Chapter VIII: Fleetwood-On-Wyre (1)

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The site of the present town of Fleetwood was at no very distant period, less than half a century ago, a wild and desolate warren, forming part of the Rossall estate, and belonging to the late Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, bart. At that date the northern side showed unmistakable evidences of having at an earlier epoch been bounded by a broad wall or rampart of star-hills, continuous with the range until recent years visible near Rossall Point, or North Cape, as that portion of the district was locally called, but which has now been destroyed and levelled by the sea. Beyond the warrener’s cottage and a small farm-house on the Poulton road, no habitations existed anywhere in the vicinity; the whole tract of sandhills and sward had been usurped by myriads of rabbits, which were some little time, even after the erection of dwellings, before they entirely deserted the spot where for centuries they had found a home. During the stormy months of winter, and in the breeding season, immense flocks of sea-fowl made their way to these shores, and like the rabbits, were allowed to remain in undisputed and undisturbed possession of the domain they had appropriated.

Whether this district or locality was populated in the earlier eras of history by any of the aboriginal Britons, invading Romans, or piratical Danes, is a question difficult to solve, but the existence of a paved Roman road, discovered some depth beneath the sand when the trench for the sea-wall was being excavated opposite the Mount Terrace, and traced across the warren in the direction of Poulton, proves beyond a doubt that there was traffic of some description, either peaceful or war-like, over the ground at a very remote age. The road is commonly designated the Danes’ Pad, from a tradition that these freebooters made use of it during their incursive warfare in the Fylde.[82] Evidence in support of the belief that this part of the coast was visited by the Danes or Northmen, as the inhabitants of Scandinavia were called, is to be found in “Knot End,” the name by which the projecting point of land on the opposite side of Wyre has been known from time immemorial. In early days there were both the “Great and Little Knots,” or heaps of stones, but the works carried out for the improvement of the harbour involved the destruction of the small, and mutilation of the big “Knot.” Now arises the question, why were these round collections of boulder stones called “Knots?” In answer to which it may be stated that the word “knot” is of pure Scandinavian origin, and in that ancient Northern language always marked a round heap, and we believe also a round heap of stones. This interpretation would be characteristic of what these knots or mounds of stones were before they were despoiled by the Wyre Harbour Company. Such an application of the word to rounded hills of stone is common at no great distance, and must have been applied by the same people to all these rocky elevations, as instance Hard Knot, Arnside Knot, and Farlton Knot, all of which indicate the name by the rotundity of their stony summits, and seem to confirm the opinion that the early inhabitants of Scandinavia visited the coast, suggesting also that they had some settlement in its immediate vicinity.

As regards the Romans, the only traces of their presence which have been discovered in the neighbourhood of the town, consist of the road above mentioned, and a number of ancient coins which were found near Rossall, in 1840, by some labourers engaged in brick-making. These coins, amounting in all to about three hundred, were principally of silver, and bore the impresses of Severus, Sabina, Antonius, Nerva, etc. It is quite possible, however, that other relics belonging to that nation or the Danes, may still exist, hidden by the sand, and more deeply imbedded than it is necessary to sink when preparing for the foundations of the houses, whilst many also may have been submerged by the encroaching waves as they have gradually inundated the north and west sides of the district.

Doctor Leigh, in his Natural History of Lancashire, informs us that at the mouth of the river Wyre there was in his time a purging water which sprang up from out of the sand. “This, no doubt,” says the Doctor, “is the sea-water which filters through the sand, but by reason of the shortness of its filtration (the spring lying so near the river), or the looseness of the sand, the marine water is not perfectly dulcified, but retains a pleasing brackishness, not unlike that which is observable in the milk of a farrow cow, or one that has conceived.”

To the lord of the manor, Sir P. H. Fleetwood, is due the credit of having first conceived the idea of converting the sterile warren into a thriving seaport. Situated at the mouth of a river, the security of whose stream had originated the proverb—“As safe and as easy as Wyre water,” and by the side of a natural and commodious harbour, sheltered from ever wind, the illustrious baronet foresaw a prosperous future for the place, could he obtain permission from parliament to construct a railway to its shores from the important town of Preston, thereby creating a communication with the manufacturing and commercial centres of Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1835, a number of gentlemen, denominated the Preston and Wyre Railway, Harbour, and Dock Company, having obtained the requisite powers, deputed Frederick Kemp, esq., J.P., of Bispham Lodge, then acting as agent to Sir P. H. Fleetwood, to purchase the land along the proposed route. Operations were commenced with little delay, the work progressed with fair rapidity, and on the 15th of July, 1840, the line was declared open and ready for traffic.

In the meantime dwelling-houses, hotels, and a spacious wharf had been springing into existence. In 1836 the earliest foundation was laid at the south-west corner of Preston Street by Robert Banton, of East Warren Farm. This farm was for a short season a licensed house and brewery, and is now, under the title of Warrenhurst, the private residence of J. M. Jameson, esq., C.E. The new erection, which still bears its original name of the Fleetwood Arms Hotel, made no further progress for about a year, when it was completed by Thomas Parkinson, the head carpenter at Rossall Hall. The first building finished and inhabited in Fleetwood was a beer-house at the south-west corner of Church Street, which was erected in 1836-7, and is now a shop, owned and occupied by Richard Warbrick, outfitter. That small inn or licensed dwelling was in the occupation of a person named Parker, a stonemason, who a little later built the Victoria Hotel, in Dock-street, where he removed and resided for several months, until a sale of the property had been effected.

