Stanley Park, Blackpool

Blackpool, Lancashire · public park, 1922–1926 · Registered Grade II*

Stanley Park, Blackpool — Thomas Mawson’s Park for a Seaside Town

A hundred hectares of gardens, lake, woodland and sports grounds laid out for Blackpool in the 1920s by the landscape firm of Thomas Mawson. It opened on 2 October 1926 and reaches its centenary in 2026.

At a glance

Stanley Park lies about a kilometre and a half inland from Blackpool’s centre, between the districts of Layton and Great Marton. It was designed in 1922 by Thomas Mawson & Sons, one of the leading landscape practices of the period, and opened in 1926. Historic England includes it on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest at Grade II*. Around a formal core of Italian Gardens and a large boating lake the plan fits in woodland, a golf course, bowling greens, tennis courts and an athletics ground: a resort park meant for sport as much as for walking. It is owned by Blackpool Council and supported by a volunteer group, the Friends of Stanley Park.

Key facts

Where: between East, West and North Park Drive, Blackpool, Lancashire
Designed: 1922, by Thomas Mawson & Sons; golf course by Colt & Mackenzie
Opened: 2 October 1926
Area: about 104 hectares
Later features: Art Deco café of 1937 by C. J. Robinson; memorial clock tower of 1926 by L. B. Budden
Protection: Registered Park and Garden, Grade II*, National Heritage List for England entry 1000952
Owner: Blackpool Council
Coordinates: 53.814706, -3.022839 · open in Google Maps

History

Blackpool grew quickly in the late nineteenth century and the council decided that the town needed a large outdoor attraction of its own, but the scheme was only carried out in the 1920s. Most of the land was bought from Albert Lindsay Parkinson, with further plots purchased compulsorily or given by local figures. The plans came from T. H. Mawson & Sons, the landscape and town-planning firm of Thomas Mawson, and the Parks and Gardens record dates the design to 1922.

The park was opened on 2 October 1926 by the 17th Earl of Derby, on the same day that he opened the new promenade, and it was named Stanley after the Earl’s family. The same year saw the clock tower at the park’s central crossroads, a memorial designed by L. B. Budden and dedicated to William Cocker. The Art Deco café overlooking the Italian Gardens followed in 1937, designed by C. J. Robinson.

For its centenary in 2026 Blackpool Council renewed the trellis and restored the fountain in the Italian Gardens and carried out work on the Cocker Clock Tower. The Friends of Stanley Park, the volunteer group that supports the park, raised £50,000 towards the cost, and the anniversary is marked with celebrations on 2 and 3 October 2026.

What you see

The photograph shows the heart of Mawson’s design, the Italian Gardens. In the foreground is a circular pool with a tiered fountain at its centre and white sculptures of sea horses set around the rim. Beds of red and pink flowers are cut into the lawns around it, edged with paths and benches, and on the right a stone lion sits on a squared plinth.

The garden rises gently towards the far side, where a broad flight of steps climbs to the café: a long, low brick building with tall windows and a pale stone centrepiece framing the entrance, a flag flying above. At either side of the view, pergolas on stone piers close the garden off from the trees beyond. The Cocker Clock Tower, which stands further into the park, is outside this view.

Practical information

The park is public and free to enter, open daily from dawn to dusk.
The Friends of Stanley Park hold events and exhibitions in the park’s Visitor Centre.
Allow at least an hour to walk from the Italian Gardens to the lake and the clock tower.

Getting there

Stanley Park is about two kilometres east of Blackpool North station and a similar distance inland from the promenade. Local buses serve the roads around the park.

Nearby

The cricket ground and the model village, both within the park grounds.
Church of St Stephen on-the-Cliffs, on the North Shore.
Blackpool’s promenade and seafront, to the west.

Sources

Historic England, National Heritage List for England, entry 1000952, Stanley Park, Blackpool: Registered Park and Garden, Grade II*.
Parks and Gardens UK, Stanley Park, Blackpool: design by Thomas Mawson & Sons in 1922, opening in 1926, 104 hectares, Italian Garden, café of 1937 by C. J. Robinson, clock tower of 1926 by L. B. Budden, golf course by Colt & Mackenzie.
Friends of Stanley Park and Salisbury Woodland: centenary celebrations of 2–3 October 2026, the restoration of the fountain, trellis and Cocker Clock Tower, the £50,000 raised by the Friends, the Visitor Centre.
Wikipedia, Stanley Park, Blackpool: acquisition of the land, opening by the 17th Earl of Derby on 2 October 1926, ownership and opening hours, the cricket ground and model village.
OpenStreetMap / Nominatim: position, returned as Stanley Park, Layton, Blackpool, Lancashire.

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