Blackpool’s Icon – The Eiffel Tower of the North

Blackpool, a seaside town in the northwest of England, is known for The Pleasure Beach, its Illuminations and of course, The Harry Hill Movie. My hometown is loaded with iconography, but its most famous symbol is not the kiss me quick hats, but the Blackpool Tower. Don’t believe me? This postcard from the ’70s says it all!

1970s Postcard of Blackpool Tower. Image: Hannah Byrne / The Boar

The name says it all, this marvellous piece of architecture is a 518 feet (158 meters) tall tower made of a considerable amount of iron and steel. Its clever design was planned by James Maxwell and Charles Tuke, both architects from Manchester, who sadly passed before its completion in 1894. According to The Blackpool Tower, (the website, not the building itself), “the tower has 4 legs, each of which is made up of a further 4 legs of its own. Engineers braced these further 4 legs with lattice girders, a method where the load is carried by metal in a criss-cross pattern”.  The structure is so solid that when dealing with incredibly high winds, as is all too common in Blackpool, it simply sways. It cost approximately £300,000 to make, which roughly equates to £30 million today – less than Warwick’s Faculty of Arts Building!

However, Blackpool Tower was more than just a blatant act of plagiarism, but a highly successful tourist destination.

As you can tell from the postcard, the Blackpool tower is a completely unique, original concept! After being impressed by the Eiffel Tower, John Bickerstaffe, Blackpool’s mayor, commissioned the seaside town’s mini version, marking just five years difference between them. However, Blackpool Tower was more than just a blatant act of plagiarism, but a highly successful tourist destination. Unlike its French counterpart, the base of its building houses multiple attractions – such as The Blackpool Tower Circus. Here is a picture of me, age seven, with its famous Mooky – the clown, the myth, the legend.

Photo of Mooky the Clown! Image: Hannah Byrne / The Boar

Nevertheless, the view at the top is worth the wait, offering a stunning vista of Blackpool and its beach – that is, if the weather is nice.

You may also have heard of the grand Blackpool Tower Ballroom, designed by Frank Matcham, which features in the reality TV series Strictly Come Dancing each year. Originally only costing a sixpence entrance fee, with another sixpence to go up the tower, the experience nowadays is certainly not as cheap. After paying your £16.50 for a ticket, you have to watch a 4D film about its history – as if you need convincing! Nevertheless, the view at the top is worth the wait, offering a stunning vista of Blackpool and its beach – that is, if the weather is nice. As a child, I would point to a distant spot, claiming, ‘that’s my house!’, whether or not it was is anyone’s guess.  Here also lies ‘the walk of faith’, a glass floor where tourists can stand and watch the world from a terrifying height. Cars and people are like ants beneath your feet – an ultimate act of bravery.

So if you take a trip to Blackpool, remember it’s not just kiss me quick hats! A trip to our beloved tower is, in the words of Gary Barlow, ‘my idea of a very nice day out.’