I delve into Blackpool's past and recall Revoe with its terraced rows and children playing in the street

As Revoe is about to embark on a new chapter in its existence, it is a good time to reflect on its past and the memories of those proud to come from there.

Remember the Revoe festivals? Its own mayor? Maybe you were one of the legendary Revoe girls. Or boys.

The area grew around from the 19th century Revoe Farm after three acres of it was bought by Thomas Ibbison who built houses along what became Central Drive, and running eastwards from the middle of this line, what was Ibbison Street.

Built before the advent of domestic fridges, the houses were designed to have pantries for food storage, with shelves and hooks in the ceiling for hanging rabbits, and a large marble slab for butter and pies. Meat and vegetables were kept in the back yard with a mesh frame door for circulation.

Milk was kept on a bucket of cold water, having been delivered by urns from a dairy in Bela Grove, where additional pints could be obtained up to 10pm at night.

The houses also had coal fired ovens used for baking daily bread.

Few houses had more than one or two pieces of carpet. Bedrooms tended to have scrubbed bare floorboards, while downstairs was covered in oil cloth with a peg rug in front of the hearth stone. Peg rugs were made from old coats and rags, woven together or onto a piece of hessian sack backing, quite often by courting couples preparing for their marriage homes.

Mondays were traditionally wash days, with lines strung across the back entries for drying.

Tin baths were used to carry freshly washed sheets to the mangle before hanging out to dry.

Children played games in the streets, a favourite being to throw a rope over the arm of a lamp post and swing from it.

But of course, Ibbison Street was best known for the Donkey Backs, with stables and coach houses running along the rear of its terraced housing where the donkeys were housed when

not on beach duty.

Stables remained right up until the demolition of Ibbison Street during the 1970s, where children could visit and take carrot treats on their Friday day off.

The streets around Ibbison were served by a number of corner shops for all needs. There was the local clogger, Tom Wilson, who always had a queue waiting for clogs which were the usual footwear.

Winnie and Tash Hughes kept a newsagent shop on Ibbison Street from where they delivered papers to the Revoe residents, and also had a pitch at the windowsill of the King Edward Hotel. And if your windows needed a shine then look no further than Bill and Billy Dagger, the window cleaners.

The other much fondly recalled memory of the area has to be the traditional celebrations set up by the Revoe Festivals Committee and staged by The Revoe Girls who ran the Tombolas.

There were the May Day parades where youngsters carried a Maypole through the streets, dressed in bits of old net curtains, discarded dresses or whatever came to hand, singing and dancing as they went. For the grown-ups there was the annual Boxing Day Walk in fancy dress with drums and triangles being played.

But perhaps the highlight had to be Revoe Festival Day on the first Sunday of June, This involved fancy dress competitions for both under and over 10s, all entrants receiving a stick of rock.

Tug of War with men versus men and girls versus girls, Throw the Wellie competition and Guess the Weight of the Cake, the monies raised used to provide Christmas treats for the older residents. An honorary Mayor of Revoe was also elected, a tradition that ran until the 1990s.

The Central Club on Kent Road was more often the hub for events, especially the Boxing Day walk and that has a history all of its own. The idea of setting up a club was dreamed up by a group of Revoe lads having a drink in the old George pub on Ibbison Street, leading to heated discussions with the landlord who was against the potential completion.

But they persevered with the idea, initially taking the upper floors of the sawmills in Chadwick Street to house the club in 1914.

The original room had a large coke store with Irish stew served during winter evenings and known as the “Saw Dust” due to the stuff being carried up there on the shoes of member.

The Saw Mill later moved and the club took over the whole building in 1930, becoming the Trade Union Club Rooms.

It was originally men only except for staff for several years, before ladies were admitted on Sunday evenings. It had a gymnasium and was licensed for boxing, with the likes of Brian London and Kevin Hickey training there. It became one of the great mainstays of Revoe, but that too is now a memory.

Now more parts of old Revoe are set to disappear, but they will never be forgotten.

Memories and photos of the old days abide, as do fascinating local history publications such as Revoe Forever by long standing resident Shirley McCartan. And Revoe will indeed be forever.