History of the Fylde of Lancashire

by John Porter

The impetus given to the building trade of Lytham by the opening of the railway and the almost simultaneous extension of ground leases was soon visible in the erection of numerous houses. A Wesleyan chapel, capable of holding 200 hearers, was built, before the close of the year, in Bath Street; but this structure having, as time progressed, become inadequate to the wants of the congregation, the foundation stone of a new one was laid on the 12th of September, 1867, by T. C. Hincksman, esq., of Lytham, at the corner of Park and Westby Streets, service being first conducted there on the 23rd of September in the ensuing year, by the Rev. John Bedford, of Manchester. The chapel is faced with Longridge stone and white brick. In front are stone columns and pilasters nearly thirty feet high, surmounted by Corinthian caps, massive cornice, parapet, pediment, etc. It contains seats for about 500 persons. The old Wesleyan chapel is now used as a literary and social Institute, established in 1872. In 1847 the growth and prosperity of Lytham rendered it necessary that some form of local government should be adopted, and the inhabitants applied for and obtained an Improvement Act, by which the regulation of all public matters was placed in the hands of a board of commissioners elected from amongst the ratepayers. On the 13th of May in that year, the corner stone of a substantial lighthouse was laid on the “Double Stanner” bank, by Peter Haydock, esq., chairman of the Ribble Navigation Company, at whose expense the work was accomplished; but on the 20th of January, 1863, a heavy storm swept over the coast, and amongst other damages effected by its fury was the overthrow of this pile, which was subsequently re-erected on the Star Hills, far removed from the destructive influence of the waves, and perhaps more efficacious, from its greater elevation, as a beacon. During the year 1848 a Market Hall was built on an open space, formerly the ornamental garden referred to in a late page. In the month of June the edifice was completed and ready for use, being constructed of brick and supplied with stalls for various articles, such as fish, vegetables, toys, etc. The tower was elevated in 1872 to receive a large clock, the gift of Lady Eleanor Cecily Clifton, and during the following twelve months additional dials and illuminative power were added. The Hall is prettily situated in an enclosure of elm trees.

Another church, dedicated to St. John, was erected on the east beach in 1848-9, and consecrated on the 11th September, 1850. The site was granted by John Talbot Clifton, esq., who retains the patronage of the living, and the expense of construction defrayed by subscription. The edifice is of stone, and includes a nave, side aisles, transepts, chancel, porch, and tower, surmounted by a lofty spire. The side aisles are separated from the nave by pointed arches on circular columns. The chancel has since been enlarged. Within the church are several memorial windows, one of which, in the west end, is in memory of “James and Elizabeth Fair, who died August 16, 1871, and July 27, 1867,” inserted by their children. By the side of this is a smaller stained window to Mr. Bannerman by his widow. The east window of the chancel is magnificently illuminated, and another, lighting the scholars’ chapel on the south of that part, was placed by the Rev. W. H. Self “to his wife, Mary, ob. 1859.” The windows in the north and south transepts are, respectively, to “Thomas Miller, ob. 1865,” and “Thomas Clifton, ob. 1851.” There are no mural tablets. The organ was presented by William Bradshaw Swainson, esq., of Cooper Hill, near Preston, “as a tribute of affection, in memory of his mother, Catherine Swainson, who died at Lytham on the 1st of February, 1848.” The instrument was enlarged by the aid of public contributions in 1874. The lectern was presented by Margaret Ellen Clifford, the second wife of the Rev. W. H. Self, in memoriam of her mother, Mrs. Hannah Biddell, in 1867. The tower contains a peal of six bells. An ecclesiastical parish was apportioned to the church of St. John in 1870. The Rev. William Henry Self, M.A., was the earliest incumbent and subsequently became the first vicar. The Rev. Gregory Smart, M.A., is the present vicar. The graveyard is a spacious area defined by a neat stone wall, and contains numerous elegant monuments. The vicarage house stands a very little distance to the east side of the church, and is a handsome villa residence. To the rear of the burial ground, and separated therefrom by a narrow street, are the parish schools erected in 1851 by subscription, and grants from the Council of Education and the National Society.

