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.”