Bispham Parish Church 2.51

Bispham Parish Church, also known as All Hallows Church, is a Church of England parish church located in Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, known as the Mother Church of Blackpool.The church is a Grade II Listed Building. It is the third church on the site and was built in 1883.Until 1821 the parish church of Bispham was the only place of worship in Blackpool.HistoryThe earliest reference to the church dates from the reign of King Richard I, when Theobold Walter passed on his rights to the churches of Poulton-le-Fylde and Bispham to St Mary’s of Lancaster. Another reference in 1345, from the records of the Archdiocese of Richmond, tells of the lamentable state of disrepair of both the church of Poulton and the chapel of Bispham, implying that Bispham was a chapel annexed to the parish of Poulton.In 1351, in the aftermath of the Black Death, the Archdeacon made a visit to ascertain whether the chapel had sufficient parishioners to make it viable as a place of worship, and also enquired of St Mary’s of Lancaster by what right they held the claim to Bispham. The Archdeacon was evidently persuaded not to sell off the chapelery and its lands.The first mention of Blackpool is found in the Register of Bispham Parish Church in 1602 in which is recorded the Christinary on 22 September of that year of a child belonging to a couple who reside on the bank of the Black Pool.