The want of proper illumination along the thoroughfares of Lytham during the long evenings of the autumn months, was a source of considerable inconvenience to the visitors, and induced many to vacate the place earlier than otherwise they would have done, so that the commissioners determined to erect gas works by loans on the security of the rates, and remedy the evil as soon as possible. On the 28th of October, 1850, the streets were lighted for the first time with gas. In 1851 the residents of Lytham amounted to 2,695, showing an increase of 648 persons since 1841. It was about this time that a lifeboat was stationed at Lytham, purchased by subscription, and named the “Eleanor Cecily,” out of compliment to the lady of the manor. The boat-house stands on the promenade to the east, in close proximity to the old windmill, and is now occupied by a new and larger craft, presented by Thomas Clayton, esq., of Wakefield, in 1863.

Throughout the succeeding ten years the area of the town continued to expand with fair rapidity. Many graceful villas were added to those already existing on the front, whilst fresh shops and lodging houses arose along the different thoroughfares, plainly evincing a determination on the part of the inhabitants to keep pace with the spreading popularity of the place by creating ample accommodation for the crowds of visitors. A corps of Volunteer Riflemen was enrolled under Captain Lennox in 1860, during the month of January. The census of 1861 furnished a total of 3,189 residents.

The advisability of connecting the two watering-places of Blackpool and Lytham by a coast railway was now freely discussed, and the scheme having been favourably entertained by a number of affluent gentlemen, the requisite powers were sought from Parliament for its formation. In May, 1861, the desired act received the royal assent, and on the ensuing 4th of September the first sod of the new line was cut by T. H. Clifton, esq., M.P., the son and heir of the lord of the manor, in Lytham Park. The directors of the company were E. C. Milne, esq., (chairman), of Warton Lodge; John Talbot Clifton, T. Langton Birley, Charles Birley, James Fair, Robert Rawcliffe, and Thomas Fair, esqrs. The distance, about 7½ miles, was spanned by a single line, stations being placed at the two termini and at South Shore, in addition to which there was a gate-house at Andsell’s road, near the town, where it was proposed to have a booking office. The railway was virtually finished in the autumn of 1862, but the formal opening was postponed until the 4th of April, 1863. At that date, which occurred on Saturday, flags and banners floated from many of the windows, whilst the bells of St. Cuthbert’s church rang out merry peals at intervals throughout the day. No further ceremony, however, was observed on the occasion, than the running of a train to Blackpool and back with a select party of invited guests. Regular public traffic commenced on Monday. During 1871 this line was amalgamated with the Preston and Wyre, of which the Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the London and North Western Railway Companies are the lessees. The track was doubled in 1874, by laying down another length of metals, and connected with the Kirkham and Lytham branch. In the same year on the 1st of July, a spacious and handsome station which had been erected according to the design of C. Axon, esq., of Poulton, was brought into service, and the use of the original one belonging to the branch just specified discontinued for passenger traffic, the whole of which, both from Kirkham and Blackpool, is now directed to the recently built central edifice. It is expected that in course of time the coast line thus established from Preston through Kirkham, Lytham, St. Anne’s, South Shore, to Blackpool will supersede the old route through Poulton to the last named resort for the conveyance of passengers. Important alterations, it should be noted, were effected in the course of the branch from Kirkham to Lytham immediately preceding its junction with the Blackpool and Lytham line, by which the corner lying north of and between Kirkham and Wrea was cut off. The rails were also doubled.

Reverting to the town itself, we find that the day which gave the small coast communication between Blackpool and Lytham to the public use, also witnessed another event—the opening of the Baths and Assembly Rooms, situated on the beach, about midway between the Clifton Arms and the Neptune Hotels. The building is of brick, with stone dressings, and presents an elegant and rather imposing appearance. It comprises private and swimming baths for both sexes; dressing-rooms, retiring-rooms, news and general reading-room, and a capacious saloon, able to contain 350 persons, used for concerts, balls, and other entertainments. Early in the same year a Congregational Church was completed in Bannister Street, the corner stone of which had been laid on the 17th of October, 1861, by Sir James Watts, of Manchester. The edifice is formed of Longridge stone, in the ornamental Gothic style of architecture, with a spire, and will hold about 500 worshippers. Within the enclosure wall surrounding the church are the Sunday schools connected with it. The first pile of the marine pier, extending into the estuary of the Ribble from the promenade, was screwed into the ground on the 8th of June, 1864. The structure was designed by E. Birch, esq., C.E., and is supported on hollow cylindrical columns, arranged in clusters. The length of the deck is 914 feet, the whole of which is encircled by a continuous line of side seats, whilst a lounging or waiting-room is stationed on the head. The entrance is protected by gates and toll-houses. Easter Monday, the 17th of April, 1865, was the day set apart for the ceremonious opening of the new erection. The town was gaily decorated with the bunting, and no efforts were spared to do full justice to the importance of so auspicious an event. Immense confluences of people arrived in excursion trains, running at greatly reduced fares, from the business centres of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the streets and esplanade were literally inundated with spectators from all grades of society. To Lady Eleanor Cecily Clifton was delegated the honourable duty of declaring the pier accessible to promenaders, and at the selected time, that lady, accompanied by her son, T. H. Clifton, esq., proceeded to the spot, where the necessary form was gone through; a large procession, headed by a marshall, and consisting of the mayor and corporation of Preston, the directors of the Ribble Navigation Company, naval and military officers, clergy, the several directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, the Lytham and Blackpool Railway, the Blackpool and the Southport Pier Companies, and numerous gentry. Unabated prosperity continued to shine on the watering-place, whose limits were annually extended by additional buildings, and in all parts there was to be observed that aspect of recent improvements and embellishments which is ever indicative of a propitious fortune.