The streets were marked out by the plough according to the design of Decimus Burton, esq., architect, of London, and so arranged that all the principal thoroughfares, with the exception of the main road of entrance to the town, converged towards the largest star-hill, now known as the Mount, on the highest point of which was placed a small decagon Chinese edifice, surrounded by a raised platform or terrace, whence an extensive view of the broad bay of Morecambe, the lofty ranges of Lancashire, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, and a wide circuit of the neighbouring country could be obtained. The hollow on the south side of the mound was fashioned into the form of a basin, and a semicircular gravelled walk carried along the ridge of each side, leading with a gentle ascent from the entrance gates on the warren at the end of London Street to the summit, whilst the slopes were tastefully arranged and planted with shrubs, to impart a pleasing and ornamental appearance to the otherwise bare sward. These shrubs, as might have been foreseen, speedily withered and perished, owing to the bleakness of the site, and a lack of that indispensable moisture which the dry sandy soil could neither retain nor supply. In earlier days the Mount was commonly known as Tup, or Top, Hill, and formed a favourite resort for pic-nic parties from Blackpool, or some of the surrounding villages, which visited the place during the summer months, to admire the innumerable sea-fowl and their nests, the latter being scattered over the shore in endless profusion.

Building proceeded with rapid strides; house after house sprang up in the lines of streets, which had only lately received their first coating of shingle, and in 1841, one year after the opening of the railway, the town had assumed considerable proportions. Near the entrance from Poulton road were three or four double rows of cottages for the accommodation of the workpeople, and a Roman Catholic chapel. Preston Street contained but few houses in addition to the Fleetwood Arms Hotel; thence, travelling eastward were Dock Street, with the Crown Hotel, as far as and including the Victoria Hotel; the east side of Warren Street, the west side of St. Peter’s Place, the church and Sunday school, both sides of Church Street, Custom House Lane, the Lower Queen’s Terrace, the North Euston Hotel, and the bath houses. The Upper Queen’s Terrace was in process of erection, but was not completed until 1844, after having been allowed, for some reason, to remain in a partially finished state for two years.

The church, standing on a raised plot of ground in the centre of the town and surrounded by an iron palisading, is dedicated to St. Peter, and was first opened for divine service in 1841. It is a stone edifice with a square tower and octagonal spire at the west end, and was erected by voluntary contributions, the site being provided by Sir P. H. Fleetwood, who retained the right of presentation to the living. The interior of the building is neat, and contains sittings for about four hundred persons in the body, with additional accommodation for two hundred more in the gallery, at the end of which are the choir-pew and organ-loft, the latter being occupied by an instrument constructed by Gray, of London. Previous to the alterations, which were made seventeen years since, and consisted of the erection of a gallery and the convertion of some of the private pews into free seats, the family pew of the Fleetwoods stood in front of the organ-loft, and was the only one raised out of the body of the church. The chancel window is of stained glass, large and handsome, representing a central figure of St. Peter bearing the Keys of Heaven, below and on each side of which several scriptural subjects are illustrated. This window, purchased by subscription amongst the parishioners, was inserted in 1860; and in the previous year a handsome font of Caen stone was presented by Mrs. G. Y. Osborne. Two upright tablets, the gift of the late vicar, the Rev. G. Y. Osborne, illuminated with the Ten Commandments, are placed, one on each side of the Communion table. Four other tablets are fixed against the walls of the church, the first of which was erected by a few friends as a tribute of respect to the memory of Dobson Ward, died 1859, aged 43 years, a humble but zealous worker in the Sunday school; another was placed by the Rev. G. Y. Osborne, in loving memory of his deceased daughter; the third, a handsome tablet, was erected at the entrance to the vestry, by parishioners and friends, to the memory of the Rev. G. Y. Osborne, “for 19 years vicar of this parish, who died 11 November, 1871, aged 53 years,”[83] and the last is to the memory of Charles Stewart, esq., died 1873, aged 64 years, late of High Leigh, Cheshire, and Fleetwood. The living, endowed with the great tithes of Thornton and augmented by the pew rents, was originally a perpetual curacy, but during the ministry of the late Rev. G. Y. Osborne, a distinct district or parish for all ecclesiastical purposes was assigned to the church, and the title of vicar accorded to the incumbent.

PERPETUAL CURATES AND VICARS OF FLEETWOOD.

IN THE DEANERY OF AMOUNDERNESS AND ARCHDEACONRY OF LANCASTER.

The burial ground connected with the church is part of the general cemetery, situated near the shore in the direction of the Landmark at Rossall Point, and about one mile distant from the town.

The small building opposite the Church, now used for infants only, was for several years, until the erection of the Testimonial Schools, the ordinary Sunday school under the superintendence of the incumbent of St. Peter’s.

The Market Place, opened on the 7th of November, 1840, is a spacious, paved area, surrounded by a high wall of sandstone.

