11 February 2024 , 14:44
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Blackpool Tower has a secret hidden beneath its circus arena which many of its thousands of visitors every year may not be aware.
The tower's circus, dating back to 1894, used to feature wild animals including lions, tigers, polar bears and elephants who were kept in cages cages and pens beneath the arena and can still be seen today. The Tower Circus first opened its doors on May 14 1894 and at that time, entry was only a sixpence.
The current interior was designed by famous theatre designer Frank Matcham and was completed in 1900. In 2014, local resident Chris Chapman took a heritage tour of the tower and managed to snap some photos of these areas.
He said: "The areas pictured were in the immediate behind-the-scenes areas of the circus. Amongst what looked like stalls for some animals, there were some recognisable props from that year's circus performance."
Inside the rarely-seen bowels of Blackpool Tower (Chris Chapman)Although signs of animal performers still exist, today the Tower Circus chooses to use human performers. Each era has its own clown with today's being Mooky, but previous clowns have included Doodles and Charlie Cairoli. Every show ends with a water finale from the unique hydraulic floor that sinks and fills with 42,000 gallons of water in less than a minute and has a depth of four feet and six inches, LancsLive reported.
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Inside the circus of the tower (Chris Chapman)Last December the famous tower was evacuated following reports of a blaze after people claimed they could see flames coming from the top of the iconic structure near to the viewing platform. However the flames were later revealed to be orange netting from recent renovation works which people mistook for flames.
Divisional Commander Chief Supt Karen Edwards, from Blackpool Police, said at the time: "We are at the scene in support of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Blackpool Council and Merlin Entertainment. The top of the tower is currently closed for renovation and difficult to access. Our helicopter has flown over the tower and there is no fire. We can confirm what can be seen is orange netting.