Information AboutFleetwood |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FLEETWOOD | |
| seaside resorts in england | |
| towns in lancashire | |
| ports and harbours of lancashire | |
| wyre | |
| irish sea | |
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire , England , lying at the northwest corner of The Fylde . It has a population of around 28,000 people, and forms part of the Greater Blackpool Conurbation . LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY Fleetwood is located on the Fylde peninsula, eight miles north of Blackpool , on the western side of the mouth of the River Wyre . The town itself is on a peninsula, almost two miles wide, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea , to the north by Morecambe Bay , and to the east by the River Wyre. Access to the town is thus restricted, and for many years there were only two roads into and out of the town. A large sandbank, the North Wharf, extends some two and a quarter miles north into Morecambe Bay, and is exposed at low tide. The river channel forms the eastern boundary of the bank, and, together with the larger Bernard Wharf on the other side of the river, this makes navigation of the river difficult. Conversely, the port is highly sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds. Like the remainder of the Fylde, the land is extremely flat, the highest point being The Mount, a sea-front pleasure park built on a large sand-dune in the northern part of the town. Parts of the town, especially to the north and west, are barely above Sea Level at high tide, and a large retaining sea-wall runs along much of the western edge of the town. Nevertheless, the town was flooded in 1927, and again in 1977. The latter flood, although much smaller, affected more properties as there had been considerable development in the 1960s in the lower-lying parts of the town. The soil is broadly sandy, but there is considerable Marsh -land to the south and east, by the river. The town itself encompasses an area of just under four square miles. HISTORY Ptolemy 's '' Geographia '' in the second century AD records a tribe known as the Setantii living in what is believed to be present-day West Lancashire, and a seaport called ''PORTVS SETANTIORVM'' ('the port of the Setantii') abutting 'Moricambe Aestuarium' (presumably Morecambe Bay). This, together with evidence of a Roman road running from Ribchester to Kirkham (12 miles South-east of Fleetwood) and then making a sharp turn to the North-West, suggests that Fleetwood may well have been the location of this Roman port. No direct evidence has been found however. There is evidence that the eastern side of the River Wyre was occupied during the Danish invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries, and by the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the land on which Fleetwood now stands was part to the Hundred of Amounderness . A Manor house at present-day Rossall (in the South-west corner of the town), was in the possession of the Allen family by the time of Henry VIII , but the Allens were prominent Roman Catholic s, (Cardinal William Allen was born there in 1532), and Henry VIII repossessed the land. It was ultimately sold to Thomas Fleetwood, whose son Edmund expanded the house into Rossall Hall. The land remained in the Fleetwood family for 300 years. By the 1830s, the house was in the ownership of Edmund's descendent Sir Peter Hesketh , High Sheriff of the County of Lancashire (who later changed his name to Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood). Hesketh believed that the sheltered harbour and breathtaking views over Morecambe Bay gave the area the makings of a busy sea port and popular resort, With no rail link between London and Scotland, Hesketh envisaged Fleetwood as the transfer point between the rail and the steamers to Scotland, and set about encouraging a railway link from Preston. In 1836 Hesketh named the new town Fleetwood, and hired his friend, the prominent architect Decimus Burton , to lay out what would be the first planned town of the Victorian era. Burton's plan was that of a half-wheel along the Morecambe Bay sea-front, with the Mount as the hub, the main residential streets as the spokes, and the main commerce areas (originally East Street and West Street, now known as Lord Street and North Albert Street) as the rim of the wheel. Housing stock from as early as 1838 still exists in the town on Custom House Lane. The crown jewel was the North Euston Hotel (1844), a fine semi-circular building next to the railway station. This was to mark the northernmost point of the train service from Euston , and the point of departure for the steamers to Scotland. This journey was made by Queen Victoria in 1847, but by the mid 1850s the completion of the western railway link between London and Scotland over Shap Fell rendered Fleetwood's role as a transportation terminus obsolete. Burton designed two lighthouses for the town, the Pharos and Lower Lighthouse (both 1840). Ships sailing down the Wyre channel line up the two lights, one above the other, to guide them. The Pharos is the only functioning lighthouse in Britain built in the middle of the street (it now forms a traffic roundabout). A third lighthouse, Wyre Light, was built in the 1840s by Alexander Mitchell at the north-east corner of North Wharf. In 1844, financial difficulties obliged Sir Peter to sell Rossall Hall. It was taken over by Rev. St Vincent Beechey and converted into a Church Of England boarding School , designed as a Northern equivalent of Beachey's Marlborough School and later to become Rossall School . Fleetwood's decline in the early 1860s was exacerbated by the rise of neighboring Blackpool as a prominent Seaside