The two entrances are closed by means of large wooden gates, and lead respectively into Adelaide and Victoria Streets. The central portion of the in-walled space is occupied by a square, wooden structure, covered over with a slated roof, in the interior of which are stalls for the goods of the different farmers and traders. Friday is the market day, and the following list comprises the various commodities exposed for sale on Friday, the 10th of July, 1846, the earliest recorded, with their prices:—

Oats, per bushel 3s. 10d.
Meal, per load 36s. 0d.
Beans, per windle 16s. 0d.
Butter, per pound 1s. 1d.
Eggs, fresh 16 to 18 for 1s. 0d.
Peas, per strike 0s. 9d.
Potatoes (new), per score 1s. 10d.
” (old), per windle 8s. 0d.
Beef, per pound 6d. to 7d.
Lamb ” 0s. 7d.
Mutton ” 0s. 6½d.
Salmon ” 0s. 10d.
Lobsters ” 1s. 0d.

Since the date of the above quotations, Preston has gradually monopolised the chief portion of the grain trade, and consequently transactions in oats and other cereals are not of frequent occurrence at the local markets of the Fylde.

The Roman Catholic chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, was erected at the north end of Walmsley Street, continuous with the line of houses forming the east side of that street, and opened for divine worship on the 15th of November, 1841. A few years since a more commodious edifice, which will be described hereafter, was erected on another and better site, whilst the old one was dismantled, and subsequently converted into cottages.

The Crown Hotel, a handsome and substantial stone structure facing the Railway Station, was the third hotel erected in Fleetwood, the Fleetwood Arms being the first, and the Victoria the second in point of completion. The original dimensions of the Crown have been considerably increased by the addition in recent years of ample stable accommodation, a large billiard room, and several sleeping apartments.

The North Euston Hotel, which was opened almost simultaneously with the Crown Hotel, is a superb stone building in the form of a crescent, with a frontage of nearly 300 feet. This edifice was sold to Government in 1859, and subsequently opened as a School of Musketry. The noble portico in front of the main entrance and the spacious hall within are supported by massive stone pillars, whilst a handsome terrace, raised a little above the level of the street, encircles the whole length of the ground floor, and is protected by an ornamental iron railing. On its transfer to Government, quarters were provided for sixty officers and a staff of military instructors. There were three chief courses of instruction held during each year, but in addition to these were two of shorter duration, one being in the month of January for the adjutants of volunteers, and another a little later for the volunteers themselves. The curriculum was similar to that at Hythe. In 1867 the School of Musketry was discontinued, and after a short interval, in which fresh buildings were added, the whole structure was turned into barracks, and as such continues to be occupied. In the early days of the hotel a T-shaped jetty extended out from the steps on the shore opposite the principal entrance to the distance of low-water mark, and was used by the visitors as a short promenade and landing stage, but after standing a few years the erection was removed, being found to interfere with the course of the steamers and other vessels round that section of the channel.

The bath-houses, each of which contained a spacious sea-water swimming bath, were connected with the North Euston Hotel, and therefore became the property of Government on the transfer of the main building itself. Since that date their internal arrangements have undergone material alterations and modifications to suit the requirements of the military, but their handsome stone exteriors and massive porticoes are still intact.

The custom-house on the Lower Queen’s Terrace is now a private residence in the occupation of Alexander Carson, esq., who is also the owner, and the offices have for many years been situated in a house of more modest pretensions in the same row.

The two lighthouses, one of which is placed in Pharos Street and the other further north, on the margin of the beach, were also in existence in 1841, having been erected a short time previously. The former is a tall circular column of painted stone, having an altitude of about 90 feet above high-water mark. The base of the column is square, each of the sides being 12 feet high and 20 broad. The focus of the lantern is 104 feet above half-tide level, and outside the reflector is a narrow, circular, stone gallery, guarded by an iron fencing. The cost of the column was £1,480. The other lighthouse is much smaller, and stands on a slightly elevated plot of ground. Each side of its base forms a recess, furnished with seats, and supported above by round stone pillars. The centre of the lantern is 44 feet above half-tide level. The whole fabric, which is built throughout of finely cut stone, was erected at a cost of £1,375.

We have now reviewed the general appearance of the town in 1841, including brief accounts of all the more important buildings, but accidentally omitting to state that gas works were amongst the early erections, and before proceeding with the history of its further progress and increase, it will be convenient to revert for a moment to the railway and matters connected with it, leaving, however, the harbour, wharf, and shipping for separate examination towards the later pages of the chapter. The railway, consisting of a single line throughout the whole extent, was carried over a portion of the estuary of the Wyre, along an embankment and viaduct of huge wooden piles, running from Burn Naze to the west extremity of the wharf at Fleetwood, near to which the station is situated. In 1846 the traffic, both in passengers and goods, had increased so rapidly that the directors determined to have a double line without delay. Instructions for that purpose were accordingly issued to the engineer of the company, and at the same time he was directed that, in order to afford space and facilities for the construction of the proposed docks to the westward of the existing railway piling, the double line should diverge at Burn Naze, run round the Cops, and terminate as before. The programme here stated was not fully carried out, and the double line extended only as far as Burn Naze, from which point a single line ran along a semicircular embankment, lying west of the old one, to the terminus at Fleetwood.[84] This embankment was the means of rescuing from the incursions of the tide about 400 acres of marsh land, which has since by drainage and cultivation been converted into excellent pastures and productive fields. The entire line was leased, under acts of 1846, to the Lancashire and Yorkshire and London and North Western Railway companies, the former taking two thirds and the latter one third of the profits or losses. The terms agreed upon were a rent of £7 1s. 6d. per cent., and £1 15s. 4½d. per share on a total capital of £668,000, until the close of 1854, when the payments were raised to £7 17s. 6d. per cent., and £1 19s. 3½d. per share in perpetuity. In the month of July, 1846, the electric telegraph in connection with the Preston and Wyre Railway was introduced into the town, and as its first public act was the interception, at Kirkham, of a defaulting steamship passenger, who had neglected to pay her fare, it may be concluded that the inhabitants welcomed the ingenious invention as a valuable ally in the protection of their commercial interests, as well as a rapid and convenient mode of friendly intercommunion in cases of urgency.

