Lancashire's role in 1950's rock n roll revolution to be celebrated with this new museum in St Anne's

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
A museum that celebrates Lancashire as the home of Britain’s jukebox revolution is set to open soon.

Enthusiast Karl Dawson will be opening the Ditchburn Jukebox Museum in Alexandria Drive, St Anne’s, on Thursday, May 1.

Inside will be restored jukeboxes playing period music, and other artefacts related to the musical history of Blackpool and Lytham produced by Ditchburn Equipment Ltd of Lytham St Anne’s, one of the first manufacturers of Jukeboxes in the UK.

Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Karl said: “The museum was started because of the amazing history - the birth of the British jukebox started in Blackpool and Lytham St Annes. Back in the early ‘50s the introduction of the Ditchburn Jukeboxes into coffee bars and milk bars all over the UK brought rock ‘n’ roll and popular music to the young generation of that time. The BBC only had one radio station which played classic music and dance band music, but the emergence of the American stars like Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee could only be heard on the Ditchburn Jukeboxes, and that became incredibly popular with the teenage youth of great Britain.”

Jukebox Museum owner, Karl Dawson with some original jukeboxes made in Blackpool and Lytham.Jukebox Museum owner, Karl Dawson with some original jukeboxes made in Blackpool and Lytham.
Jukebox Museum owner, Karl Dawson with some original jukeboxes made in Blackpool and Lytham.

He continued: “When I started researching about Ditchburn back in 2018 there was very little information out there. After setting up a Facebook page and asking local people that may know someone who worked there to help me find out more regarding the history, I had a few people send me photos and info then it just snowballed. I had so much content that I decided to setup a dedicated webpage to preserve the history.

“I then had further assistance from ex-Ditchburn employees who filled in a lot of the missing history information - and it’s still evolving, and people are still sending me articles, stories, and photos. By 2022 I had over 10 Ditchburn machines including jukeboxes, vending and background music machine, most have been restored to a working condition. It was at this point I wanted to share this amazing slice of local history and thought it would be great idea to open a small museum dedicated to the company that brought rock n roll to the youth of Britain.”

Some of the jukeboxes at the Ditchburn Jukebox Museum in St AnnesSome of the jukeboxes at the Ditchburn Jukebox Museum in St Annes
Some of the jukeboxes at the Ditchburn Jukebox Museum in St Annes

Museum opening hours and admission

There is no admission charge to the museum but there is a coffee shop and gift shop that helps support the overheads and restorations for the museum. It will be open from Thursday to Sunday every week from May until October and also on Bank holiday Mondays. Opening hours will be 10am to 4pm.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1873
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice