Showtown History Centre

29/05/2026

✨May Highlights✨

We have welcomed local, national and international visitors this month - all looking at different aspects of Blackpool's history including:

- Blackpool Dance Festival
- Lawrence Wright
- Pleasure Beach
- Winter Gardens
- Blackpool Central Library

Our amazing collection of event programmes have proved to be the most popular items this month!

📸 Winter Gardens Bound Programmes for 1920 - includes the very first Blackpool Dance Festival!

23/05/2026

💃The 100th Blackpool Dance Festival is in full swing and we just wanted to share a wonderful new addition to the collection with you...

We have recently acquired a 1st Prize Class Style medal from the 1937 Blackpool Dance Festival!

If you are a researcher or general enthusiast and want to see the archives (including this medal) that we have on the Dance Festival, then please get in touch. Email: [email protected] or call 01253 478090 to book an appointment.

You can also see the amazing dance gallery at our sister venue, Showtown Blackpool museum, including the original 1920 Challenge Trophy currently on display!

01/05/2026

✨ April Highlights ✨

Last month flew by! It was a pleasure welcoming visitors interested in researching all sorts of themes, including:

- Blackpool Musical Festival
- Swimming
- Aviation
- Performers
- Railways

Our volunteers have also been busy on a number of projects, including cataloguing the photographs in our Local History Collection.

📸 Corner of Queen Street before Central Library and Central Library in 1953, taken from the Local History Collection.

23/04/2026

🎤 Talk: Blackpool in 1876 🎤

1876 wasn’t just another year in Blackpool’s history - it was the moment the town truly came into its own. This was the year Blackpool became an incorporated borough: a self‑governing town with the power to shape its own future, elect its own council and appoint its very first mayor.

Join Showtown as we mark the 150th anniversary of incorporation and uncover how this pivotal moment transformed Blackpool from a fast‑growing seaside escape into a confident, ambitious resort with big plans and even bigger personality.

A Rare Opportunity:
The event will feature the original Charter of Incorporation, a remarkable piece of Blackpool’s civic history. This is a unique chance to see the document that changed everything, the moment Blackpool stepped onto the national stage with confidence and ambition.

📅 Thursday 7th May, 6pm–7pm
📍 Showtown, Bank Hey Street
🎟 £5

Book now: https://www.showtownblackpool.co.uk/whats-on/events/blackpool-in-1876

📸 Dr W. H. Cocker, Mayor of Blackpool in 1876 (Gazette News 23rd March 1906)

01/04/2026

✨ Don't miss out! ✨

Join Showtown Blackpool tomorrow for:

🎤 TALK: Little People Towns in the Tower
📅Thursday, 2nd April, 6-7pm
📍Showtown, Bank Hey Street

High up in the Tower once stood a fully built model town, created for a community of talented little people who performed there. It wasn’t hidden away, it was a headline attraction, widely advertised and hugely popular in its day.

Join a Showtown curator for 'Little People Towns in the Tower', a fascinating deep dive into this extraordinary attraction in the sky. Discover how this model town came to be, meet the performers who brought it to life and explore Blackpool’s pioneering role in shaping this form of entertainment.

⚠️ Please note: This talk includes sensitive historical material and reflects on how language and attitudes have changed over time.

🎟️ Only £5 a ticket
Book now: https://bit.ly/townsinthetower

27/03/2026

✨ March Highlights ✨

Our collection of Holiday Guides have proved to be very popular this month.

They have been viewed by visitors looking to:

- Find hotels in the numerous accommodation advertisements.

- See what attractions were available in particular years.

- Take a closer look at the design and photographs used.

You can view some of the other Holiday Guide front covers on our website: https://www.showtownblackpool.co.uk/collections/galleries/publicity-department

📸 1949 Holiday Guide front cover and information page

18/03/2026

✨This week at Showtown Blackpool - Through Our Eyes Exhibition Tour ✨

Join a Showtown curator for a special tour of our temporary exhibition, ‘Through Our Eyes: Little People Beyond the Circus.’

They’ll give you a unique insight into the objects and collections on display as well as revealing extra stories that were discovered whilst creating this exhibition.

📆 Saturday 21 March
⏰ 11.30-12.30pm
📍Showtown, Bank Hey Street
🎟 £5

Book now: https://www.showtownblackpool.co.uk/whats-on/events/tour-through-our-eyes-exhibition-tour

03/03/2026

🎤 Showtown Talk: Blackpool Tower Circus 🎩

Roll up and get your tickets for the next Showtown Blackpool talk!

Join Showtown as we uncover the story of Blackpool's famous circus and how it became part of the town's identity, from daring performers and colourful characters to world-famous acts.

Hear about its surprising history with this brilliant glimpse into the spectacle, skill and showmanship that helped make Blackpool a circus capital.

📅 Thursday 5th March | 6pm - 7pm
📍 Showtown, Bank Hey Street
🎟️ £5

Last few tickets remaining, book your tickets now.

Step right up and discover the history of the Tower Circus!

28/02/2026

✨ February Highlights ✨

We have had another fantastic month welcoming visitors interested in both local and family history.

Some of the themes this month have included:
- Aviation
- Circus
- Dance Festivals
- Football
- Illuminations
- Stanley Park

📸 Items relating to Blackpool Aviation Week 1909

31/01/2026

✨ January Highlights ✨

This month, our photographic collections have proved to be very popular.

📸 We have thousands of images to see, from family snaps to amateur and professional photography!

Photography played an important role in advertising Blackpool. Here are some photographs taken from our Tourism Department collection. These were taken by photographer Stan Kruk-Schuster. Many of his images were used in the production of holiday guides.

You can see some of our photographic collections on the Showtown website: https://www.showtownblackpool.co.uk/collections/galleries - but don't forget we have many more to view in person at the History Centre!