Fleetwood
Encyclopedia
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre
district of Lancashire
, England
, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde
. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census
. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation
. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era
. For most of the 20th century, Fleetwood was a prominent deep-sea fishing port, but, since the 1970s, the fishing industry has declined precipitously and the town has undergone economic difficulties. Fleetwood is also a seaside resort
, serving as a quiet contrast to nearby Blackpool
.
's Geographia
in the 2nd century AD records a tribe known as the Setantii
living in what is believed to be present-day West Lancashire, and a seaport built by the Romans
called PORTVS SETANTIORVM ('the port of the Setantii') abutting Moricambe Aestuarium (presumably Morecambe Bay
). There is also evidence of a Roman road
running from Ribchester
to Kirkham
(12 miles southeast of Fleetwood) which then makes a sharp turn to the northwest. Together, these suggest that Fleetwood may well have been the location of this Roman port. No direct evidence of the port has been found, but in 2007, an Iron Age
settlement was discovered at Bourne Hill, just south of present-day Fleetwood, suggesting the area was populated in pre-Roman times.
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 of the Hundred of Amounderness
.
A manor house
at present-day Rossall
, in the southwest of the town, was in the possession of the Allen family by the time of Henry VIII
. The Allens were prominent Roman Catholics, and Henry VIII repossessed the land. Cardinal William Allen was born at the manor house in 1532. It was ultimately sold to Thomas Fleetwood, comptroller
of the Royal Mint
, whose son Edmund, expanded the house into Rossall Hall. The land remained in the Fleetwood family for 300 years.
and MP for Preston. A man of somewhat liberal views for his time, Hesketh believed that the sheltered harbour and views over Morecambe Bay
gave the area the makings of a busy sea port and popular resort for the less-affluent. With no rail link between London
and Scotland
, He envisaged Fleetwood as the transfer point between the rail and the steamers to Scotland, and set about encouraging a railway link from Preston. With a new career in parliament to prepare for, he engaged Frederick Kemp as his agent. He originally considered naming the new town Wyreton or New Liverpool, but after changing his name to Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood in 1831, he settled on the name Fleetwood. After some delays, he hired the prominent architect Decimus Burton
, whose work in St Leonard's-on-Sea he had admired, to lay out what would be the first planned town of the Victorian era. The plans were complete by 1835, and construction of the first buildings and the railway line began in 1836.
Burton's plan was to use largest of the sand-dunes on the north-facing shore as the focus of a half-wheel street layout. This was landscaped, and became known as The Mount. It served as the hub of Burton's half-wheel design, the main residential streets acted as the spokes, and the main commerce area of Dock Street was the rim of the wheel. The oldest surviving building in the town, once the custom house, later the town hall, and latterly Fleetwood Museum
, dates from 1838 and housing from as early as 1839 still exists in the town. The crown jewel was the North Euston Hotel, built in 1841, a fine semi-circular building overlooking the bay and the river's estuary. The hotel was built to serve overnight guests making the railway journey from Euston
, and was close to 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 transport terminus obsolete.
Burton designed two lighthouse
s for the town, the Pharos
and Beach Lighthouse, both opened in 1840. A third lighthouse, Wyre Light
, was built in 1839-40 by Alexander Mitchell
offshore on the northeast corner of North Wharf. Fleetwood Market, still a prominent permanent market, first opened in 1840.
By 1838, Hesketh-Fleetwood had run into serious financial difficulties, with costs for the railway in particular ultimately exceeding £300,000. He had numerous financial arguments with Frederick Kemp, who borrowed against the estate revenues to finance the expansion of the town, and was suspected of taking financial advantage of Sir Peter. Hesketh-Fleetwood became short of cash and was forced to mortgage his properties. Depressed, he gradually withdrew from the project, and by 1844 he had been obliged to sell much of his estate. He leased Rossall Hall itself to the Church of England
, which intended to set up a boarding school
as a North of England equivalent of Marlborough School
. Under the auspices of Rev. St. Vincent Beechey
, the vicar of Fleetwood, it was to become Rossall School
. Virtually bankrupt, Hesketh-Fleetwood retired to Brighton
, giving up his parliamentary obligations in 1847. Meanwhile, Kemp's influence expanded. He had set up the Fleetwood Estates Company to manage the land, and the North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company
in 1843 to manage the expanding steamer trade. However, by the late 1850s, the combination of the new western railway route and the rise of neighbouring Blackpool
as a prominent seaside resort
signalled a decline in the town's fortunes.
From the 1860s Fleetwood expanded its port activities. Steamers began pleasure and commercial services to the Isle of Man
, Ardrossan
and Belfast
. Half a mile of stone quays were built along the river front, and the railway line was extended to the steamer pier opposite Queen's Terrace, where the imposing new railway station
was built in 1883. The port was still mainly a cargo terminal at this time, but the fishing industry began to grow as vessels expanded their catchment area from the Irish Sea
fishing grounds first fished in the 1840s, to the haddock
grounds of the North Atlantic Ocean. At this time, all the fishing vessels out of Fleetwood were sail-powered fishing smacks, few being over 40 tons deadweight
. The Fleetwood Docks Act of 1864 enabled the construction of a dock and embankment for both fishing and general cargo. Work on what was to become Wyre Dock began in 1869 but was suspended for financial reasons. A second Act in 1871 gave construction authority to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Company, under chief engineers Sir John Hawkshaw
and Harrison Hayter
. Construction itself, by John Aird & Sons, was completed in 1877. Heavy industry came to the area in the late 1880s with the construction of a salt
-processing works on the southeastern edge of the town by the Fleetwood Salt Co. Ltd, using salt mined in Preesall
, across the river.
