Bispham Parish Church, Blackpool

Known as the Mother Church of Blackpool, Bispham Parish Church-officially All Hallows Church-is a historic Church of England parish nestled in the coastal village of Bispham, Lancashire. A living place of worship with a welcoming congregation, it remains an active hub within the Diocese of Blackburn and the Blackpool Deanery.

The present limestone church, a Grade II listed building, was constructed in 1883, making it the third incarnation on the same sacred ground. Until 1821, it was the sole church serving Blackpool. Its origins trace back to at least 1189 when Theobold Walter passed its rights to Saint Mary's of Lancaster, and it was later referenced in 1345 as a chapel annexed to Poulton-le-Fylde. In 1351, in the aftermath of the Black Death, church officials assessed whether Bispham’s chapel had enough parishioners to survive-a narrowly escaped fate.

The first mention of “Blackpool” itself comes from the church’s register in 1602, noting a baptism of a child from “the bank of the Black Pool.” An 18th-century version of the church featured red sandstone, oak pews, a separate chancel, and lancet windows, but structural instability led to its demolition in the 19th century.

During reconstruction, a Saxon piscina and a Norman arch adorned with Zodiac carvings were uncovered, inspiring the church’s Victorian-era frieze above the inner south doorway-where Taurus, Cancer, and Virgo motifs remain visible. Architecturally, the church features a five-bay nave, a chancel with transepts, and a southwest tower in a restrained Early English style.

The churchyard offers a poignant history of its own. Among its memorials are the graves of shipwreck victims-including those lost aboard the Favourite (1865) and Ocean Monarch (1848). Also buried here is Violet Carson, famed for playing Ena Sharples on Coronation Street, who lived locally and passed away in 1983.