The population in 1871 had reached the high figure of 7,902, having more than doubled during the previous ten years, and if further evidence were required of the development of Lytham, none more irrefutable and convincing could be given than this wonderful multiplication of the inhabitants. On the 3rd of August, 1871, a neat Gothic cottage hospital, erected at the east end of the resort, in Preston Road, at the sole expense of the lord of the manor, was pronounced open for the reception of patients, and transferred to a committee of management. The building stands in three acres of land tastefully laid out, and comprises a central portion of two stories, with a wing on either side, containing two large wards (each with four beds), two sitting-rooms, surgery, bath-rooms, and laundry, on the ground floor; upstairs are four beds for invalids and a sleeping apartment for the matron. The hospital is intended for the poor labouring under disease or accidents. Luke Fisher, esq., M.D., is the physician in charge. From 1871 up to the present date (1876), there is nothing calling for separate comment beyond those matters in connection with the railway and station already noticed, with the exception of the beautiful park-garden, occupying the land formerly known as Hungry Moor, and instituted through the liberality of J. T. Clifton, esq., who bestowed the name of the Lowther Gardens on the enclosure so gracefully designed and planted, and gave free access to the public on its completion, about three years ago. The progress of the town within the short interval at present under consideration, has been marked by even greater rapidity than that which shed such a halo of prosperity around the period more immediately preceding; and there is no apparent prospect that the powerful impetus which has thus far exerted its beneficial influence on the place is likely to experience any diminution. Indeed it may with reason be anticipated that when passenger traffic is more thoroughly established along the coast line from Preston to Blackpool, the demand for residential accommodation will be still greater than that which supplies abundant occupation to the builders to-day.

The original endowment of Lytham Free School was derived from the following sources:—In 1702, the Rev. James Threlfall, of St. Cuthbert’s church, gave £5; and somewhere about the same time, William Elston, who died in 1704, presented £3 3s. 0d., for the use of the parish. Subsequently these sums of money were supplemented by a grant of £10 from John Shepherd, of Mythorp, and the whole invested, the interest being applied to local charitable purposes. The benefaction of John Shepherd was bestowed in trust upon Thomas Shepherd and his heirs, to the intent that the interest should be applied to the “use of such poor children’s schooling, as they, with two or three of the most substantial men of the parish, whom they chose to consult, should think fit;”[212] but it is doubtful how it was disposed of until 1720, when the three separate sums mentioned were incorporated, for a motive stated directly, with a collection made in aid of those who had suffered damage from a serious inundation in that year. The inhabitants were unable to agree upon an equable distribution of the collection specified, and decided, by way of settling the affair, to “make a free school,”[213] with it and the other sums. The total capital thus acquired amounted to more than £100. In 1728 £60 was derived from the residue of John Harrison’s estate, by the direction of his will. William Gaulter gave to Lytham school in 1745 several securities for money, amounting in all to £99, and three years later bequeathed the residue of his personal estate, except 20s., to the same object, making a total benefaction of £335. The whole of the endowment fund has been invested in land, and the school has always been in the hands of trustees, who have control over the teachers and all matters affecting its interest and government.

Cookson’s Charity is the interest of £10 bequeathed by Thomas Cookson at an unknown date before 1776, to purchase books for the poor children of the parish.