By the early 1890s, the construction and expansion of rival cargo ports in the North West
and the building of the Manchester Ship Canal
heralded the decline of Fleetwood's prominence as a cargo port. However, at the same time this was more than offset by a period of rapid expansion of the fishing industry, signalled by the launch in 1891 of the first steam powered trawler, the Lark. All the other major fishing ports in Britain, Hull
, Grimsby
and Aberdeen
, were on the east coast, so there was a competitive advantage for a west coast port with good rail links. By the turn of the century, Fleetwood's position as one of the three major fishing ports in England was cemented. James Marr brought a fleet of steam trawlers to Fleetwood and actively started to change the port by selectively fishing for hake
, which until then had been treated as a much less desirable catch. Many of the houses in the old area of town around the Mount and Lord Street were built in the 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. The trams were routed along East Street and West Street (now Lord Street and North Albert Street) rather than Dock Street, and commercial trade followed, making those streets the commercial centre of the town. Fleetwood is the only town in Britain with trams running the full length of its main street, sharing road-space with cars. The docks were expanded in 1908 with the construction of the Fish Dock, accessible through Wyre Dock and still used today for the inshore fleet. Plans for a pier were first made in the 1890s but building did not start until 1909 and it was opened in 1910. It was the last new seaside pier to be built in the United Kingdom.
was at its height, employing over 9,000 people. Over the next few years, 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 (1935), golf course
(1931) and Model Yacht Pond (1932) all date from this era. In the 1920s, the salt works, by now owned by the United Alkali Company
(after 1926 part of ICI
), was considerably expanded, and became an ammonia
-processing plant. ICI built an adjacent chemical processing plant, known as ICI Hillhouse. ICI would become the town's third-largest employer, after the fishing and tourism
industries. The first fully automated telephone exchange
in Britain was put into operation to serve the town on 15 July 1922.
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 1930s 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 related to fishing grew up along the rail corridor on the eastern side of the town, and a number of unrelated industries also moved to the area to take advantage of the availability of labour.
By the 1960s, however, Fleetwood began to decline economically. The last ferry to the Isle of Man
sailed in 1961. The sailings have been revived periodically since. The main railway station
was closed in 1966 as a result of the Beeching
cuts, and the passenger terminus was moved to Wyre Dock station. This in turn was closed in 1970, as the branch line
from Poulton
was taken out of service. Additional light industry
developed along the former railway bed. The rise of package holiday
s abroad led to fewer visitors generally to British resort towns. As Blackpool expanded its attractions, fewer day visitors came to Fleetwood, and as transportation became more efficient, more overnight visitors became day visitors. The Hillhouse plant was heavily cut back, and was finally closed in 1999. Most serious, however, was the collapse of the fishing industry, which was largely destroyed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Cod War
s, a dispute over fishing rights between Iceland
and the UK. As Fleetwood's trawlers mainly fished the North Atlantic in search of cod, the loss of the fishing grounds hit the town hard. The last deep sea trawler left the town in 1982 and now only inshore fishing boats fish out of the port, although trawlers registered in other places can still be seen taking advantage of the fish market. Fish is still a big industry in the town, though the jobs are mainly in processing rather than fishing. A pair of bronze figures on the promenade by the pier depicts the idea of families welcoming back the fishermen from sea.
In 1973, the area around the old railway station was developed into a container
port facility, with P & O operating a container service to Larne
in Northern Ireland
. In 1975, this became a Roll-on/roll-off service. This development led indirectly to some renewal of the then largely derelict Dock Street area, and improved road access to the town to support the container traffic. Twice-daily container service continued until 2004 when Stena Line
bought the route and increased the service to three times a day. In December 2010, Stena Line announced that the service would be withdrawn at the end of 2010, with the loss of 140 jobs.
Since the 1970s there have been several attempts to enhance Fleetwood's economic profile, In 1995, the now-deserted Wyre Dock was developed into a marina. The derelict dock landing area was developed into Fleetwood Freeport, a retail centre, and housing has been built at the north end of the marina. Most recently, in July 2007, a new "Masterplan" for revitalizing the waterfront and town centre was submitted to the Wyre Borough Council.
, effective 1 April 1974, Fleetwood has been part of the Borough
of Wyre
, together with the neighbouring communities of Thornton Cleveleys and Poulton-le-Fylde
, the Over Wyre
villages, and Garstang
. The administrative headquarters is in Poulton-le-Fylde. The borough is a constituent part of Lancashire County Council
. The council has a Conservative
majority. Prior to 1974, Fleetwood had been a Municipal Borough
since 1933, and from 1894 to 1933, an Urban District
. The town is divided into five ward
s, Mount, Pharos, Warren, Park and Rossall.
A Fleetwood parish council (known as Fleetwood Town Council) was established following a referendum in June 2009. The boundaries of the parish are coterminous with the boundary of the five borough council wards of Fleetwood and the council has 13 councillors.
In the 2010 General Election, Fleetwood was joined with Lancaster
and some Over Wyre
locations to form the new Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency
. Conservative
member Eric Ollerenshaw
was elected in a tight race. From 1997 to 2010, Fleetwood was included with Thornton, Poulton and parts of Blackpool, as part of the Blackpool North and Fleetwood parliamentary constituency. During that time the seat was held by Labour
's Joan Humble
. Prior to 1997, Fleetwood was part of the constituencies of Fylde North
and Wyre
, whose boundaries more closely matched those of Wyre Borough, and which consistently returned a Conservative member.
, eight miles (13 km) north of Blackpool
, on the western side of the mouth of the River Wyre. The town itself is on a peninsula, almost two miles (3 km) 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 Fleetwood 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. 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, the large sand dune in the northern part of the town, from which the original street plan radiated. Parts of Fleetwood, 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, Fleetwood 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.
. Prevailing winds and weather patterns are northwesterly, leading to a slightly higher average precipitation than the country as a whole, although the absence of high ground in the immediate vicinity moderates this. As with most coastal areas, frost
and snow
are uncommon. Temperatures are close to the national average.
, Fleetwood had a population of 26,840. This is a decline of about 6% from the figures in 1971, at a time when the overall population of the Borough of Wyre
rose by 11%.
