Alan Seddon

Royal Palace Gardens Alan Seddon

"To go to Blackpool and not visit the Royal Palace Gardens is to visit London and not visit the Crystal Palace or Westminster Abbey, or go to Rome and not visit the Vatican or the Coliseum!" [Editor - London Weekly News 1891] Long before the famous Tower and Winter Gardens Blackpool's Royal Palace Gardens at Raikes Hall was a world famous destination for variety and music hall stars and touring exhibitions and battle reenactments like 'Savage South Africa' and the 'Afghan War'. With its lavish Grand Opera House, Indian Pavilion and famous botanical gardens, conservatories and menageries, it covered an area of over 40 acres. It was the first of Blackpool's entertainment complexes to be lit using the new electric light in 1891 - a precursor to the famous illuminations. The garden's history has been air brushed out and fallen into the shadow of its more famous, surviving, landmarks. This new book explores the history, along with adverts and images to bring it back to life, and to highlight again the Royal Palace Gardens and reestablish its rightful place in the town's history.