The Improvement Act, for “paving, lighting, cleansing, and otherwise improving the town of Fleetwood and the neighbourhood thereof, and for establishing a market therein,” came into operation on the 18th of June, 1842. Meetings were appointed to be held on the first Monday in every month, at which any male person was empowered to sit as a commissioner on producing evidence that he was either a resident within the limits prescribed by the act, and rated to the poor-rates of the township of Thornton for a local tenement of the annual value of £15, or possessed as owner or lessee or in the enjoyment of the rents and profits of a messuage, lands, or hereditaments, similarly situated and rated, for a term of not less than fifty years. In 1869 authority was obtained to repeal certain sections of the old act and adopt others from the Public Health Act of 1848, and the Local Government Act of 1858, the most important being that in future the Board of Commissioners should consist of twelve members only, having personally the same qualifications as before, but being elected by the ratepayers. The new regulations also ordained that one third of the commissioners should retire each year, and the vacancies be filled up by a general election. This act is still in force.

It was not possible that the claims of a place so happily situated as Fleetwood for a summer residence could long remain unrecognised by the inhabitants of the inland towns. No sooner was free access given to its shores by the opening of the railway in 1840, than the hotels and lodging-houses were inundated with visitors, whose annual return testified to their high appreciation of its mild climate, firm sands, excellent boating accommodation, and lastly, the diversified and beautiful scenery of the broad bay of Morecambe. A number of bathing vans were stationed on the shore opposite the Mount, but were little patronised during the first two or three seasons owing to the proprietors demanding 1s. from each person using them, a sum exactly double that required at other watering-places. The injurious effects of this exorbitant charge were speedily experienced, not only by the van owners, whose receipts were reduced to a minimum, but generally throughout the town, as visitors who greatly preferred Fleetwood were driven to other places on that account, and each year many who came with the intention of remaining during the summer left because their families were debarred from bathing, except at an excessive cost. The error of so grasping a policy being at last demonstrated to the proprietors by the small and diminishing patronage extended to their vans, it was resolved, in 1844, to reduce the charge to 6d. That year several newly-erected houses in Kemp Street were furnished and tenanted, whilst the hitherto unoccupied stone residences comprised in the Upper Queen’s Terrace were fitted up with elegance and convenience for the wealthier class of sojourners, to whom they were let for periods varying from a few weeks to three or four months. The terrace of houses situated between the North Euston Hotel and the Mount, and bearing the latter name, was also completed that year. The prices at the North Euston Hotel were arranged as under:—

Sitting-room 3s. 4d. per day.
Bed-room 2s. 3d. and 4s. 0d. per day.
Table d’Hote 4s. per head.
Breakfast or Tea 2s. 0d. and 2s. 6d. per head.

During the Whit-week of 1844 the place was crowded with excursionists, many of whom, amounting to 1,000 daily, were carried at half fare by the Preston and Wyre Railway, and came from the neighbouring towns and villages, whilst others arrived by sea in excursion boats from Dublin, the Isle of Man, Ulverstone, Blackpool, and Southport. Festivities were entered into on the warren and slopes of the Mount, lasting three days and consisting of horse, pony, donkey, foot, sack, and wheelbarrow races, a cricket match, foot steeplechases, wrestling, and gingling matches.

In 1844 Fleetwood was reduced from a distinct port to a creek under Preston, and during the month of July the mayor of the latter town paid a state visit to the watering-place, arriving by sea in the small steamer “Lily.” A series of misfortunes rather tended to upset the dignity and imposing aspect of the official cortege. A somewhat rough sea retarded their passage and rapidly converted the ship into a temporary hospital for that, perhaps, most distressing of all sicknesses; nearing, at last, the lighthouse at the foot of Wyre, a large portion of the larboard gunwale was carried away by the bowsprit of the steamer “Express,” which had been sent out to meet and tow them into harbour, if necessary; and finally the unfortunate “Lily” stranded on a bank opposite the beach at Fleetwood, and the mayoral party, now pallid and dejected, in their gorgeous robes and liveries, were brought to land in small open boats, and having formed the following order, marched to the North Euston Hotel, where a banquet was prepared:—

Three Policemen.
Two Sergeants-at-Mace.
Mace Bearer.
The Mayor in his Robes of Office.
The Corporation Steward.
Recorder of the Borough.
The Aldermen of the Borough.
The Members of the Common Council.
Military Officers and Private Gentlemen.
Town Crier and Beadle.

