The Cottage was built in 1856 by a man called Christopher Johnson for his own use as a farm. It was originally known as flag causeway farm.
Everyday he made the journey by horse and cart to Blackpool beach to pick up cobble stones with which he built his home.
The new owners have recently uncovered the cobblestone walls and they are now restored for all to see in the restaurant which was Christopher Johnsons living room.
In 1920 a lady called Jane Ann Quinn was granted a covenant by william edward ord, the landowner to conduct the buisness of fish and chip retailer and wet fish was even sold out of the kitchen window!!!
We have been told many stories of an old lady who lived in an old fashioned gypsy caravan next to the cottage in the 1930s/1940s who peeled the potatoes by hand everyday,
She selected the big ones to cut into giant chips, she battered them and sold them to the local children for an old penny, they became known as penny fingers.
If anyone else has any early recollections of The Cottage, please let us know we will add them to the website.
The Cottage was then owned by a family called The Hargreaves and latterly The Stansfields.
Mr & Mrs Stansfield were the ones to put the Cottage on the map, Mr Stansfield was a fishmerchant from
Fleetwood (just like jason the present owner) who took great pride in the quality of his fish,
Mrs Stansfield invited the stars from the end of pier shows which were the place to be in the 1960s, Blackpool was a booming town, The Cottage stayed open until 2-3am to allow the celebrity’s time to relax after the shows.
Many of the old pictures have disappeared over time but we have lots of stories from our three longstanding members of staff, Joan, Linda and Maureen who have a combined service record of 110 years.
Oliver Reed was a regular, according to Linda he was a true gentleman, he was a regular with his wife & it was her who wore the trousers, he would leave the cottage quite sober but the newspaper photographers would be waiting outside, he said watch this Linda, he would stagger about the street, they would get the picture, he gave Linda a wink and went on his way.
Jay Patel took over from the Stansfields, he owned the Cottage for twenty years, he says his proudest moment was when he served fish & chips to the prime minister, John Major.
Mcreedy restaurants / whelans owned the Cottage for about 6 years until the present owners took over in September 2007.
When Jason & Liz took over in September 2007, The Cottage was in a bit of a sorry state, Jason being a fishmerchant immediately restored the fish to its former glory but the building was very sad.
Over the years it had undergone 'modernization' in places and abject neglect in others.
The day liz viewed the Cottage she said these toilets have got to go and yes they have gone replaced by a gleaming new extension with easily accessible facilities but at the same time they have been decorated sympathetically to fit in with the cottage image.
The Restaurant has been stripped back to reveal the original cobbled walls and although it has been extended over the years (it is like a tardis) the cottage retains a great deal of charm, the light fittings are old oil lamps and the laminate floor has been replaced with old slate.
There are beautiful original stained glass windows and the stars are coming back in abundance.
2009 saw the renovation of the takeaway and kitchen, the takeaway now boasts a enormous state of the art range by Florigo (The same make as Rick Steins in his place in Padstowe & Fortnum & Masons London) only the best for the Cottage customers.
Jason & Liz still have a little way to go before the building is completed to their satisfaction, its a work in progress so watch this space and feel free to visit & sample the delights of truly fresh fish & chips at the Cottage.