Blackpool North Pier 160-years-old: Picture memories of resort's oldest, longest and most iconic pier through the decades

This week it marks its 160th anniversary. It’s Blackpool’s first – and longest – pier and was designed to seat between 3,000 and 4,000 people at a time. Such was its popularity that half a million people passed through its gates in its first year. The jetty was added in 1869 and in 1874 a further acre of decking was added to accommodate the ‘Indian’ Pier which was eventually destroyed by fire. On a typical summer’s day in the sixties, at the height of Blackpool's tourism boom, the length of the pier would be crammed with deckchairs. This eclectic mix of pictures show the pier right through the years, as far back as our archives will allow and up to the more recent past of the 80s and 90s.

In case you missed them: 17 pictures of the oldest buildings in Blackpool including 18th Century gems Blowing Sands cottage and Raikes Hall

11 scenes of a wrecked Blackpool North Shore Boating Pool when it fell into disrepair in the 1980s

23 scenes of Blackpool landmarks as they were in the 1990s - including memorable ones lost to the landscape

Take a trip down memory lane looking back at people and places through the decades - from long, lost boozers to memorable moments in time and much, much more - sign up to our NEW newsletter here