Celebration of the Completion of the Tower

Blackpool Tower was completed in 1894. Amazing what they had done in those days when you think about all of the special clothes and equipment that is used today.

The picture above is a celebration in the backyard of a Kirkham public house a few days after the completion of the tower in 1894. Walter Smith is the only one ID in the picture, the third man from the left in the back row, had worked on the building of the Tower as a ganger. No hard hats and bright coloured jackets. Flat cap the order of the day.

My Great Grand Father, Thomas Gaskell and his brother William Gaskell were Stone Masons for the project of building the Blackpool tower. they may have helped prepare the foundation stone, which was laid on the 25th September 1891 by Sir Matthew White-Ridley who was Blackpool's Member of Parliament at the time.

His words were recorded presumable beforehand on a phonograph cylinder which was placed under the foundation stone alone with coins and newspapers. The Mayor and mayoress of Blackpool were there also.