This year the Preston and Wyre Railway Company, in conjunction with the line from Manchester and Bolton, commenced to run Sunday excursion trains to Fleetwood at reduced fares during the genial months of summer, and in August upwards of ten thousand pleasure-seekers were estimated to have been brought into the town by their means alone. These lines were amongst the first to try the experiment of cheap trains, and the immense success which attended their efforts on the above occasions soon induced them to extend the privileges to other days besides the Sabbath. The promoters of private excursions, also, were offered facilities to direct their course to this watering-place. During the summer of 1844 no less than 60,000 people in all, that is including both day excursionists and those who remained for longer periods, arrived, being considerably more than in any previous season. In July, 1846, the whole of the workpeople of Richard Cobden, esq., M.P., the great free-trade statesman, visited the town to celebrate the triumph of free-trade principles in parliament, the entire expense of the trip being defrayed by that gentleman. Each of the operatives and others, numbering about 1,300, had a free-trade medal suspended by a ribbon from the neck; and, having formed in procession, the large assembly paraded through the streets of Fleetwood, carrying banners adorned with such appropriate mottoes and inscriptions as “Free Trade with all the World,” “Peel, Bright, and Cobden,” etc. In the same year an immense Sunday school trip, bringing no less than 4,200 children and adults, arrived; and after amusing themselves by rambling about the shore for a time, the youthful multitude formed a huge pic-nic party on the warren. This was without doubt the largest single excursion which ever visited these shores, and on its return, the enormous train of two engines and fifty-six carriages, many of which were cattle trucks provided with forms and covered in with canvas, was divided, each engine taking half, for fear of accidents and delays. In later times it was no uncommon circumstance to see the spacious wharf opposite the Upper and Lower Queen’s Terraces, crowded with cheap trains during Easter and Whit-weeks. Hourly trips in the small steam tug-boats or pleasure yachts, pony and donkey rides, bathing, and mussel gathering on the bank opposite the Mount Terrace were the chief amusements of the day visitors, and innumerable were the exclamations of wonder and delight uttered by thousands, who for the first time beheld

“The broad and bursting wave”

at Fleetwood, for our readers may be reminded that at the date of which we are writing, railway fares, except on special occasions, were beyond the compass of the labouring populations of our manufacturing and agricultural districts, and consequently a visit to the, in many cases unknown, sea, was an event eagerly anticipated and long remembered.

In January, 1845, a general meeting of those who were interested in Fleetwood, or wished to testify their respect and admiration for the noble efforts of the founder of the town, was held at the North Euston Hotel, to determine upon the most suitable public testimonial to be erected in honour of Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood. Doctor Ramsay proposed that day schools for 200 children of the labouring classes, with a house for a master and mistress, having the name of the “Fleetwood Testimonial Schools,” open to all denominations of Christians and connected with the National Society, should be erected. This resolution was carried without a dissentient; subscription lists were opened; and on Wednesday, the 26th of August, 1846, the foundation stone of the building was laid by Charles Swainson, esq., of Preston. Large numbers arrived early in the morning to be present at the ceremony. The town, shipping, and river craft, decked out in bunting, presented quite a gala appearance as the officials and guests proceeded to the site in West Street. The procession marched as stated below:—

The Beadle.
Band.
The Wesleyan Sunday School Children.
The Independent Sunday School Children.
The Church Sunday School Children.
The Architect holding the Mallet and Trowel.
The Contractors.
The Clergy.
Charles Swainson, esq.
The Treasurer and Mr. Swainson’s Friends.
Rossall School.
The Gentry and Visitors.
The Tradesmen.
Independent Order of Oddfellows.
The Rechabites.

In the cavity beneath the foundation stone were enclosed a bottle containing coins of the present reign, a copy of the _Fleetwood Chronicle_ of that date, printed on parchment, and another sheet of parchment inscribed thus:—

“The first stone of these schools, which are to be erected as
the fittest Testimonial to the benevolent founder of this town,
Sir P. H. Fleetwood, Bart., M.P., was laid by Charles Swainson,
Esq., of Preston, this 26th day of August, 1846.

THE REV. ST. VINCENT BEECHEY, M.A., Incumbent;
THE REV. W. LAIDLAY, B.A., Curate;
B. WALMSLEY, FREDERICK KEMP, Churchwardens;
THE REV. JOHN HULL, Vicar of Poulton, Chairman of the Committee.
JOHN LAIDLAY, Esq., Treasurer of the Committee;
R. B. RAMPLING, Esq., Architect;
H. B. JONES, Esq., Secretary.

Non nobis, Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.”

This scholastic institution is in the Gothic style of architecture, and the principal front, facing into West Street, extends over a distance of seventy-one feet. The interior of the building contains separate school accommodation for boys and girls; and at the east end there is a comfortable residence for the mistress. The school is surrounded by an extensive play-ground, and enclosed by a brick wall, surmounted anteriorly by ornamental iron railings. Since the building was completed the provision for the reception of boys has been greatly increased by the erection of a new wing, by private munificence, abutting at right angles with the east end of the original structure.

In the spring of 1845 a handsome promenade and carriage drive was completed along the border of the shore from the North Euston Hotel to the west extremity of the Mount Terrace. The pathway, which ran on the inner side of the drive, was flagged throughout its entire length, whilst the outer margin of the road was connected with a substantial sea-wall of square-cut stone by a broad and well-kept grass plat. Subsequently this elegant walk was extended round the south side of the Mount, along Abbots’ Walk, and so on by the side of the shore to the Cemetery Road. Very little of the portion first constructed is now to be seen, and that remnant is in such a dilapidated condition as almost to be impassable. Huge stones which formerly protected the green sward and road from the waves are now lying scattered and buried about the beach; whilst the westerly end of the promenade has not only suffered utter annihilation itself, but serious inroads have been made by the water into the ornamental gardens fronting the houses of the Mount Terrace.

