Blackpool Tower A History: A History

by Peter Walton

When Blackpool Tower was being built, many people said it would be a failure. Originally estimated at £150,000, it ended up costing twice that much and John Bickerstaffe nearly went bust building this unique attraction. But he was right. Once the Tower was open, his company made a profit every year that it existed as an independent public entity.Not only was the Tower profitable, but it fuelled the Tower Company as Bickerstaffe built it into the dominant entertainment group in Blackpool. Under his leadership it acquired the Palace and later the Winter Gardens and Opera House. By the 1930s it was running ballrooms, cinemas, live theatre and the famous Tower Circus. The Bickerstaffe brothers were also key figures in Blackpool’s civic life.This is a story of the Victorian entrepreneurship that created Blackpool’s most iconic building, and led to Blackpool being the apogee of seaside entertainment.

208 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2016

Reviews

[Roger Woods · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a history of the Blackpool Tower Company and the Bickerstaffe family who ran it. There is very little information about the construction of the Tower itself or the entertainments offered there or the shows that were put on or any of the stars who appeared there. There are lots of tables about profits, share structures, tax information and so on which might be of interest to a company historian. Apart from the Bickerstaffe family and some of their staff there is little social history. For example, who appeared in some the entertainments and shows put on during the time the company was successful? Not really what I expected when I purchased this book.