Resort , and mirrored that of Sir Peter himself. He sold his remaining property in Fleetwood and moved to Brighton . During the late 1860s and 1870s, however, Fleetwood expanded its port activities. Steamers began pleasure and commercial services to the Isle Of Man , Ardrossan , and Belfast and fishing vessels began expanding from the Irish Sea fishing grounds first fished in the 1840s, to the Hake and Haddock grounds of the North Atlantic Ocean . All the other major fishing ports, Hull , Grimsby and Aberdeen , were on the east coast of Britain, so there was a competitive advantage for a west-coast port with good rail links. Wyre Dock was built in 1877 and Fleetwood's position as one of the three major fishing ports in England was cemented. The town expanded rapidly. Much of the housing stock in the old area of town around the Mount and Lord Street was built in the 1880s and 1890s. In keeping with the thriving economy, these terraced houses were large for their era. An electric Tramway link to Blackpool was constructed in the 1890s and remains operational to this day. Fleetwood is the only town in Britain with trams running the full length of its main street, sharing road-space with cars. By the 1920s, the fishing industry was at its height, employing over 9000 people. The sea-front along the north shore was developed in resort fashion, to encourage visitors for whom the brashness of Blackpool was too daunting. The Marine Hall entertainment complex, golf course and Model Yacht Pond all date from the early years of the 20th Century. The town was hit by a huge flood in October 1927, which put 90% of the area of the town under water. Only the higher-lying areas around the Mount escaped. Additional housing was built in the 1920s and 30s in the less-developed central areas of the town, and a further development boom occurred in the 1960s in the lower-lying western portion of the town (Larkholme). Many industries ancillary to fishing grew up along the rail corridor on the eastern side of the town, and a number of unrelated industries moved to the area to take advantage of the availability of labour, most notably ICI , who constructed their Hillhouse chemical plant on the border of Fleetwood and Thornton . By the 1960s, however, Fleetwood began to decline economically. The last ferry to the on the Promenade by the pier reflect the idea of families welcoming back the fishermen from sea. The demise of the fishing industry cost Fleetwood some 8000 jobs, employment in fishing-related industries falling from 9000 to less than 1000, and since the early 1970s the town has continued to struggle economically. Three of its five wards now fall into the highest decile of deprived wards in England.http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmodpm/1023/1023we65.htm In July 2007, a new master plan for revitalizing the town around a vibrant waterfront and a revitalized town centre was submitted to the council. Some of the funding would come from an EU cash grant. The plan has been posted for public comment and feedback.http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/fleetwood-news?articleid=3014253 ATTRACTIONS Fleetwood is famous for being the home of Fisherman's Friend —a Menthol Lozenge which is hugely popular in Japan . Attractions in the town include The Mount Pavilion and Clock , Fleetwood Pier and the Pharos and Lower Lighthouse s. More recently the shopping arcade of Freeport has attracted many visitors. Fleetwood is also home to Fleetwood Museum , which tells the story of the fishing industry in the town. Fleetwood also lies at the northern end of Blackpool 's Tramway . Ferries sail from Fleetwood across the River Wyre to Knott End-on-Sea , and in past days there has been a service (more recently in summer only) to Douglas in the Isle Of Man . There is also a service to Larne , Northern Ireland running daily. Schools in Fleetwood include Rossall School , Fleetwood Sports College and Cardinal Allen High School . MISCELLANY Fleetwood was also a holiday destination for a young John Lennon as well as the home of the first fully automated Telephone Exchange in Britain. The port town was also for some years the northern terminus of the Railway Line to London , hence the hotel opposite the site of the (now demolished) Fleetwood Railway Station being called ''The North Euston ''. Another piece of interesting trivia concerns Alan Partridge writer Peter Baynham who is a former student of the nautical college. Novelist Robert Carter also went to school there. Fleetwood is also the birthplace of The Tea Party bass player and videogame composer, Stuart Chatwood . The town is featured in the supernatural horror novel ''A Haunted Man'', by Stuart Neild . Scenes set in Fleetwood include a haunted tram ride and a ghostly visitation on Fleetwood Pier. SPORT Fleetwood's local football club, Fleetwood Town http://www.Fleetwoodtownfc.com, play their games at a stadium named Highbury (Highbury Avenue Sports Stadium). The town also used to be the home of another team, Fleetwood Rangers. Motorcycle speedway racing was staged at Highbury Avenue Sports Stadium from 1948 to 1952. The Fleetwood Fliers started the season as Wigan Warriors but moved to the seaside town venue after racing a few away fixtures billed as Wigan. The Fliers raced in the National League Division Two from 1948 to 1951 without enjoying any great success. In 1952 the venue staged a number of open events promoted by local rider Don Potter with the team re-named the Fleetwood Knights. Details of the meetings which featured the Fliers home and away and the Knights at home only can be seen on www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk. EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES |
|
|