Strenuous efforts were put forth during the autumn of 1845 to prevent the visitors forsaking the town immediately the long evenings had commenced; pyrotechnic displays took place each week on the plot of land lying to the north of the Upper Queen’s Terrace, and designated the Archery Ground. Sea excursions to Blackpool, Southport, and Piel Harbour were liberally provided for by the steamers of the port; a military band was hired for several weeks, and played daily either on one of the pleasure craft or near the new promenade; foot races, wrestling, and cricket matches were arranged and contested at short intervals. But all in vain, for towards the end of August the reflux of visitors had thoroughly set in, and by the middle of September the shores were almost deserted. During that brief period of excitement it was proposed amongst the inhabitants to erect a large public building to be ready for the ensuing season, which should combine all the advantages of a reading and news room, public library, bazaar, ball room, and theatre; but either the ardour of the people cooled during the winter months or they failed to discern a fair prospect of dividends from the investment, for the summer of 1846 discovered that the idea had vanished with the closing year, and

“Like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Left not a wreck behind.”

Perhaps, however, it is going too far to assert that no trace or vestige of the comprehensive project remained after the first ebullition of enthusiasm had passed from the popular mind, for we find that, although no noble hall graced the town, a Mechanics’ Institution was modestly established on the 18th of May, 1846, by the opening of a reading room in one portion of the Estate Office. This office formerly occupied the site of the present Whitworth Institute, and was a small, lightly constructed, Gothic edifice. Subsequently a larger and more convenient place for the purposes of the Institution was engaged in Dock Street; a library was provided and arrangements made for lectures and classes to be held on the premises. In the report of the establishment, issued twelve months after its foundation, it was stated that the members at that date amounted to 184, being 138 full members, 20 females, and 26 youths and apprentices; and that since its organisation 213 persons had availed themselves of the privileges offered by the society. A considerable number of cottage houses were erected in different parts of the town, and not only were these tenanted directly they were completed, but the demand for further building was still on the increase. A public abattoir, or slaughter-house, was constructed in 1846 on the outskirts of the town, and a notice issued, prohibiting the slaying of any cattle, sheep, or swine anywhere except within its walls, under a penalty of £5 for every offence. A Wesleyan chapel was also in course of erection in North Church Street, then open warren, and finished the following year, divine service being first conducted in it on Monday, the 24th of May, by the Rev. George Osborne, of Liverpool. As the town gradually developed in size and population, the attendants at this place of worship outgrew the space provided for them, and lately, in 1875, it became necessary to enlarge the edifice. The west gable-end was taken out and the main building extended in that direction. Galleries were placed along the two sides and across the east wall; the old-fashioned pulpit was superseded by a platform situated at the centre of the west end, and extending to within six feet of the galleries at either side. The new sittings resemble the old ones in being closed pews, and not open benches. The chapel is now capable of containing double the congregation it could have held previous to the recent alterations.

In the month of February, 1847, an extraordinary high tide, rendered more formidable by strong westerly winds, did great damage on the coast from here to Rossall; the Landmark was so far undermined that its fall was hourly expected; an embankment raised on the shore from that point to Rossall suffered severely, large portions being completely washed away; and the outbuildings of a farm called “Fenny” were overthrown and destroyed, serious injury being done also to the land in the neighbourhood. The more immediate vicinities of the town escaped with comparatively little loss, the most important being that resulting from the inundation of several fields and gardens near the Cops, and the levelling of a few wooden sheds for labourers’ tools and other outbuildings.

A failure in the potatoe and grain harvests of 1846 spread fearful distress and famine throughout the United Kingdom; bread riots and disturbances amongst the starving poor of Ireland were of frequent occurrence, and it was to assist in alleviating the sufferings of those unfortunate people that a subscription was started in Fleetwood during the latter months of that year. Donations purely from the inhabitants of the town were collected, and in January, 1847, the sum of £105 was forwarded to the sister country. In consequence of the severe national affliction, Her Majesty ordained that Wednesday, the 24th of the following March, should be observed as a general fast-day. On that date all the shops in the watering place, with one or two exceptions, were closed; the public-houses and streets were quiet; and stillness and solemnity everywhere apparent. The church was crowded to overflowing; every seat was packed, and forms were brought in from the Sunday school and placed in the aisles to create extra accommodation, so excessive was the congregation which assembled to join in the special service for divine intervention.

