“Rev. Robert Lister, B.A., minister. Thomas Cookson and John Cookson, churchwardens.”
On each side of the altar, at the east end of the church, were several mural marble monuments erected in memory of certain members of the Clifton family, whose remains had been interred within the walls of the sacred edifice. Thomas Clifton was the first of this family buried at Lytham, and on his tomb was inscribed:—“Here lie interred the mortal remains of Thomas Clifton, of Lytham, esquire; who died on the 16th of Dec., 1784, in the 38th year of his age. Requiescat in pace.”
Another monument, near to the former one, bore the following inscription:—“D.O.M. Here lies dead the body of Ann Clifton, wife of Thomas Clifton, of Lytham, esq.; daughter of Sir Carnaby Haggerstone, Baronet: but her name will live to future ages. Wonder not, reader; in her was seen whatever is amiable in a daughter, wife, mother, friend, and Christian. Admire her, man; a pattern to her sex. O! woman, imitate. She died in the 37th year of her age, on the 22nd day of February, 1760. Requiescat in pace.”
The memorial writing over a third tomb ran thus:—“Here lies the body of Thomas Clifton, of Lytham, esq.; who departed this life in the 56th year of his age, on the 11th day of May, 1783. R.I.P.;” whilst a fourth monument had these lines upon it:—“Here lies the body of Jane Clifton, wife of Thomas Clifton, of Lytham, Esq.; daughter of the Right Hon. the Earl of Abingdon, who departed this life in the 61st year of her age, on the 14th day of Feb., 1791. R.I.P.”
A white marble tablet fixed against the south wall, contained the annexed notice:—“In memory of Elizabeth Clifton, wife of John Clifton, of Lytham, Esq.; and daughter of Thomas Horsley Widdrington Riddell, of Swinburne Castle, in the county of Northumberland, esq.; who departed this life in the 63rd year of her age, on the 19th day of November, 1825. Requiescat in pace.”
Sixty-four years from the date of its erection this church was also pulled down, having become unable to accommodate the increasing influxes of visitors during the summer; and on the 20th of March, 1834, the foundation stone of the existing pile was laid by the late Thomas Clifton, esq., of Lytham Hall, who contributed £500 towards the cost of the building. Mrs. Fisher, the widow of a local physician, contributed £300, and the subscriptions for the necessary work were further augmented by a grant from the Church Building and Extension Society. The church, which comprises nave, side aisles, chancel, and embattled tower, contains the monuments of the Cliftons already enumerated, and three additional marbles, one of which, at the entrance to the chancel, records that “in the family vault near this place lies the body of Hetty, daughter of Pelegrine Treves, esq., and widow of the late Thomas Clifton, esq., of Clifton and Lytham; she died on the 4th of June, 1864, aged 68 years.” The other attached to the opposite side of the entrance is in memoriam of “Thomas Clifton (eldest son of John Clifton, esq., by Elizabeth, his wife) of Clifton and Lytham, who died 17th February, 1851, aged 63 years”; whilst the third, in the chancel itself, is to the memory of “John Clifton, of Lytham, esq., who departed this life on the 25th of March, 1832, aged 68 years. Requiescat in Pace.” Against the wall of the south side aisle is a tablet surmounted by a cross and inscribed thus:—“In memory of Richard Barton Robinson, born July 28: A: D: 1804, died August 9: A: D: 1872, vicar of Lytham for 36 years. This cross is gratefully erected by his parishioners, A.D. 1875.” A similar tablet in the north aisle is erected to the “memory of Edward and Sarah Jane Houghton, by their only surviving son. E. H. born April 23: 1807: died December 15: 1869. S. J. H. born September 26: 1803: died April 21: 1872.” The east window, beautifully emblazoned, “is dedicated by her friends and neighbours, to the memory of Ellen Fisher,” born 1759, died 1837. Similar windows, north and south, in the chancel, were given by Thomas Clifton, esq., in 1845, also a second, on the south side, by Lady Eleanor Cecily Clifton, in 1871. The north side aisle contains six handsome windows inserted respectively to the memories of Anne Shepherd Birley, died 1872; James Fair, died 1871, by J. T. Clifton, esq.; Sarah Agnes, wife of W. C. Dowding, clerk, M.A., died 1869, by her maternal aunt, Agnes Newsham; her mother and sisters, by Anne Wilson, 1871; Margaret Hornby, died 1866; William and Agnes Birdsworth and of their father and mother, by their surviving relatives. In the south side aisle are two memorial windows, one being to Henry Miller, died 1859, aged 46 years, and his infant son, died 1852, by his wife Caroline A. Miller; and the other to John Stevenson, died 1872, aged 78 years; Jane Stevenson, died 1872, aged 64 years; William Elsworth Stevenson, died 1869, aged 31 years; and Jane Stevenson, died 1872, aged 25 years. The clerestory of the church is lighted by twelve single windows, each bearing the representation of a saint, all of which were presented by private individuals.
| PERPETUAL CURATES AND VICARS OF ST. CUTHBERT’S. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Institution. | Name. | On whose Presentation. | Cause of Vacancy. |
| 1379 | William de Aslaby, monk | Prior and Chapter of Durham | |
| 1413 | William Patrick, monk | Ditto | |
| 1678 | James Threlfall | ||
| 1701 | Josiah Birchall | ||
| 1717 | Timothy Pollard | Chancellors, Masters, and Scholars of Cambridge | Death of Josiah Birchall |
| 1741 | Ashton Werden | Alexander Osbaldeston, of Preston, esq. | |
| 1743 | Robert Willasey | Ditto | |
| Thomas Place | |||
| 1760 | John Gibson | Abigail Clayton, of Larkhill, Blackburn, relict and executor of Thomas Clayton, who was surviving executor of Alexander Osbaldeston, of Preston, esq. | |
| 1800 | Robert Lister, B.A. | John Clayton, of Little Harwood, esq. | Resignation of John Gibson |
| 1834 | Richard Barton Robinson, M.A. | Thomas Clifton, esq. | Resignation of Robt. Lister |
| 1870 | Henry Beauchamp Hawkins, M.A. | John T. Clifton, esq. | Resignation of R. B. Robinson |
In 1872 the chancel was enlarged and a new vestry erected, whilst the solitary gallery at the west end, formerly used for the choir, was converted into commodious sitting accommodation for the congregation. During the same year half an acre was added to the north of the burial ground, and a fresh boundary wall, facing Church Road completed, the iron work being given by the late John Stevenson, J.P., of West Beach, and the stone work by the late John Knowles, proprietor of the Clifton Arms Hotel. The tower contains a peal of eight bells. John Talbot Clifton, esq., of Lytham Hall, is the patron of the living. The parish register begins in 1679.
The churchyard, which is encircled by a thick plantation of trees, possesses many very handsome monuments, but none of historical importance. The oldest gravestone still legible lies in close proximity to the ancient sun-dial, and bears the date 1672. The parish schools, erected in 1853, stand in Church Road.