West Street in Blackpool Town Centre

West Street is at the heart of Blackpool Town Centre. The short street links town centre to promenade and is full of interesting finds!

West Street in Blackpool Town Centre

West Street is one of the oldest streets of Blackpool, dating as far back as 1754. In this page we’ll take a look at it as it is today, and some interesting secrets from its past.

We’ve made a couple of videos, each a few years apart, walking from the promenade along West Street and Birley Street. This is the most recent one, filmed in March 2026:

Filmed back in February 2021, the next video is actually from the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. See how the streets were deserted, as everyone is told to stay at home.

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Where is it?

West Street starts at the Promenade next door to Roberts Oyster Bar and cuts through Market Street. It ends at a cross roads at Corporation Street, continuing inland as Birley Street. See the red pin on the map below. Click on the map to explore –

What’s at West Street?

It’s only a short street but it’s in a busy, urban area and packed full of buildings and businesses.

Roberts’ Oyster Bar

At the Promenade corner of West Street is the iconic Roberts’ Oyster Bar. The distinctive white building with bold black letters has occupied this plot for decades. It’s probably Blackpool’s oldest seafront business. Roberts’ is also on the Blackpool Local List, as a building of historical significance.

The Mitre

Next to it is The Mitre, Blackpool’s smallest pub! Dating back to the late 1700s when it was built as a house with a shop, becoming a pub in 1863. It’s been known as The Mitre since June 1902. Have a good look at it and you can see how old the building is.

The Layton Rakes

Opposite, at the corner with Market Street, is one of Blackpool’s several Wetherspoon pubs – the Layton Rakes. Recorded in the Domesday Book, the village of Layton was connected to the sea by Layton Rakes (now Church Street). The word ‘rake’ is Scandinavian, meaning a path. At the seaward end of Layton Rakes, known as Lane Ends, the resort later developed – close to this pub. From the late nineteenth century the site was home to Whitehead’s Fish, Game, Poultry and Oyster Warehouse.

Other Buildings at West Street

Market Street cuts through West Street here, a busy street which is now part of the town’s Bus Hub, along with Church Street and Corporation Street. There’s a ‘Bus Gate’ here, which means that ordinary motorists will receive a ticket for driving in the area. Don’t go this way!

Continue heading inland and the back of Blackpool Council’s new section of town hall is at your left. It’s a relatively modern addition to the Victorian stone building accessed from Talbot Square – the door to the extension is at Corporation Street.

Opposite is the entrance to West Street multi-storey car park. It’s a very convenient spot for all the main town centre area, and a really handy Blackpool car park. However, it’s a mid-twentieth century building with some tight turns, so perhaps not suitable for nervous drivers!

West Street then ends at the junction with Corporation Street (where the NatWest Bank is) continuing as Birley Street.

West Street Back in the Day

Back in 1754, most of the land around this end of Blackpool was a large orchard, when the Trustees of the William Gaulter Charity bought land here.

They paid what was a whopping amount of money at the time, £500, when an average labourer was paid just six shillings a week. They were big investors of the day, people willing to take a risk with their own money. Just like todays investors risk their own money on projects in Blackpool today. One of the Trustees was Thomas Birley of Kirkham, presumably one of the cloth magnates of the time. In 1773 the William Gaulter Charity became the Lytham Schools Charity.

Some years later, in 1828, a grass path was laid out between the promenade and St John’s Church. Later covered in gravel it’s now today’s West Street and Birley Street – named after Thomas Birley. West Street was previously called Dobson’s Row.

Keep your eyes open when you walk through these old streets of Blackpool. Look up and around to see lots of decorative features.

Other streets to explore…

There’s all kinds of interesting things to explore in Blackpool town centre. Visit shops, businesses, attractions, cafes and pubs of today. Keep an eye out for traces of the past as you walk around…

• Birley Street – the next street heading inland
• Look around Cedar Square, the area to the right of St John’s Church
• Explore Church Street – from the sea past The Grand, M&S and the Winter Gardens
• Corporation Street – bisects Birley Street and West Street
• And Market Street also cuts across West Street
• St Johns Square – the area between the church and Winter Gardens front entrance
• Take a look at Talbot Square – opposite North Pier

And there’s much, much more to explore! MANY THANKS to Nick Moore and his fascinating History of Blackpool for historical information used in this page.