History of the Fylde of Lancashire

by John Porter

He always stood a poor man’s friend.”

The mansion and estate were purchased by William Hornby, esq., of Kirkham, shortly before his death in 1824, and by him bequeathed to his brother John Hornby, esq., of Blackburn, who married Alice Kendall, a widow, and the daughter of Daniel Backhouse, esq., of Liverpool. Daniel Hornby, esq., the eldest son of that union, inherited the property on the decease of his father in 1841, and took up his abode at the Hall until the early part of 1860, when he left the neighbourhood. Raikes Hall then became the seat of a Roman Catholic Convent School, which continued in possession for several years, until the new and handsome edifice standing on a rising ground in Little Layton was erected and ready for its reception. Shortly after the removal of the school the land and residence were purchased by the company above named, and their aspects began to undergo the changes already indicated. The census returns of the township collected in 1871, furnished a total of 7,902 persons, all of whom, with the exception of an insignificant proportion, were resident in Blackpool.

In consequence of a letter from the Secretary of State, giving notice that the burial ground in connection with St. John’s Church must be closed after the 31st of December, 1871, the responsibility of providing a suitable place for interments was thrown upon the authorities, and the members of the Local Board of Health formed themselves into a Burial Board, their first meeting being held on the 20th of June in the year just specified. A committee was appointed, and in the ensuing August purchased for £1,759 an eligible site of 8½ acres, lying by the side of the New Road, into which the entrance gates of the cemetery now open. The plans for the requisite erections were prepared by Messrs. Garlick, Park, and Sykes, architects, of Preston, and the work of preparing the ground commenced in October, the contract for the chapels and lodge being let in December. As such a brief interval had to elapse before the order for closing the churchyard would be put in force, the Board applied, successfully, for permission to keep it open six months longer. The cemetery, however, progressed so tardily that it was necessary to renew the application on two future occasions, and the churchyard continued in use until the 31st of May, 1873. Five acres of the land were laid out from plans supplied by Mr. Gorst, surveyor to the board, and were divided into nine sections, four of which were apportioned to the Church of England, three to the Nonconformists, and two to the Roman Catholics. The cemetery was enclosed from the highway by stone palisadings and boundary walls, having massive iron railings. The approach to the grounds is through a spacious entrance, with a double iron gate in the centre, and a single gate on either side, hung to stone pillars. Inside the gate is the lodge, built of stone and comprising a residence for the keeper, offices, etc. The mortuary chapels, which are all of stone, have an elegant appearance, that of the Church of England being stationed in the middle, with the Nonconformists’ and Roman Catholics’ edifices lying respectively west and east of it. The style of the buildings is Gothic of the first pointed period. The roofs are open-timbered, high-pitched, and covered with Welsh slates in bands of different colours, being also crested with tiles. Entrance to the chapels is gained by a porch, and there is a vestry attached to each. The floors are laid with plain tiles of various tints. Evergreens, shrubs, and forest trees have been planted on the borders of the grounds, whilst the walks are wide and well cared for. The Nonconformists were the first to take possession of their portion, which was dedicated to its solemn uses by a service held on the 7th of February, 1873, exactly one week after which an interment took place, being the earliest not only in their land but in the whole ground. On the 2nd of August in the same year the Right Rev. Dr. Fraser, bishop of Manchester, consecrated the division set apart for the Church of England, which had been licensed for burials in the previous May. The Roman Catholics deferred their ceremonial until the month of June, 1874, acting under license during the interval.

On the 26th of August, 1872, the Blackpool Sea Water Company was registered under the limited liability act, with a capital of £10,000, in shares of £10 each, for the purpose of supplying water from the deep, together with the requisite appliances for conducting it to the houses and elsewhere, to the inhabitants of Blackpool; and rather more than two years later a main of pipes had been laid along the front from the Merchants’ College in South Shore as far as their steam pumping works in Upper Braithwaite Street.