Wyre Borough is 98.8% White in ethnic makeup. The remainder is split between South Asian
(0.4%), Mixed race (0.4%) Black
(0.1%) and Other (0.3%).
The same Government report noted that the demise of the fishing industry cost Fleetwood some 8,000 jobs, employment in fishing-related industries falling from 9,000 to less than 1,000, mostly in the fish-processing sector. The closure of the ICI Hillhouse works cost the region a further 4,500 jobs. Industrial and commercial development has been at a standstill for fifteen years and only a single commercial employer based in the town has more than 200 employees. The stock of both commercial and residential property is in decline.
While Wyre Borough in general has a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the United Kingdom
, Fleetwood's is considerably higher. Using figures indicating benefit claimants as a percentage of total population (usually considered to be about half the 'actual' unemployment rate) the figures for August 2007 are:
Average household income
as of August 2007 is as follows):
The town's largest and most prominent single employer is Lofthouse's of Fleetwood, Ltd., manufacturers of Fisherman's Friend
—a menthol
lozenge
popular worldwide and especially in Japan
.
In July 2007, a new Masterplan for revitalizing the town around a "vibrant waterfront and a revitalized town centre" was submitted to the Wyre Borough Council. Some of the funding would come from an EU
cash grant. The Masterplan was funded by Wyre Council, the Northwest Development Agency and English Heritage
. The plan has three main areas for development:
(3 hectare
) park facing the sea-front, laid out by Decimus Burton, and built on a large sand-dune originally known as Tup's Hill. It is surmounted by a pavilion
built in 1902 incorporating a clock
added in 1919. The wall on the inland side of The Mount is built from pebbles, in traditional Fylde style. Directly across The Esplanade from the Mount lies The Marine Hall and Marine Gardens, Wyre Borough's largest entertainment venue, opened in 1935.
Fleetwood Pier
, also known as the Victoria Pier, was a feature of the town from its construction in 1910 until it was destroyed by fire in September 2008. Built at the end of the 'golden age' of pier
building, it was the last pleasure pier to be built in the United Kingdom, other than a 1957 pier built in Deal, Kent
to replace a structure damaged in World War II
. At 492 feet (150 m) in length, it was one of the shortest piers in the country. At various times, it was an amusement complex, bar
and dance hall
. In 1952 the pier was badly damaged in a fire which started in the cinema, and it did not reopen until 1958. The pier was closed again in 2006, and plans were drawn up to convert the structure into an apartment complex. However, the pier was again heavily damaged by fire in the early hours of 9 September 2008. On September 26, 2008, Wyre
Borough Council announced that the pier would be completely demolished, and two weeks later confirmed that the pier would not be rebuilt.
Fleetwood has two prominent retail locations. Freeport Fleetwood, opened in 1995 and named after the American town of Freeport, Maine, is a waterfront outlet shopping village, on the site of the former Wyre Dock, with 45 shops in a Marina setting. Freeport was re-branded and re-launched in 2006 at a cost of £8.6M.
Fleetwood Market on Victoria Street is one of the largest covered market
s in the North West, with over 250 stalls. It was first opened in 1840, although the present stone building dates from 1892.
(LCC). However, volunteers helped re-launch the museum in April 2007, setting up the Fleetwood Museum Trust to run the museum in partnership with LCC for twelve months with the intention of the trust eventually running the museum themselves. The museum also operates The Jacinta, the town's "heritage trawler", stationed in the Wyre Dock Marina and open for public viewing throughout the year. Built in 1972, it was moved to Hull in 1982, before being handed over to the Jacinta Charitable Trust in 1995 when restoration work began on the trawler.
, designed by Decimus Burton in 1841, stands at the corner of Lord Street and North Albert Street. It formerly had a spire, but this was demolished in 1904. St Mary's
, the town's main Roman Catholic church, stands nearby. Built in 1867, it was designed by E.W. Pugin. A more modern church of interest is the copper
-roofed St Nicholas
, on Poulton Road, designed by Laurence King and completed in 1962.
and Lower Lighthouse
s, opened in 1840 and still in operation. 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 the United Kingdom
built in the middle of the street. It now forms a traffic roundabout. The North Euston Hotel, opened in 1841, is still the largest hotel in Fleetwood. Queen's Terrace was completed in 1844 and is regarded as an outstanding example of classical architecture. Now mostly used for offices and private flats, at various times it has been used as a school, hospital, railway offices and wartime consulates for European nations.
covers the town and the North Fylde Area. The newspaper was founded in 1984 as a successor to the Fleetwood Chronicle, which had ceased publication several weeks earlier. The Chronicle itself, founded in 1843, was the oldest newspaper in the Fylde. Daily newspaper coverage is provided by the Blackpool Gazette
. Both papers are published by Johnston Press
. The Lancashire Evening Post
is an independent daily newspaper covering the county of Lancashire
.
Fleetwood falls within the coverage area of BBC Radio Lancashire
. Commercial radio stations serving the area include Radio Wave
based in Blackpool, 97.4 Rock FM
and Magic 999
based in Preston, and Smooth FM 100.4
and 105.4 Century FM
broadcasting from Greater Manchester
.
Independent television service is provided by Granada
- the ITV franchise holder for the North West region. BBC North West
is the regional BBC station serving Fleetwood.
spent his childhood summer holidays in Fleetwood with a cousin who lived in the town, returning to the town on 25 August 1962 when The Beatles
played at the Marine Hall.
The best known bands to feature musicians from Fleetwood are the 90's rock group Kiss of the Gypsy
, who were signed to Atlantic Records
in the USA, and punk bands One Way System
, the first signing on Cherry Red
's Anagram Records and UFX
. Musicians from all three bands combined in 2011 to form the Psychobilly
band Boneyard Zombies.
, song and dance. The festival has been held continuously since 1971. The opening concert each year is staged aboard Jacinta, the town's heritage trawler. The 2011 festival is set to run from 2–4 September.
Another annual music festival, originating in 2005, is Fleetwoodstock, named after the famous New York Woodstock Festival
. Fleetwoodstock 2011 will take place on 4-6 November 2011, although dates vary by as much as a month from year to year. The usual venue is the Marine Hall.
Fleetwood Transport Festival, also known as Tram
Sunday, has been held annually on the third Sunday of July since 1985. It is a festival of vintage vehicles highlighted by a number of historical tram-cars which parade along Lord Street.
Fleetwood Beer & Cider Festival is held in February each year and is organised by the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre branch of CAMRA. The festival offers a choice of around 100 real ales as well as a selection of ciders and foreign beers.
clubs over its history. The current club, dating from 1997, is now known as Fleetwood Town F.C.
, and plays in the Conference National
. A previous incarnation of Fleetwood Town F.C. enjoyed a brief history from 1977, reaching the final of the FA Vase
in 1985, before being wound up because of financial difficulties in 1996. The same fate also befell the two previous town clubs. Fleetwood F.C. was founded in 1908 and wound up in 1976, having been several times Lancashire Combination
cup champions in the 1930s, and founder members of the Northern Premier League
in 1968. Fleetwood Rangers, the town's first club, spent ten seasons in the Lancashire League and Lancashire Combination from 1889 to 1899. Since 1939, home games have been played at Highbury Stadium
. Blackpool Reserves
also use the stadium for their home matches.
In January 1938, Jimmy Hampson
, who remains Blackpool's record goalscorer, drowned off the Fleetwood coast during a fishing trip. The yacht on which he was sailing collided with a trawler and Hampson, 31, was knocked overboard. He drowned, and his body was never recovered.
Speedway
racing was staged at Highbury Stadium from 1948 to 1952, with Fleetwood Flyers
riding in the Second Division of the National Speedway league.
The Flyers started the 1948 season as Wigan Warriors but moved to Fleetwood after racing a few away fixtures billed as Wigan. The Flyers 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 with the team renamed the Fleetwood Knights.
Fleetwood Rugby Union Football Club is an amateur rugby union
club, first registered in 1932 as Fleetwood Old Boys, with the Old Boys title being dropped in the 1950s. Fleetwood Cricket Club, based at Broadwater, are affiliated with the Lancashire Cricket Board and compete in the Northern League.
From the 1930s to the present, the Model Yacht Pond, one of Europe's largest, has been host to numerous national and international championships, held under the aegis of the Fleetwood Model Yacht and Power Boat Club.
Fleetwood Reservoir on Copse Road provides coarse fishing facilities. The fishing club is affiliated to the National Federation of Anglers. Matches take place every Sunday and Friday during the summer months.
Fleetwood is a popular location for kitesurfing
and other power kite
sports. There are several suitable beaches and training is available at the local kite school.
, which is operated by Blackpool Transport
. It is about 12 miles (19.3 km) from Fleetwood to the southern terminus at Starr Gate, and about 8 miles (12.9 km) to Talbot Square, Blackpool. Trams run the full length of both Lord Street and North Albert Street, undivided from regular road traffic, cars passing trams on the kerb side. Bus service to Blackpool is provided by Blackpool Transport and Ribble
, who also provide service to Preston and other local destinations.
There are frequent ferry sailings from Fleetwood across the River Wyre to Knott End-on-Sea
.
Passenger sailings to Douglas
are not currently on a regular timetable. Ferries were operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
from 1876 to 1961, and again periodically from 1971. However, in recent years the service has been restricted to once or twice per year. From 2004, Stena Line
provided some passenger accommodation on its thrice daily service to Larne
in Northern Ireland
. However, Stena Line withdrew the service at the end of 2010.
The town being built on a peninsula, for many years there were only two roads into and out of Fleetwood; Broadway/Rossall Road, through Cleveleys
, designated as the A587, and Fleetwood Road, through Thornton
, designated as the A585
. To cater for container traffic, Amounderness Way was built in the late 1970s and re-designated as the A585. In the 1990s, Amounderness Way was extended into town to the end of Dock Street along the former railway bed.
The town was for several years the northern Fylde terminus of the railway line
to London
, hence the hotel opposite the site of the now demolished Fleetwood railway station
is called The North Euston
. The line also carried landed fish from the docks to distant markets. There has been no railway service to Fleetwood since 1970. Poulton-le-Fylde
and Blackpool North
are the nearest stations.
is a co-educational
, independent
, day
and boarding school
for ages 5 to 18. It was founded in 1844 on the site of Rossall Hall in the south west of the town. There are two public-sector secondary school
s in the town. Fleetwood High School on Broadway was founded in 1977 as a comprehensive
non-denominational secondary school, a successor to Fleetwood Grammar School (1921–77) and Bailey School. It was ‘re-branded’ as Fleetwood Sports College in 2005 when the school was given Specialist school
status in sport, but reverted to its original name in September 2010. Cardinal Allen Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic high school, founded in 1963 as a secondary modern school.
The only tertiary educational institution in Fleetwood is the Nautical Campus of Blackpool and The Fylde College
, located at Broadwater.
Fleetwood has seven public sector primary schools. Chaucer Community Primary School serves the oldest part of the town, around the Mount. Shakespeare Primary School serves the northwest part of the town. Flakefleet Primary School serves the south-central Flakefleet area. Charles Saer Primary School and Larkholme Primary School serve the western part of the town, around West View and Larkholme. Additionally, there are two Roman Catholic primary schools: St Mary’s, founded in 1870, which serves the northern part of the town, and St Wulstan’s and St Edmund's, serving the southern part of the town and formed in 2006 from a merger of two existing schools.
The town is also home to a large public library, which as well as lending print and audio-visual material also has an extensive reference and local studies collection.
Fleetwood is the setting for Juliet McKoen's ghost story/murder mystery film Frozen (2005) starring Ralph Little, which was filmed in and around the town .
Bell Bottom George, a 1944 film starring comedian, musician and actor George Formby, was filmed in Fleetwood, despite being set in and around naval bases along England's south coast. The North Euston Hotel, Lower and Pharos lighthouses, the Mount and the Mount Hotel can all be seen during the film's finale, filmed just off Fleetwood Beach.
Fleetwood was mentioned as a holiday destination in Charles Kingsley's classic novel 'The Water-Babies' published in 1863
Fleetwood has been the scene for many TV programs and dramas, including The Man from the Pru (starring Jonathan Pryce
), Alan Bleasdale
's GBH, the BBC
's All Quiet on the Preston Front
and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
.
Wyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
district of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde
The Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation
Blackpool Urban Area
Greater Blackpool is the informal name for the urban area surrounding Blackpool in Lancashire, England. The ONS define a Blackpool Urban Area, with a population of 261,088 , down 0.1% from the 1991 figure of 261,355....
. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. For most of the 20th century, Fleetwood was a prominent deep-sea fishing port, but, since the 1970s, the fishing industry has declined precipitously and the town has undergone economic difficulties. Fleetwood is also a seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
, serving as a quiet contrast to nearby Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
.
History
PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's Geographia
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
in the 2nd century AD records a tribe known as the Setantii
Setantii
The Setantii were a pre-Roman British tribe who apparently lived in the western and southern littoral of Lancashire in England...
living in what is believed to be present-day West Lancashire, and a seaport built by the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
called PORTVS SETANTIORVM ('the port of the Setantii') abutting Moricambe Aestuarium (presumably Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
). There is also evidence of a Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
running from Ribchester
Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings...
to Kirkham
Kirkham, Lancashire
Kirkham, or as it once was known, Kirkam-in-Amounderness is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston and adjacent to the smaller town of Wesham. It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location...
(12 miles southeast of Fleetwood) which then makes a sharp turn to the northwest. Together, these suggest that Fleetwood may well have been the location of this Roman port. No direct evidence of the port has been found, but in 2007, an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlement was discovered at Bourne Hill, just south of present-day Fleetwood, suggesting the area was populated in pre-Roman times.
There is evidence that the eastern side of the River Wyre
River Wyre
The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles in length...
was occupied during the Danish
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries, and by the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086, the land on which Fleetwood now stands was part of the Hundred of Amounderness
Amounderness
Amounderness was a hundred of Lancashire in North West England. Formerly, the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble that had been included in Domesday Yorkshire.-Etymology and history:...
.
A manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
at present-day Rossall
Rossall
Rossall is a settlement in Lancashire, England and a suburb of the market town of Fleetwood. It is situated on a coastal plain called The Fylde.-Early history:...
, in the southwest of the town, was in the possession of the Allen family by the time of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. The Allens were prominent Roman Catholics, and Henry VIII repossessed the land. Cardinal William Allen was born at the manor house in 1532. It was ultimately sold to Thomas Fleetwood, comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
of the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
, whose son Edmund, expanded the house into Rossall Hall. The land remained in the Fleetwood family for 300 years.
19th century
By the 1830s, the house and estate was in the ownership of Edmund's descendant Peter Hesketh, High Sheriff of LancashireHigh Sheriff of Lancashire
The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...
and MP for Preston. A man of somewhat liberal views for his time, Hesketh believed that the sheltered harbour and views over Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
gave the area the makings of a busy sea port and popular resort for the less-affluent. With no rail link between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, He envisaged Fleetwood as the transfer point between the rail and the steamers to Scotland, and set about encouraging a railway link from Preston. With a new career in parliament to prepare for, he engaged Frederick Kemp as his agent. He originally considered naming the new town Wyreton or New Liverpool, but after changing his name to Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood in 1831, he settled on the name Fleetwood. After some delays, he hired the prominent architect Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
, whose work in St Leonard's-on-Sea he had admired, to lay out what would be the first planned town of the Victorian era. The plans were complete by 1835, and construction of the first buildings and the railway line began in 1836.
Burton's plan was to use largest of the sand-dunes on the north-facing shore as the focus of a half-wheel street layout. This was landscaped, and became known as The Mount. It served as the hub of Burton's half-wheel design, the main residential streets acted as the spokes, and the main commerce area of Dock Street was the rim of the wheel. The oldest surviving building in the town, once the custom house, later the town hall, and latterly Fleetwood Museum
Fleetwood Museum
Fleetwood Museum is a local history and maritime museum in the English seaside town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. The museum was originally the town's Customs House and, completed in 1836, was one of the first buildings constructed in Fleetwood. Like much of the town it was designed by architect...
, dates from 1838 and housing from as early as 1839 still exists in the town. The crown jewel was the North Euston Hotel, built in 1841, a fine semi-circular building overlooking the bay and the river's estuary. The hotel was built to serve overnight guests making the railway journey from Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
, and was close to 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 transport terminus obsolete.
Burton designed two lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s for the town, the Pharos
Pharos Lighthouse (Fleetwood)
The Pharos Lighthouse is a tall sandstone lighthouse situated in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton has been commissioned three years previously by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood as the architect of the new town of...
and Beach Lighthouse, both opened in 1840. A third lighthouse, Wyre Light
Wyre Light (Fleetwood)
The Wyre Light was a tall iron Screw-pile lighthouse marking the navigation channel to the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The lighthouse was designed by Alexander Mitchell an Irish engineer who developed the screwpile concept...
, was built in 1839-40 by Alexander Mitchell
Alexander Mitchell (engineer)
Alexander Mitchell, was an Irish engineer who from 1802 was blind. He is known as the inventor of the screw-pile lighthouse...
offshore on the northeast corner of North Wharf. Fleetwood Market, still a prominent permanent market, first opened in 1840.
By 1838, Hesketh-Fleetwood had run into serious financial difficulties, with costs for the railway in particular ultimately exceeding £300,000. He had numerous financial arguments with Frederick Kemp, who borrowed against the estate revenues to finance the expansion of the town, and was suspected of taking financial advantage of Sir Peter. Hesketh-Fleetwood became short of cash and was forced to mortgage his properties. Depressed, he gradually withdrew from the project, and by 1844 he had been obliged to sell much of his estate. He leased Rossall Hall itself to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, which intended to set up a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
as a North of England equivalent of Marlborough School
Marlborough School (Woodstock)
The Marlborough School is a co-educational Church of England comprehensive school in the small market town of Woodstock, about northwest of Oxford. The school's catchment area includes Woodstock itself and surrounding villages. The school is named after the Duke of Marlborough whose ancestral...
. Under the auspices of Rev. St. Vincent Beechey
St. Vincent Beechey
The Revd. Canon St. Vincent Beechey was a 19th century vicar of Fleetwood and Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire and later of Worsley, Lancashire. He is most famous for founding Rossall School in Fleetwood, Lancashire in 1844 and was also President of the Manchester Photographic Society...
, the vicar of Fleetwood, it was to become Rossall School
Rossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
. Virtually bankrupt, Hesketh-Fleetwood retired to Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, giving up his parliamentary obligations in 1847. Meanwhile, Kemp's influence expanded. He had set up the Fleetwood Estates Company to manage the land, and the North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company
North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company
The North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company provided shipping services between Fleetwood and ports in northern Ireland, principally Belfast from 1843 to 1870.-History:...
in 1843 to manage the expanding steamer trade. However, by the late 1850s, the combination of the new western railway route and the rise of neighbouring Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
as a prominent seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
signalled a decline in the town's fortunes.
From the 1860s Fleetwood expanded its port activities. Steamers began pleasure and commercial services to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, Ardrossan
Ardrossan
Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in south-western Scotland. The name "Ardrossan" describes its physical position — 'ard' from the Gaelic àird meaning headland, 'ros' a promontory and the diminutive suffix '-an' - headland of the little promontory...
and Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. Half a mile of stone quays were built along the river front, and the railway line was extended to the steamer pier opposite Queen's Terrace, where the imposing new railway station
Fleetwood railway station
There have been three locations for Fleetwood railway station in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The first, from 1840 to 1883, was in Dock Street, opposite Church Street. The second, from 1883 to 1966, was in Queen's Terrace...
was built in 1883. The port was still mainly a cargo terminal at this time, but the fishing industry began to grow as vessels expanded their catchment area from the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
fishing grounds first fished in the 1840s, to the haddock
Haddock
The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....
grounds of the North Atlantic Ocean. At this time, all the fishing vessels out of Fleetwood were sail-powered fishing smacks, few being over 40 tons deadweight
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
. The Fleetwood Docks Act of 1864 enabled the construction of a dock and embankment for both fishing and general cargo. Work on what was to become Wyre Dock began in 1869 but was suspended for financial reasons. A second Act in 1871 gave construction authority to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
Company, under chief engineers Sir John Hawkshaw
John Hawkshaw
Sir John Hawkshaw , was an English civil engineer.-Early life:He was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and was educated at Leeds Grammar School...
and Harrison Hayter
Harrison Hayter
Harrison Hayter was a British engineer, participating in many significant railway construction projects in Britain and many harbour and dock constructions worldwide....
. Construction itself, by John Aird & Sons, was completed in 1877. Heavy industry came to the area in the late 1880s with the construction of a salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
-processing works on the southeastern edge of the town by the Fleetwood Salt Co. Ltd, using salt mined in Preesall
Preesall
Preesall is a town and civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish covers the eastern bank of the estuary of the River Wyre, including Knott End-on-Sea, Pilling Lane and the village of Preesall itself...
, across the river.
By the early 1890s, the construction and expansion of rival cargo ports in the North West
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
and the building of the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
heralded the decline of Fleetwood's prominence as a cargo port. However, at the same time this was more than offset by a period of rapid expansion of the fishing industry, signalled by the launch in 1891 of the first steam powered trawler, the Lark. All the other major fishing ports in Britain, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, were on the east coast, so there was a competitive advantage for a west coast port with good rail links. By the turn of the century, Fleetwood's position as one of the three major fishing ports in England was cemented. James Marr brought a fleet of steam trawlers to Fleetwood and actively started to change the port by selectively fishing for hake
Hake
The term hake refers to fish in either of:* family Phycidae of the northern oceans* family Merlucciidae of the southern oceans-Hake fish:...
, which until then had been treated as a much less desirable catch. Many of the houses in the old area of town around the Mount and Lord Street were built in the 1890s. In keeping with the thriving economy, these terraced houses were large for their era. An electric tramway
Blackpool tramway
The Blackpool tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England, and is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. The tramway dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is run by Blackpool Transport as...
link to Blackpool was constructed in the 1890s and remains operational to this day. The trams were routed along East Street and West Street (now Lord Street and North Albert Street) rather than Dock Street, and commercial trade followed, making those streets the commercial centre of the town. Fleetwood is the only town in Britain with trams running the full length of its main street, sharing road-space with cars. The docks were expanded in 1908 with the construction of the Fish Dock, accessible through Wyre Dock and still used today for the inshore fleet. Plans for a pier were first made in the 1890s but building did not start until 1909 and it was opened in 1910. It was the last new seaside pier to be built in the United Kingdom.
20th century
By the 1920s, the fishing industryFishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....
was at its height, employing over 9,000 people. Over the next few years, 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 (1935), golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
(1931) and Model Yacht Pond (1932) all date from this era. In the 1920s, the salt works, by now owned by the United Alkali Company
United Alkali Company
United Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890. Producer of soda ash by the Leblanc process and used in the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in 1926 with Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives and...
(after 1926 part of ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
), was considerably expanded, and became an ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
-processing plant. ICI built an adjacent chemical processing plant, known as ICI Hillhouse. ICI would become the town's third-largest employer, after the fishing and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industries. The first fully automated telephone exchange
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
in Britain was put into operation to serve the town on 15 July 1922.
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 1930s 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 related to fishing grew up along the rail corridor on the eastern side of the town, and a number of unrelated industries also moved to the area to take advantage of the availability of labour.
By the 1960s, however, Fleetwood began to decline economically. The last ferry to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
sailed in 1961. The sailings have been revived periodically since. The main railway station
Fleetwood railway station
There have been three locations for Fleetwood railway station in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The first, from 1840 to 1883, was in Dock Street, opposite Church Street. The second, from 1883 to 1966, was in Queen's Terrace...
was closed in 1966 as a result of the Beeching
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
cuts, and the passenger terminus was moved to Wyre Dock station. This in turn was closed in 1970, as the branch line
Fleetwood Branch Line
The Fleetwood Branch Line consists of the train line from to . It passed through many smaller stations along the way . When work at Fleetwood docks was under threat, the Fleetwood station was closed, this effectively closed the branch in 1970...
from Poulton
Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman...
was taken out of service. Additional light industry
Light industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
developed along the former railway bed. The rise of package holiday
Package holiday
A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country...
s abroad led to fewer visitors generally to British resort towns. As Blackpool expanded its attractions, fewer day visitors came to Fleetwood, and as transportation became more efficient, more overnight visitors became day visitors. The Hillhouse plant was heavily cut back, and was finally closed in 1999. Most serious, however, was the collapse of the fishing industry, which was largely destroyed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Cod War
Cod War
The Cod Wars, also called the Icelandic Cod Wars , were a series of confrontations in the 1950s and 1970s between the United Kingdom and Iceland regarding fishing rights in the North Atlantic....
s, a dispute over fishing rights between Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and the UK. As Fleetwood's trawlers mainly fished the North Atlantic in search of cod, the loss of the fishing grounds hit the town hard. The last deep sea trawler left the town in 1982 and now only inshore fishing boats fish out of the port, although trawlers registered in other places can still be seen taking advantage of the fish market. Fish is still a big industry in the town, though the jobs are mainly in processing rather than fishing. A pair of bronze figures on the promenade by the pier depicts the idea of families welcoming back the fishermen from sea.
In 1973, the area around the old railway station was developed into a container
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
port facility, with P & O operating a container service to Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. In 1975, this became a Roll-on/roll-off service. This development led indirectly to some renewal of the then largely derelict Dock Street area, and improved road access to the town to support the container traffic. Twice-daily container service continued until 2004 when Stena Line
Stena Line
Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...
bought the route and increased the service to three times a day. In December 2010, Stena Line announced that the service would be withdrawn at the end of 2010, with the loss of 140 jobs.
Since the 1970s there have been several attempts to enhance Fleetwood's economic profile, In 1995, the now-deserted Wyre Dock was developed into a marina. The derelict dock landing area was developed into Fleetwood Freeport, a retail centre, and housing has been built at the north end of the marina. Most recently, in July 2007, a new "Masterplan" for revitalizing the waterfront and town centre was submitted to the Wyre Borough Council.
Governance
Since the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, effective 1 April 1974, Fleetwood has been part of the Borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Wyre
Wyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
, together with the neighbouring communities of Thornton Cleveleys and Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman...
, the Over Wyre
Over Wyre
Over Wyre is the collective name given to a group of villages in Lancashire, England, situated on the Fylde, to the north of the River Wyre. The group is usually considered to include Hambleton, Stalmine, Knott End-on-Sea, Preesall, Pilling and Out Rawcliffe...
villages, and Garstang
Garstang
Garstang is a town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is ten miles north-northwest of the city of Preston and eleven miles south of Lancaster, and had a total resident population of 4,074 in 2001....
. The administrative headquarters is in Poulton-le-Fylde. The borough is a constituent part of Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
. The council has a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
majority. Prior to 1974, Fleetwood had been a Municipal Borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
since 1933, and from 1894 to 1933, an Urban District
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
. The town is divided into five ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
s, Mount, Pharos, Warren, Park and Rossall.
A Fleetwood parish council (known as Fleetwood Town Council) was established following a referendum in June 2009. The boundaries of the parish are coterminous with the boundary of the five borough council wards of Fleetwood and the council has 13 councillors.
In the 2010 General Election, Fleetwood was joined with Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
and some Over Wyre
Over Wyre
Over Wyre is the collective name given to a group of villages in Lancashire, England, situated on the Fylde, to the north of the River Wyre. The group is usually considered to include Hambleton, Stalmine, Knott End-on-Sea, Preesall, Pilling and Out Rawcliffe...
locations to form the new Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency
Lancaster and Fleetwood (UK Parliament constituency)
Lancaster and Fleetwood is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
. Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
member Eric Ollerenshaw
Eric Ollerenshaw
Eric Ollerenshaw OBE is a British Conservative politician and the Member of Parliament for Lancaster and Fleetwood....
was elected in a tight race. From 1997 to 2010, Fleetwood was included with Thornton, Poulton and parts of Blackpool, as part of the Blackpool North and Fleetwood parliamentary constituency. During that time the seat was held by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's Joan Humble
Joan Humble
Jovanka Humble is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Fleetwood from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
. Prior to 1997, Fleetwood was part of the constituencies of Fylde North
Fylde North (UK Parliament constituency)
Fylde North was a constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950, until it was abolished for the 1983 general election.- Boundaries :...
and Wyre
Wyre (UK Parliament constituency)
Wyre was a parliamentary constituency in the Wyre district of Lancashire.It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until it was abolished for the 1997 general election. It was then partially replaced by the new constituency of...
, whose boundaries more closely matched those of Wyre Borough, and which consistently returned a Conservative member.
