Poulton-Le-Fylde

"POULTON-LE-FYLDE, a parish and market town in the hundred of Amounderness, county Lancaster, 15 miles N.W. of Preston, 21 S. by W. of Lancaster, and 5 S.E. of Fleetwood. It is a station on the Preston and Wyre railway. It is situated near the mouth of the river Wyre, and contains the townships of Fleetwood, Poulton, Marton, Thornton, Carleton, and Hardhorn. The town is a small but very ancient port under Lancaster, and is a polling-place for North Lancashire. It was given to Shrewsbury Abbey by Roger de Poictiers. It is also a petty sessions town; the sessions being held at the Golden Ball inn on the first Friday in each month. A new County Court is held at the courthouse monthly. There is a savings-bank, also the Fylde union poorhouse. The gas works are situated at Breck. The parish is very extensive, and the soil of a clayey and heavy description, but tolerably fertile. The line of the Preston and Wyre railway passes a little to the E. of the town, which is much frequented in the summer for sea bathing. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester, value £257. The church, dedicated to St. Chad, occupies the site of an ancient structure. The present church was rebuilt in 1751, with the exception of the tower, which is of the time of Charles I., and contains a clock and six bells. The church has tablets to the families of Brockhole, Hesketh, and Fleetwood. In addition to the parish church are the following district churches, viz: at Marton, Thornton, and Fleetwood, the livings of which are all perpetual curacies, varying in value from £150 to £105. The churches are modern. There is a free school for both sexes. The Independents, Wesleyans, Society of Friends, and Roman Catholics have each a place of worship, and the last have also a small cemetery. Market day is on Monday for the sale of corn. Fairs for cattle and sheep are held on 6th February, 13th April, and 3rd November."