Bispham's beautiful past '“ in pictures

This week we focus on Bispham, which in parts has changed beyond recognition over the last century.
Bispham Village, from the roundabout at the Red Bank Road junction with Devonshire Road, in 1995Bispham Village, from the roundabout at the Red Bank Road junction with Devonshire Road, in 1995
Bispham Village, from the roundabout at the Red Bank Road junction with Devonshire Road, in 1995

Today’s Memory Lane front cover shows Bispham village in the mid-1950s – including Ivy Cottage, on the left of Red Bank Road, opposite the Old England pub.

Bispham village can be seen on this page from the roundabout, in March 1954, at the Red Bank Road junction with Devonshire Road. There was a cottage on the right, where the police station was later built.

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Another view of Red Bank Road, this time in 1927, is still recognisable today with a few alterations and additions and our archive picture shows improvements in progress near the Bispham tram stop. Williams Deacon’s Bank on the left is still under construction here and later became the RBS. The house with round bays and gable window, further down and at an angle to Red Bank Road on the corner of Beaufort Avenue became the Beaufort Lodge Hotel. On the far right is the site of what is now Queen’s Mansions.

The Promenade at Bispham in the early 1900sThe Promenade at Bispham in the early 1900s
The Promenade at Bispham in the early 1900s

Going further back in time, a postcard dated September 1917, shows the Promenade at Bispham in the early 1900s, close to the junction with Red Bank Road, looking towards Blackpool. The road between the main blocks of houses is Hesketh Avenue. The buildings on the left (behind the white parasol) have now been replaced by a block of flats.

Our 1932 photo shows new housing under construction in Bispham. The sign advertises £495 Houses for Sale, R Brown and Sons. On the left is Cavendish Road seen from the higher ground, where bungalows were built later. The path across the centre leads to Sunny Bank Avenue.

And work can be proceeding on the new library and maternity and child welfare clinic at the corner of Devonshire Road and Bispham Road, in 1937.

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