On Monday, the 20th of September, 1847, Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, accompanied by their Royal Highnesses, the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, and the Princess Royal, landed at Fleetwood _en route_ from Scotland to London. The spot fixed for the debarkation of the royal party was near the north end of the covered pier, upwards of 100 feet of which were boarded off and converted into a saloon, a covered gallery being erected leading from it to the railway, where the special train was stationed. The floors of the saloon and gallery were covered with crimson drugget and at the entrance to the former a beautiful triumphal arch was formed of various coloured draperies, and adorned with the national flag and other emblems of loyalty. The walls of the saloon were hung with white and coloured draperies, festooned with evergreens, and British ensigns were suspended from the roof. This elegant apartment contained a gallery for ladies at the north end, and near to the entrance was a small octagonal throne, having an ascent of three steps, upon which a handsome gilded chair of state and a footstool were placed. Behind the two latter, draperies of crimson cloth were suspended, surmounted by the Arms of Her Majesty. On Sunday, the 19th of September, the High-sheriff of the county of Lancaster, William Gale, esq., of Lightburne House, near Ulverston, who had arrived in order to receive Her Majesty on the following day, attended divine worship at St. Peter’s Church, being driven there in his state carriage, drawn by four splendid greys and preceded by his trumpeters and twenty-four javelin men with halberds. Monday was ushered in with boisterous winds, a cloudy sky, and other indications of unpropitious weather, which fortunately for the thousands who crowded into the place from Yorkshire, Manchester, and intermediate localities, considerably improved as the day advanced. The ships in the harbour were draped with flags, and similar decorations floated from the windows of almost every house. A little after three o’clock in the afternoon the report of a signal gun announced that the royal squadron, consisting of the Victoria and Albert, the Black Eagle, the Fairy, the Garland, and the Undine, was in sight, and as the noble vessels steamed up the channel the North Euston Hotel and the Pier burst out into brilliant illuminations. As soon as the royal yacht, Victoria and Albert, had been safely moored to the quay opposite the triumphal arch, and the gangways adjusted, the High-sheriff, W. Gale, esq.; Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B.; Sir P. H. Fleetwood, bart.; Major-General Sir William Warre; John Wilson Patten, esq., M.P.; the Rev. St. Vincent Beechey, incumbent of Fleetwood; Henry Houldsworth, esq., chairman of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company; George Wilson, esq., deputy-chairman; and Thomas H. Higgin, esq., managing director of the Preston and Wyre district; presented their cards, and explained to Captain Beechey the several arrangements which had been made for Her Majesty’s conveyance to London. Afterwards Sir P. H. Fleetwood, the Rev. St. Vincent Beechey, Frederick Kemp, and James Crombleholme, esqrs., of Fleetwood; and Daniel Elletson, esq., of Parrox Hall, were admitted to an interview with Lord Palmerston, who, on behalf of Her Majesty, received the subjoined address from the inhabitants of Fleetwood, printed in gold on white satin, and promised that it should be laid before the Queen:—

“THE LOYAL AND DUTIFUL ADDRESS OF THE INHABITANTS OF FLEETWOOD,
TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN.

“_May it Please your Majesty_,

“We, the Inhabitants of the Town of Fleetwood, in the county of
Lancaster, desire to approach your Majesty on this auspicious
occasion, with the most sincere expression of our devoted
loyalty and attachment to your Majesty, of our deep respect and
esteem for your Majesty’s august Consort, for his Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales, and the other members of the Royal Family.

“We beg to assure your Majesty that it is with feelings of the
liveliest gratitude that we hail this Royal visit to our humble
shores, now for the first time pressed by the foot of Sovereignty.

“We rejoice to think that it has fallen to our happy lot to
be the first to welcome the Queen of England to her own Royal
Patrimony in the Duchy of Lancaster.

“We hasten to lay at your Majesty’s feet the dutiful allegiance
of the inhabitants of the youngest Town and Port in all your
Majesty’s dominions, which dates its existence from the very year
in which your Majesty first ascended the Throne of these realms;
and which, from the barren and uninhabited sands of the Fylde of
Lancashire, has already obtained some importance for its town
of 3,000 inhabitants, its Watering-place, Harbour, and Railway,
together with its College for the sons of clergymen and other
gentlemen.

“We sincerely trust, that the natural facilities and local
arrangements of this Port may be found such as shall conduce to
the safety, comfort, and convenience of your Majesty in your
royal progress. And we beseech your Majesty to receive our united
and solemn assurance, that whatever progress our Harbour and Town
may make in wealth and importance, it shall ever be our firmest
determination and most earnest prayer, that we may never cease
to boast of a loyal population, entertaining the same feeling of
devoted duty and attachment to your Majesty and the Royal Family,
which we experience at this moment, and which the grateful
remembrance of this Royal visit must ever tend to keep alive in
our bosoms.

“Signed on behalf of the Inhabitants,

“ST. VINCENT BEECHEY, M.A., Incumbent of Fleetwood.”

To the foregoing address the annexed reply was received from London in the course of a few days:—

“Whitehall, 25th September, 1847.

“SIR,—I am directed by the Secretary, Sir George Grey, to inform
you, that the Loyal and Dutiful Address of the Inhabitants of
Fleetwood, on the occasion of Her Majesty’s late visit, has been
laid before the Queen, and that the same was very graciously
received by Her Majesty.

“I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,

(Signed)

“DENNIS LE MERCHANT.

“Rev. St. Vincent Beechey, Incumbent of Fleetwood.”

Early next morning the handsome saloon was occupied by the High-sheriff, the Under-sheriff, and a select number of gentlemen, and shortly after ten o’clock Her Majesty and the royal party proceeded from the yacht to the special train amid joyful acclamations which resounded from all parts of the shore. The moment Her Majesty set foot, for the first time, on her Duchy of Lancaster, the royal standard was lowered from the mast-head of the yacht, and instantly raised on the flag-staff at the custom-house of Fleetwood, where it received a salute of twenty-one guns. After another salute of a similar number of guns, as Her Majesty reached the end of the gallery, the royal party entered their saloon carriage, Mr., now Sir John, Hawskshaw, engineer to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, took his station on the engine, and the train moved slowly off, followed by the ringing cheers of at least ten thousand spectators.

