Blackpool Civic Trust will be assisting visits to Blackpool Town Hall during Heritage Open Day on Saturday 19th September 2026 between 10am and 3.30pm.
Visit the Council Chamber with its debating area, stained glass windows and murals. The Mayor’s Parlour and meeting rooms on the first floor.
Heritage Open Days are operated by volunteers and have free access to places not normally open to the public.
Our Monday 19th September meeting will be held the Holiday Inn, Talbot Road Blackpool starting at 7pm.
Tonight’s guest speaker is David Hulme, who worked on Blackpool Tower for 30yrs and has written a book about it. Tall Tales.
Non-members welcome for a small donation suggested £2.
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Our next monthly meeting will be on Monday 20th July at 7pm in the Holiday Inn, Talbot Road, Blackpool.
The guest speaker will be Barry McCann who will speak about Blackpool Shipwrecks.
Non-members are welcome for a small donation, suggested as £2 each.
The Claremont Heritage Gala on the 4th of July is organised by our Social Secretary. Members are requested to attend and if possible to assist guiding the procession.
The Blackpool Borough Charter was signed by Queen Victoria in 1876 granting borough status to the town. The wax seal has almost disintegrated. As this is 150th anniversary the committee agreed that restoring the seal and framing of the charter was a worthwhile expense for the Civic Trust.
The Civic Trust have offered to lend books to the Imperial Hotel. Labels have been ordered and attached to the books which are now on the bookcase at the hotel.
At the Parish Church, St John’s, the grave marker of the town’s first mayor, Dr Cocker, as well as the marker of the Reverend William Thornber, celebrated local historian, needs restoration. The Civic Trust has submitted an application to the diocese to permit the work and has made the budget available.
Members are encouraged to attend a meeting at the Central Library on the 2nd June about the Aden Project. There will be a talk by a veteran at 11.30 and 1.15. Update: an email thanking members for their attendance has been received.
There’s an Armed Force’s cabinet meeting on the 16th June 2pm at the Empowerment Base in Bispham Road which members may attend.
The talk at the May Monthly Meeting was the Cyril Critchlow memorial lecture. The talk is always on a show business theme. The comedy duo Ruth and Keith known as Black Liver told us how they became a duo. It was a most enjoyable evening. Ruth is from Blackpool and Keith is from Liverpool, hence the name Black Liver.
A number of town crest buttons are available to members for a donation of £3 to the Civic Trust.
A number of planning applications were reviewed in May where potential heritage concerns applied. So far our Planning Officer has made no objections.
The Planning Officer wrote to the Planning Department requesting that the hoarding in front of Sainsbury’s is removed as it is detrimental to pedestrian safety and the streetscape, The hoarding has now been removed.
The Planning Officer also requested a reply on the heritage tram situation from the council and is to pursue it further.
A meeting has been arranged in the Blackpool Council offices regarding the care of heritage assets affected by the coastal defence works.
Stanley Park centenary plaque has had another proof from the manufacturer, and it has now been approved and can be ordered.
Royal Artillery Association Blackpool and Fylde Branch: the RAA had recently formed a branch in the Fylde area as well as one in Blackpool. They are currently restoring a 25 Pounder gun which did service in World War 2. BCT has been informed that its members are welcome to visit and inspect the gun in St Annes.
Members are requested to advise the social secretary if they are interested in attending the Manchester Christmas Market. Various options of travel have been investigated including a coach and the train.
A tramtown volunteer reported that the building on Rigby Road is to act as a temporary site for the Blackpool Heritage Trams and that the council are seeking another site for Tramtown.
Karl Bartoni’s Film Archive, all videos are now available on YouTube.
At the July meeting, the speaker was Sean Conboy, an internationally renowned photographer. Sean showed the audience how he uses a variety of camera systems and equipment to consistently produce high quality industrial commercial photography. He then answered questions from the audience.
A blue plaque is proposed for Strawberry Gardens at Belle Vue, it will be positioned when the redecoration of the pub is completed.
Members attended the Polish Heritage Day and found it a very enjoyable and linguistically enriching experience.
Our next meeting is at 7pm on Monday 18th May 2026 at the Holiday Inn, Talbot Road, Blackpool. Next to Blackpool North Railway Station and tram stop.
Non-members are welcome for a suggested donation of £2.
This evening’s talk is our Cyril Critchlow Lecture. Cyril was a magician and local historian who left a large collection of Blackpool showbiz memorabilia. More can be read on the Showtown website: https://www.showtownblackpool.co.uk/…/cyril-critchlow-a…
For information about joining please see our website click here
Friday 31st Octbober 2025
Today Blackpool Civic Trust visited The Robinson, Blackpool’s new business hub, based in the Stanley buildings, Church street, following its £8m renovation.
In August we had a talk on the restoration of this fine building and today’s visit gave us a chance to see the finished article for ourselves.
Thank you to Peter Legg and the team at The Robinson for giving the civic trust a preview of the office and co-working space prior to opening.
For more information about available space and membership of The Robinson, or for businesses to book a private viewing, click here: https://blackpoolunlimited.com/the-robinson/
Monday 20th October 2025 at 7pm
There was a good turn out for our October meeting in the Holiday Inn Blackpool. A number of proposals were discussed and agreed before the guest speaker, Alistair Baines presented his talk ‘The Life and Times of a Sandgrown Architect’.
From building Sandcastles at Cleveleys to designing Council buildings, Schools, Colleges, Banks and more. With explanations of features and form. Building works such as the new Stanley Building transformation, Glasdon Innovation Centre and Knott End Golf Clubhouse.
The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Blackpool on Monday 20th October 2025. Photo of Elaine our Chairman thanking Alistair, standing, for the talk.
Our next meeting will be held on Monday 15th September 2025 in the Holiday Inn, Talbot Road, Blackpool at 7pm.
The guest speaker will be
Carl Carrington, the Head of Planning and Conservation at Blackpool Council.
The talk will be ‘Key Developments in Blackpool 2023 and 2024’.
Non-members are welcome for a small donation of £2.
Tuesday 13th August 2025
We visited impressive Backlot Cinema and Imax in the Houndshill Shopping Centre, Blackpool and were led by Sales and Events Manager Megan.
Megan highlighted the venue’s various screens, including conference spaces available for hire and informed us of the free car parkig, ticket pricing and the bespoke clubs they offer for a variety of viewers.
There was interest in the weekly Social Club, which offers seniors a day time ticket with a drink to see some of the latest films.
Note that as of next week the cinema is to be taken over by Arc Cinemas and the now closed diner is not part of that deal.
Please join us at our monthly meeting on Monday 18th August at 7pm in the Holiday Inn, Blackpool. We will discuss matters of interest followed by our guest speaker: Peter Legg, Head of Economic and Cultural Services, Blackpool Council, speaking about the renovation of the Stanley Building on Church Street. Non-members are welcome for a small donation, £2.
