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moh
Silver Surfer


6860 Posts
Posted -  03/01/2006  :  10:31
Just looking at the photo of Blackpool 1915 - I remember my grandma telling me about a huge wheel which stood next to the tower.  She said she went on it once and got stuck at the top for ages.  Does anyone know what happened to it?


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AiredalePete
New Member


29 Posts
Posted - 29/12/2008 : 12:35
I seem to remember, in the dim and distant past, hearing about a tragedy when the Big Wheel at Blackpool came adrift from its spindle and rolled across the promenade on to the beach, hurting if not killing several passengers.

Also, my recollection of the Big Wheel was that it had a huge model of a clown attached to its side. When the wheel rotated, the clown was jointed in such a way that it appeared to be winding it,

The medals commemorating the wheel's installation and dismantling show no sign of the clown and I am now wondering if my memory is playing tricks on me.


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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 29/12/2008 : 14:04
Interesting, I have no knowledge that helps.....


Stanley Challenger Graham




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Tizer
VIP Member


5150 Posts
Posted - 30/12/2008 : 10:51
There is a Blackpool Council web page with the town's history but it doesn't seem to tell us anything more than the medallion site (it is a small PDF file):
http://www.visitblackpool.com/?OBH=80&ID=125&OBT=14&AC=5

Tom, at risk of going off topic I have a question for you. There used to be a Thwaites pub in Blackpool, Central I would guess, where all the Blackburn Thwaites drinkers would congregate during Wakes weeks. Do you know the name of it? I think most of the other pubs were Tetleys, S&N, John Smiths etc to satisfy the wide range of holidaymakers. But the Blackburn lot couldn't survive without their Thwaites!

Edited by - Tizer on 30/12/2008 10:51:35


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TOM PHILLIPS
Steeplejerk


4164 Posts
Posted - 30/12/2008 : 11:26
Theres quite a few Thwaites pubs Tize,my Dad used to do reief management in a couple of them in the early 60s,The Gynn and the Stanley arms on Chapel st.....The Fleece which is now called NTK next door to the Mitre is Thwaites....I reacon the Stanley arms would have been the nearest to the old central station,wouldnt the Blackburn folk have taken there own ale and sat on the beach with it,hehehe..

Just been reading back at some of my earlier comments about Horrace Freear,he could not have been old enough to work on the big wheel demo as he is still alive and living in Accy and is a mere 88yrs old...Pete i think the tale of the big wheel rolling down the prom belongs to urban myth along with steam engine flywheels doing the same thing,its possible a carriage may have dropped off it which i think did during the demolition,but dont quote me on it,the Guinness as messed my head up this festive season,hehe.....




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AiredalePete
New Member


29 Posts
Posted - 30/12/2008 : 20:46
Interesting, I have no knowledge that helps..... - Stanley

It's ok Stanley. I've just rung my dad and he has no memory of it either. We can just keep the secret of my failing memory between the two of us, yes? Wink


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frankwilk
Senior Member


3975 Posts
Posted - 30/12/2008 : 22:46
Hey Tizer a lot of Blackburn folk drank Dutton's  OBJs   Tom will remember LOL



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Tizer
VIP Member


5150 Posts
Posted - 31/12/2008 : 09:42
Tom, I'll ask my Dad about the pubs - it might be the Stanley Arms I'm thinking of. I can remember there being a pub there in the 1960s where you could guarantee there would be Blackburn folk in it. Joking apart, you would be right about them taking their own beer in earlier times. Two men with a crate between them, going on the coach or train - the wives could carry the suitcases, hehe. They used to take their own food and hand it over to the lady who ran the boarding house. She would cook it for you during the week.

Frank, yes, and Lion's IPA. There were the three breweries in Blackburn - Dutton's, Thwaites and Matthew Browns (Lion Brewery). Blackburn men were tribal about their beer and each stuck to his own favourite tipple. One curious fact I remember is that Lion sold most of its bitter in Blackburn and most of its mild in Preston, not because it tried to but simply because that's what the people drank.

There is a Francis Frith postcard photo of the Big Wheel if you click here. (When you've seen it, click on the "Next photo" and "Previous photo" thumbnails for more great Blackpool pictures.

And this site has some great photos of Blackpool Tower and trams:
http://www.freefoto.com/browse/?ffid=37-01-0

Edited by - Tizer on 31/12/2008 09:43:48


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frankwilk
Senior Member


3975 Posts
Posted - 31/12/2008 : 10:20
Your right Tizer,
Burnley folk just had to stick with Massey's,  mind you it did make a good pint of Mixed



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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 01/01/2009 : 02:42
Tom was quite right about the legends about engine flywheels rolling down the street and I suspect the Big Wheel story is what he says, an urban myth.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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