Blackpool’s ups and downs

The town’s first visitors were daytripping mill workers; now it’s a place for hen and stag parties. William Cook charts its changing fortunes, as a photographic exhibition reveals

Think of Blackpool and fine art probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind, but Britain’s biggest, brashest seaside resort is the unlikely home to one of Britain’s loveliest little galleries. Hidden behind the grey seafront, a drunken stumble from the North Pier, the Grundy Art Gallery was founded in 1911 by two brothers — local philanthropists and art lovers — and this summer it celebrates its centenary with a photographic exhibition that spans the past 100 years.

No other town encapsulates Britain’s ups and downs quite as well as Blackpool. Its loud, lewd entertainments mirror the rise and fall of the British working class. It was never meant to be a regal spa, like Brighton: it was custom-built for the amusement of the lumpen proletariat.