In 1874 the watering-place had developed so rapidly during past years that the members of the Local Board of Health felt that the powers appertaining to a body of that description were no longer adequate to the proper government of the town, and a public meeting to ascertain the opinion of the ratepayers on the subject of incorporation was called on Tuesday, the 6th of November, 1874. After considerable discussion, it was proposed by the Rev. N. S. Jeffreys: “That a petition be drawn up and signed by the chairman on behalf of the meeting, praying that a Charter of Incorporation be granted for the town of Blackpool, and that the same be forwarded to the proper authorities; and that the necessary steps be taken to obtain such Charter.” The proposition was adopted without a dissentient; and at the ensuing assembly of the Local Board of Health on Tuesday, the 10th of November, a similar motion was brought forward by W. H. Cocker, esq., J.P., with an equally successful result. The prayers were forwarded to the appropriate official quarters in London, and on the 26th of May, 1875, Major Donnelly, R.E., the commissioner appointed by Her Majesty’s Privy Council, attended at the Board-room to hold an inquiry as to whether the importance and necessities of the place warranted a favourable answer to the request. In the course of the examination, it was stated, amongst other things, that the rateable value of the proposed borough was in 1863, £17,489; 1866, £35,175; 1869, £45,755; 1872, £55,653; 1874, £63,848; and in 1875, £73,035. Also that the town contained three churches, seven chapels, three rooms used for religious services, two markets under the Local Board, other markets owned by private individuals, four public sea-water baths, three banks, an aquarium, public gardens, etc. On the 16th of the following July information was officially conveyed to W. M. Charnley, esq., the law-clerk of the board, that the lords of the Privy Council had determined to accede to the prayer of the town, and that the borough should consist of six wards, with one alderman and three councillors for each. A draft of the scheme of incorporation was prepared by the law-clerk, and forwarded to London. On the 22nd January, 1876, the charter, having passed through the necessary forms, obtained the royal assent, being received by W. M. Charnley, esq., two days later. The document, after quoting several acts of parliament, proceeds to “grant and declare that the inhabitants of the town of Blackpool and their successors, shall be for ever hereafter one body politic and corporate in deed, fact, and name, and that the said body corporate shall be called the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough of Blackpool, who shall have and exercise all the acts, powers, authorities, immunities, and privileges which are now held and exercised by the bodies corporate of the several boroughs” similarly created. Further, the deed “grants and declares that the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses and their successors shall and may for ever hereafter use a common seal to serve them in transacting their business, and also have armorial bearings and devices, which shall be duly entered and enrolled in the Herald’s College;” also shall they have power “to purchase, take, and acquire such lands, tenements, and heriditaments, whatsoever, situate, lying, and being within the borough, as shall be necessary for the site of the buildings and premises required for the official purposes of the corporation.” The Council was ordained to consist of “a Mayor, six Aldermen, and eighteen Councillors, to be respectively elected at such times and places, and in such manner” as those of other boroughs existing under the same acts, in common with which they “shall have, exercise, and enjoy all the powers, immunities, and privileges, and be subject to the same duties, penalties, liabilities, and disqualifications” appertaining to such positions. The first election of councillors was directed to be held on the eleventh day of April, 1876, followed by another on the 1st of November, at which latter date one-third part of the councillors should go out of office each year, and the vacant seats be refilled as specified; the councillors to retire in the November, 1876, being those who had obtained the smallest number of votes, and in November, 1877, those with the next smallest number of votes. The first aldermen of the borough “shall be elected and assigned to their respective wards on the 19th day of April, 1876, and the councillors immediately afterwards shall appoint who shall be the aldermen to go out of office upon the 9th day of November ensuing,” and in subsequent years those so retiring to be aldermen who have retained their seats for the longest period without re-election. The first mayor of the borough “shall be elected from and out of the aldermen and councillors of the said borough, on the 19th day of April, 1876,” the earliest appointment of auditors and assessors being made on the 19th day of the following month. The subjoined extent and names of the wards are also taken from the charter:—

CLAREMONT WARD.

“Commencing at the Sea beyond the Gynn, at the junction of the old existing township boundary, thence running inland along the same boundary across the fields, across Knowle-road, behind Warbrick and Mill Inn, across Poulton-road to the centre of the Dyke at Little Layton, thence along the Dyke to the centre of Little Layton Bridge, thence westward along and including the north side of Little Layton-road, north side of New-road, north side of Talbot-road, to Station-road, thence along and including the east side of Station-road to Queen-street, thence along and including the north side of Queen-street, Queen’s-square, across the Promenade to the sea.

TALBOT WARD.

“Commencing at the Sea opposite the centre of Queen’s-square, thence along and including the south side of Queen’s-square, south side of Queen-street to Station-road, thence running along and including the west side of Station-road to Talbot-road, thence along and including the south side of the upper portion of Talbot-road, south side of New-road, the south side of Little Layton-road to the centre of Little Layton Bridge, thence along the Dyke to the old township boundary, thence south-east by the township boundary to the centre of Dykes-lane, thence westward along and including the north side of Dykes-lane, the north side of Layton-road, the north side of Raikes-road, the north side of Raikes Hill, the north side of Church-street to Abingdon-street, thence along and including the east side of Abingdon-street to Birley-street, thence along and including the north side of Birley-street, the north side of West-street, across the Promenade to the Sea.

BANK HEY WARD.