Family & Local History
Material relating to the history and heritage of Blackpool and the Fylde is held at the Local and Family History Centre and also at the
Lancashire Record Office.
A Catalogue of the Local and Family History Centre`s most used collections can be found clicking here. Click here for link to Lancashire Record Office`s listing of the Blackpool material they hold.
The Local and Family History Centre's opening hours are: Mon closed, Tues 9.30-7, Weds closed, Thu 9.30-7, Fri 9.30-5, Sat 9.30-5, Sunday closed.
Telephone number is 01253 478090 or
email: localhistory.centre@blackpool.gov.uk
There are limited number of public PCs and reader-printers; please contact the Centre in advance so that a place can be reserved if you require access to these.
The department holds a comprehensive collection of material for those with an interest in local or family history. Amongst the most important sources are: Historic Ordnance Survey maps of the Fylde area trade directories 1816 to 1969, Blackpool electoral registers 1930 to date, Fylde area Census records 1841 to 1901, Comprehensive parish records from Lancashire parishes, Local newspapers from 1845, Local newspaper indexes & cuttings Historic local holiday guides Blackpool area local photograph collection For family historians the department has free access to the following websites: Ancestry, FindmyPast and OriginsNetwork. Please enquire if you require advice about your research. Visitors, especially those travelling long distances, are advised to contact us in advance as some research may require pre booking of PCs, reader-printer machines or microfiche readers.
The Local and Family History Centre now holds the Cyril Critchlow Collection (click to access) of Blackpool entertainment ephemera. Cyril Critchlow was a founder member of Blackpool Magic Club, proprietor of Coronation Street Theatre and at one time had his own museum of entertainment in Blackpool. He was author of a number of books on Blackpool’s entertainment past. For sixty years he collected and recorded all aspects of Blackpool’s entertainment heritage from the nineteenth century to the present day. The collection is housed in over 200 volumes, and includes local historic theatre programmes, hand bills, photographs and posters relating to local entertainment venues.
Local Historian Nick Moore has created a chronology of Blackpool and Fylde history.
Click here to access this link.
Approximately 500 photographs from the Blackpool area local collection can be viewed & purchased at
http://www.blackpoolimagegallery.org.uk