tend to be inland, nearer to the North station than the sea front.
Blackpool remains a major summer entertainment venue, specialising in variety shows featuring entertainers such as Ken Dodd. Outside the main holiday season, Blackpool's Winter Gardens routinely hosts major political and trade union conferences, ranging from that of the Conservative Party and the TGWU with thousands of delegates and visitors, to substantially smaller gatherings such as the CWU or NUS conferences.
Blackpool Illuminations in September and October, consisting of a series of lighted displays and collages arranged along the entire length of the sea front (11 km/7 miles), attract many visitors at a time when other resorts' holiday seasons have ended.
Non-tourist industry
Major employers include:
- The government-owned National Savings and Investments, based at Marton, together with their random number generating computer ERNIE which picks the Premium Bond numbers.
- Other Government Agencies based at Warbreck and Norcross.
- The sports car manufacturer TVR. (Blackpool was also the original site of Swallow Sidecar Company forerunner of Jaguar Cars.)
- Fisherman's Friend, mints manufacturer.
- Burtons Foods, producing biscuits and other bakery products.
- Arvin Meritor, which manufactures automotive components.
- The Glasdon Group, known for its plastic products including litter bins, park benches and reflective road signs.
Many Blackpool residents work in the retail sector, either in the town centre or the retail parks on the edge of town.
Transport infrastructure
The town's tramway was for a long time Britain's only working tramway outside of museums. Other cities have been rebuilding their networks since the late 20th century.
Blackpool had two railway termini with a total of over 30 platforms, mainly used by excursion traffic in the summer. Blackpool Central, close to the Tower, was closed in 1964, whilst Blackpool North was largely demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility. The route of the former excursion line into Blackpool Central is now used as a link road from the M55 motorway to the town centre. The original 'main line' into Blackpool via Lytham St Annes now has a station serving Blackpool Pleasure Beach but terminates at Blackpool South station. The line into North station is now the more important.
Blackpool Airport operates regular charter and scheduled flights. The airport is actually in St Annes although a proposal to reorganise Blackpool's borders would see the airport incorporated into Blackpool Borough.
The M55 motorway links the town to the national motorway network.
Blackpool in film
The resort is featured in the 1934 film Sing as We Go, starring Gracie Fields, as well as other cinema and TV productions, including Funny Bones (1995) starring Lee Evans and Oliver Platt and directed by Blackpool born Peter Chelsom.
The Japanese film Shall We Dance (1996) closes with a scene at the World Ballroom Dancing Championships in Blackpool. All the hair styling for the film was completed by Blackpool born and bred hairstylist Eileen Clough, who has been in the trade since the 1960's. In the Hollywood remake of the film (2004) Blackpool is mentioned but not shown. The remake was also directed by Peter Chelsom.
Blackpool is the setting for Bhaji on the Beach (1993) directed by Gurinder Chadha.
Local media
- The Gazette - daily evening paper
- The Wave - Blackpool-based commercial radio station
- The Citizen - weekly newspaper
Local attractions, culture, and facilities
- Blackpool Football Club, winners of the FA Cup in 1953.
- Blackpool Zoo - provides a home to over 1500 animals from all over the world.
- Blackpool Dance Festival - World famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance: home page
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach - Theme park with lots of different attractions including the tallest rollercoaster in Europe.
- Tower World - A huge complex of leisure facilities, entertainment venues and restaurants. Included is the famous Blackpool Tower, Tower Ballroom and Tower Circus.
- Winter Gardens - Large entertainment and conference venue in the town centre.
- North Pier - The northernmost of Blackpool's three piers. It includes a small shopping arcade, a small tramway and a theatre at the end. It was damaged by a 1997 Christmas windstorm
- Central Pier - The middle pier. It includes a large theme park and shopping.
- South Pier - The southernmost pier. Almost directly opposite the Pleasure Beach, it houses a large theme park.
- Blackpool and The Fylde College
External links
- Blackpool Football Club
- Official tourism
- Tourist information page
- Blackpool Group Photo Pool - Flickr.com
- Virtual Tour of Blackpool
- Blackpool Hotels
- Accessible Blackpool Hotels Website
- Blackpool lesbian and gay accommodation
- Southend Pier site
- Club Heaven and Hell Site
Districts of England - North West England | ![]() |
Allerdale | Barrow-in-Furness | Blackburn with Darwen | Blackpool | Bolton | Burnley | Bury | Carlisle | Chester | Chorley | Congleton | Copeland | Crewe and Nantwich | Eden | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Fylde | Halton | Hyndburn | Knowsley | Lancaster | Liverpool | Macclesfield | Manchester | Oldham | Pendle | Preston | Ribble Valley | Rochdale | Rossendale | St Helens | Salford | Sefton | South Lakeland | South Ribble | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Vale Royal | Warrington | West Lancashire | Wigan | Wirral | Wyre |
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Counties with multiple districts: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside |