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Blackpool Tower Facts & Worksheets

Blackpool Tower is one of the most well-known monuments in the United Kingdom.

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The Blackpool Tower is one of the most well-known and easily recognized monuments in the United Kingdom. It may be seen from a great distance away, assuring vehicles on the highway that they are in the North.

See the fact file below for more information on the Blackpool Tower, or you can download our 27-page Blackpool Tower worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

  • The Central Property Company Ltd began demolishing a hotel on October 10, 1893, to make way for The Blackpool Tower. The Blackpool Tower opened to the public on May 14, 1894, with Sir John Bickerstaffe, a former mayor of Blackpool, at the helm. With a complex of attractions at its base, The Blackpool Tower has quickly been dubbed the “World’s Wonderland.”
  • The Beach Hotel, owned by William Thornber, was destroyed. It was located on Hygiene Terrace, opposite West Hey, in the 1860s. It was renamed Woodley’s Beach Hotel in 1866, but by 1874, it was owned by Joseph Blake. He expanded the property to include 52 beds, a spacious dining room, and a new billiard room.
  • The Blackpool Tower Company purchased the Winter Gardens Company on January 9, 1928, and took over operations on May 12, 1928. 
  • The Blackpool Tower Company, founded on February 23, 1928, was listed on the Manchester Stock Exchange in July.
  • Manchester architects James Maxwell and Charles Tuke designed the Tower. James Cardwell and Sons of Blackpool laid the brickwork for the structures. Neither Maxwell nor Tuke lived to see the skyscraper completed.
  • The tower was built by the Heenan and Froude business. The foundations of Blackpool Tower were built from Nori stone from nearby Rossendale. It is so strong that it was utilized in the foundations of New York’s Empire State Building.

STRUCTURES 

  • The Tower Buildings contain around five million bricks. Each of the Tower’s four legs is supported by concrete foundations 35 feet square and 12 feet deep.
  • Ten thousand lights initially illuminated the Blackpool Tower. These have been replaced by 25,000 environmentally friendly LED lights.
  • The Tower alone contains 2,493 tons of steel and 93 tons of cast iron. The base structure comprises 985 tons of steel and 259 tons of cast iron.
  • The height to the top of the flagpole is 518 feet 9 inches, whereas the original Tower was just 450 feet tall.
  • Until 1924, the Blackpool Tower generated its electricity.
  • By 1896, the Blackpool Tower and Tower Buildings had cost almost £290,000 each. 
  • The original tender for the Blackpool Tower was £42,000, but extra steel was required to make it safe, raising the expense to almost £65,000.
  • Furthermore, it took seven years to complete painting the whole Tower. This period involved replacing any deteriorated steelwork. The Blackpool Tower is a Grade One Listed Building, with a total area of 6,040 square yards occupied by the Tower Buildings.
  • Visitors may see up to 70 miles from The Tower’s crow’s nest thanks to two elevators that run independently of each other. This was done at a rate of 500 persons per hour on the first day alone.
  • Each lift has a capacity of 45 passengers, although only 30 can ride at once.

FEATURED SIGHTS

  • Tower Circus, which was just opened, had a vast capacity. It has a total of 3000 persons standing and 3,500 holding on. (The current capacity is 1,200 people.) The incredible interior was designed to look like a Moroccan palace.
  • The Circus was rebuilt in 1899 by renowned theatrical architect and designer Frank Matcham. J Parkinson of Blackpool completed this phase of construction. It reopened on June 4 under the new name Tower Aquatic and Variety Circus.
  • The top of the Tower provides a genuinely beautiful perspective over Blackpool. People will be glad to know that there are lifts to the summit, where they will find stunning panoramic views.
  • On clear days, people can see as far as North Wales, the Lake District, and the Isle of Man while gazing out at the magnificent Irish Sea and getting a rare bird’s-eye view of Blackpool itself. The courageous can even try out the glass floor, which allows people to see straight down to the promenade below.
  • Tourists can also visit the fantastic 4D Cinema Experience, which will dazzle all of their senses as they take a trip down Blackpool’s memory lane.
  • Nothing quite captures the historic beauty of Blackpool like the spectacular Blackpool Tower Ballroom, one of the world’s most stunning ballrooms.
  • It was designed by Victorian architect Frank Matcham and is something travelers must see for themselves.
  • Its legendary afternoon tea dances, accompanied by a live organist, take place daily. People can put on their dancing shoes and hit the floor for a tango, waltz, or foxtrot, or they can take a seat and enjoy the ambiance.

IMPORTANT EVENTS

  • There have been two major fires at the Tower. The first occurred on July 22, 1897, when all the wooden structures and frameworks on arrival and two upper platforms were completely demolished. The second fire occurred on December 14, 1956.
  • The cables holding the Tower lift burned through, as did the wire rope strands attached to the car and weight, causing the latter, weighing eleven tons, to fall from the level of the arrival platforms to the basement of the tower, burying itself in the foundations near the foot of the north-east leg.
  • After a £5 million repair, another chapter in the history of Blackpool Tower began on September 1, 2011. Years of hard effort have transformed the appearance of this famous Fylde Coast monument, revealing many of its breathtaking characteristics.
  • The tower is also a replica of Paris’s famed Eiffel Tower. The Mayor of Blackpool, John Bickerstaffe, visited the Great Paris Exhibition in 1889 and was so fascinated by the structure that he commissioned the construction of The Blackpool Tower upon his return.
  • On the other hand, Lord Haw Haw reported that the Luftwaffe had bombed and destroyed Blackpool Tower. An image of the tower lying on the shore was even alleged to have been featured in German media.
  • The Tower was observed in its customary location the following day, and observers were stationed on The Blackpool Tower and numerous of the Fylde’s windmills.
  • Among the renowned acts who have performed in the Tower are Duke Ellington and Cleo Laine. Another well-known, albeit fictional, visage is King Kong, whose image was affixed to the outside of The Blackpool Tower in 1894.

Blackpool Tower Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Blackpool Tower across 27 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about the Blackpool Tower, one of the most well-known monuments in the United Kingdom.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  • Blackpool Tower Facts 
  • Truth Behind the History
  • Locate the Digits!
  • 1928 Insight
  • The Ballroom
  • 2-WERS
  • Tragic Event
  • #CollectMemories
  • Dream Tower
  • News Alert
  • #ComicStrip

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Blackpool Tower known for?

The Blackpool Tower Ballroom has been renowned for its extraordinary architecture and signature sprung dance floor for over a century. To this day, it remains one of the world’s most sought-after destinations among passionate dancers from all corners of the globe.

How long did Blackpool Tower take to build?

Over three years, the tower was built brick by brick – with some dating back to 1891 when thousands of people flocked to Blackpool’s promenade for the foundation stone ceremony.

What is unique about Blackpool?

Blackpool stands out from the rest as the only British beach resort with three piers. The North Pier is an especially remarkable feature as it is Grade II listed and opened in 1863, making it the oldest surviving pier designed by renowned seaside architect Eugenius Birch.

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Link will appear as Blackpool Tower Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 28, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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