It should be mentioned that a loyal address, written in Latin, from the students of the Northern Church of England School, at Rossall, arrived too late for presentation, and was afterwards forwarded to London.

In the month of July, 1847, Mr. Thomas Drummond, contractor, commenced the erection of the present Independent Chapel in West Street, and notwithstanding a serious delay through the destruction of the north gable and roof-framing by a heavy gale in September, the building was completed the same year. The edifice, which will contain about 600 persons, is a neat brick structure with side buttresses, and adorned with a castellated tower. Beneath the chapel are spacious school-rooms for boys and girls. The site was granted by Sir P. H. Fleetwood, and conveyed in trust for the use of the church and congregation.

For two or three years little of special interest occurred in the progress or condition of the town. Each summer brought its assembly of regular visitors, upon whom many of the inhabitants depended for support, whilst Whit-week annually inundated the warren, streets, and shores with crowds of day-excursionists, for whose benefit sports, resembling those to which allusion has already been made, were instituted. Regattas also were added to the other attractions of the watering-place, but after existing for some little time they gradually died out, either because they failed to excite their former interest amongst the visitors, or the public spirit of the inhabitants was tardy in providing the funds necessary for their continuance. Houses in Albert Street, and in other parts of the town, were slowly increasing in number, but no large demand for dwellings bespoke a rapid rise in the prosperity or popularity of the place, like that to which we referred a little earlier. Trade, although comparatively steady, evinced no signs of enlargement at present, and as a consequence fresh families hesitated to venture their fortunes in the new land, until some more regular and reliable means of gaining a livelihood were offered them than the precarious patronage of uncertain visitors, many of whom, now that free access had been given to Blackpool and Lytham through the opening of branch lines, were already being seduced from their old allegiance to Fleetwood, and attracted to the gayer promenades of those rival resorts.

In the month of December, 1852, and just at the Christmas season, a fearful hurricane swept over Fleetwood; slates, chimney tops, and boardings were torn from their fastenings, and hurled about the streets; indeed so terrific was the violence of this gale that at its height it was difficult for the pedestrian to avoid being forced along by its fury in whatsoever direction the huge gusts willed. During the storm a singular accident occurred in the harbour. The barque “Hope,” which had arrived shortly before from America with timber, was lying in the river attached to one of the buoys, and by some carelessness the men employed in unloading her had neglected, on leaving their work, to close up the large square hole near the stem of the ship, through which the baulks of wood were discharged. The hurricane came on fiercely and suddenly from the west, and, to the dismay of the solitary watchman who had been left in charge of the vessel, heeled over her lightened hull so that the swollen and boisterous tide poured wave after wave through the unprotected aperture at her bows; a few minutes only were needed to complete the catastrophe, for as the vessel settled in the deep, no longer waves but continuous volumes of water rushed into her, and with a heavy lurch she rolled over on her side, the masts and more than half her hull being submerged. Fortunately, however, the remnant of the cargo was sufficiently buoyant to prevent her from vanishing bodily beneath the surface. The luckless guardian, whose feelings must have been far from enviable, was quickly rescued from the perilous position he occupied on the floating portion of the ship; but it was not until some weeks afterwards that they were able, in the words of the poet Cowper,

“To weigh the vessel up.”

The “Hope,” 415 tons register, was built up the river at the old port of Wardleys, being the only vessel of such dimensions constructed in the shipyard there. Ten years later, on the 27th of February, 1862, this ill-fated barque was abandoned on the high seas in a sinking condition.

In 1854 sundry improvements were effected in the extent and condition of the place, and consisted in part of the erection of a row of model cottages in Poulton Road, near the entrance to the town, as well as a new police Station in West Street, comprising two dwellings for the constables and cells for prisoners. The streets were also put in better order, and efforts made to render the aspect of Fleetwood more finished and pleasing than it had been during the two or three previous seasons. A scheme for the partial drainage of the town was proposed at the assembly of commissioners, and arrangements were entered into for the work to be promptly carried out at an estimated cost of £1,200. Altogether a sudden spirit of activity seemed to have superseded the lethargy or indifference which lately had been too much visible amongst the inhabitants in all matters of public interest, and which had already exercised a serious and baneful influence upon the prospects of the place as a sea-side resort. In the ensuing year the body of Primitive Methodists, which had now become rather numerous, chiefly owing to the prosperity of the fishing trade attracting many followers of that calling to the port, most of whom were members of this sect, commenced and completed a chapel in West Street. Recently it has been found necessary considerably to enlarge the edifice, in order to furnish more accommodation for the increasing congregation. Although the erection of this chapel and of the other buildings mentioned above mark undoubtedly an era of progress in the history of the town, still we are constrained to admit that the wants they supplied were not brought about by the spread of Fleetwood’s reputation as a watering-place. From the first little had been done to supplement its natural attractions by laying out elegant promenades, or improving the state of the Cops or Poulton Road, so as to render them agreeable rural walks for many who, after a time, grew weary of watching the eddies and dimples of the river’s current

“Play round the bows of ships,
That steadily at anchor rode;”

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History of the Fylde of LancashireChapter VIII: Fleetwood-On-Wyre (1)

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