Entertainment in the early 19th Century for
our Bacupian ancestors consisted of such
activities as cockfighting, dogfighting and
badger baiting. A favourite location for these
activities was Crown Point. The annual fair
which up until the late 1860s was held in the
Union Street areas quite often featured the
sad spectacle of bear-baiting.
Gambling was very popular, and with an
abundance of pubs court appearances for
gambling and being drunk and disorderly
were common, in 1865 a Bacup man was
brought before the court for biting off the
head of a live rat for a bet.
Bacup held many celebration parades these were known as demonstrations, in the early years of
Bacup's history they were used as a way of raising funds for the various charities such as Hospital
Sunday. If there was one thing our Bacup and Stacksteads ancestors knew how to do it was
Celebrate. Whether it be a Royal Coronation, Royal Visit, Carnival, Church Parade or Fund
Raising event out would come the bunting and the crowds.
Like many industrial towns in the North Bacup and Stacksteads had its own brass bands, Bacup
Old Band which became Irwell Springs and Change Band were two of the most popular, during
the 1860’s Stacksteads band being described in 1873 as a “ young band”. The Bands played at
concerts, garden parties and Sunday schools processions. Taking part in the various band
contest such as Belle Vue which began in 1853 and Crystal Palace which began in 1860.
Whilst several theatres appear in the local newspapers during the early 1860’s the only one which
seems to be of a permanent structure was Pickles Theater others such as the Royal Standard
and Lyceum seem to be mobile theatres.In 1867 a young man brought to Bacup to entertain the
populace with his euphonium was threatened with death and all other sorts of unimaginable
things. It was common for concerts to be disrupted by marauding children and adults and theatres
in general had a very unsavoury reputation until the opening of the Royal Court Theater.
The first organised sporting activities in Bacup were gymnastics and athletics, followed by cricket,
football and swimming. With an abundance of well-built men who worked in the quarries,and
mines bare-knuckle fighting was also a common and popular past-time. Broadclough described in
1865 as a scene of disorder and riot, with men coming reeling out of the local inn still dressed in
their filthy work clothes and clogs, swearing, cursing and fighting looking like the filthiest rascals
Lancashire could ever produce.