Page:History of the Fylde of Lancashire (IA historyoffyldeof00portiala).pdf/328

 the place they had been visiting—of the glorious beauty of the sea, the endless stretch of level sands, and the bracing purity of the breeze. In such manner a desire would readily be implanted in the bosoms of their auditory to become personally acquainted with the new land, which had created such a deep and favourable impression on the minds of men, whose positions and education warranted the genuineness of their statements and enhanced the value of their opinions. There is one other circumstance worthy to be mentioned as having in all likelihood aided considerably in bringing the place into notice, and that is an annual race meeting, held for long on Layton Hawes. The proximity of the site to the residences of so many families of wealth and distinction, as the Allens of Rossall, the Westbys of Burn Hall, the Rigbys of Layton Hall, the Veales of Whinney Heys, the Heskeths of Mains, the Cliftons of Lytham, and the Tyldesleys of Blackpool, must have rendered the assembly one of no mean importance, and we may picture in our minds the gay and brilliant scene presented each year on the outskirts of the present town, when our ancestors in their antique and many-hued costumes congregated to witness the contests of their favourite steeds, and the level turf echoed to the fleet hoofs of the horses as the varied colours of their riders flashed round the course.

Although these incidents must have greatly tended to give publicity to Blackpool, its early advances towards popularity were dilatory, but this is to be attributed rather to the unsettled state of the times than to a tardy appreciation of its advantages by those who had enjoyed them or heard them described. During the reign of George I., 1714-1727, a mere sprinkling of visitors seems to have been attracted each summer to the hamlet, but a few years later, about 1735, they had become sufficiently numerous to induce one Ethart à Whiteside to prepare a cottage specially for their reception and entertainment. Common report whispers that he was further prompted to the venture by being the fortunate possessor of a wife whose skill in cookery far excelled that of any of her neighbours, but be that as it may, whether he espoused the Welsh maiden because her culinary accomplishments were an additional recommendation to him in the sphere in which he had embarked, or whether the lodging house was a cherished dream only converted into a reality on their discovery after