Topography
Fleetwood is located on the Fylde PeninsulaThe Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
, eight miles (13 km) north of Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, on the western side of the mouth of the River Wyre. The town itself is on a peninsula, almost two miles (3 km) wide, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
, to the north by Morecambe Bay, and to the east by the River Wyre. Access to Fleetwood 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. 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, the large sand dune in the northern part of the town, from which the original street plan radiated. Parts of Fleetwood, especially to the north and west, are barely above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
at high tide, and a large retaining sea wall runs along much of the western edge of the town. Nevertheless, Fleetwood 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
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
land to the south and east, by the river. The town itself encompasses an area of just under four square miles.
Climate
In common with the rest of the coastal areas of the UK, Fleetwood has a maritime climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
. Prevailing winds and weather patterns are northwesterly, leading to a slightly higher average precipitation than the country as a whole, although the absence of high ground in the immediate vicinity moderates this. As with most coastal areas, frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
and snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
are uncommon. Temperatures are close to the national average.
Demography
At the 2001 CensusUnited Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, Fleetwood had a population of 26,840. This is a decline of about 6% from the figures in 1971, at a time when the overall population of the Borough of Wyre
Wyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
rose by 11%.
Wyre Borough is 98.8% White in ethnic makeup. The remainder is split between South Asian
British Asian
British Asian is a term used to describe British citizens who descended from mainly South Asia, also known as South Asians in the United Kingdom...
(0.4%), Mixed race (0.4%) Black
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
(0.1%) and Other (0.3%).
Economy
Fleetwood's economy still revolves around the traditional areas of fishing, tourism, port activity and light industry, but since the early 1970s the town has continued to struggle economically. A Government report in 2006 stated that three of the towns five wards fall into the 5% to 10% most deprived wards in England.The same Government report noted that the demise of the fishing industry cost Fleetwood some 8,000 jobs, employment in fishing-related industries falling from 9,000 to less than 1,000, mostly in the fish-processing sector. The closure of the ICI Hillhouse works cost the region a further 4,500 jobs. Industrial and commercial development has been at a standstill for fifteen years and only a single commercial employer based in the town has more than 200 employees. The stock of both commercial and residential property is in decline.
While Wyre Borough in general has a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Fleetwood's is considerably higher. Using figures indicating benefit claimants as a percentage of total population (usually considered to be about half the 'actual' unemployment rate) the figures for August 2007 are:
| Male | Female | Total | |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
3.2% | 1.4% | 2.3% |
| Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston... |
2.6% | 1.0% | 1.8% |
| Wyre Wyre Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district... |
1.8% | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| Fleetwood | 3.9% | 1.4% | 2.7% |
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
as of August 2007 is as follows):
| Average household income in £ Pound (currency) The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire... |
|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
33,700 |
| Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston... |
31,200 |
| Wyre Wyre Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district... |
30,900 |
| Fleetwood | 27,350 |
The town's largest and most prominent single employer is Lofthouse's of Fleetwood, Ltd., manufacturers of Fisherman's Friend
Fisherman's Friend
Fisherman's Friend is a brand of strong menthol lozenges produced by Lofthouse company in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England.- History :Fisherman's Friend was originally developed by a young pharmacist named James Lofthouse in 1865 to relieve various respiratory problems suffered by fishermen working...
—a menthol
Menthol
Menthol is an organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. It is a waxy, crystalline substance, clear or white in color, which is solid at room temperature and melts slightly above. The main form of menthol occurring in nature is -menthol, which is assigned...
lozenge
Throat lozenge
A throat lozenge, cough drop, troche, or cough sweet is a small, medicated tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to temporarily stop coughs and lubricate and soothe irritated tissues of the throat , possibly from the common cold or influenza...
popular worldwide and especially in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In July 2007, a new Masterplan for revitalizing the town around a "vibrant waterfront and a revitalized town centre" was submitted to the Wyre Borough Council. Some of the funding would come from an EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
cash grant. The Masterplan was funded by Wyre Council, the Northwest Development Agency and English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The plan has three main areas for development:
- Transport - Improvements to the A585 link road. Restoration of the railway link including a new railway station in Fleetwood. Improved links to the riverside coastal paths and Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve.
- Seafront scene transformation - New waterfront environment with housing, beach sports, family area and bigger entertainment attractions. The original plan placed housing on land opposite the Mount Hotel on land currently used as a nine hole pitch and puttPitch and puttPitch and putt is an amateur sport, similar to golf. The maximum hole length for international competitions is with a maximum total course length of . Players may only use three clubs; one of which must be a putter...
course, but, after opposition from residents, this part of the plan was dropped. The waterfront would have a discovery and entertainment centre focused around a re-fashioned Marine Hall, with better health and fitness facilities nearby.
- Attractive new look for centre - The Masterplan includes plans for more open spaces and more national name shopsChain storeChain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
on Lord Street, with Albert Square and Station Road earmarked as public squares. A new landmark square and heart of the town is proposed on both Lord Street and London Street with cafes, bars and restaurants.
Tourism and amenities
The town's most prominent feature is The Mount - a seven-acreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
(3 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
) park facing the sea-front, laid out by Decimus Burton, and built on a large sand-dune originally known as Tup's Hill. It is surmounted by a pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
built in 1902 incorporating a clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
added in 1919. The wall on the inland side of The Mount is built from pebbles, in traditional Fylde style. Directly across The Esplanade from the Mount lies The Marine Hall and Marine Gardens, Wyre Borough's largest entertainment venue, opened in 1935.
Fleetwood Pier
Fleetwood Pier
Fleetwood Pier, also known as the Victoria Pier, was a pleasure pier located in the English town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. The building was destroyed by fire and demolished in 2008. It was built in 1910 at the end of the golden age of pier building...
, also known as the Victoria Pier, was a feature of the town from its construction in 1910 until it was destroyed by fire in September 2008. Built at the end of the 'golden age' of pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
building, it was the last pleasure pier to be built in the United Kingdom, other than a 1957 pier built in Deal, Kent
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
to replace a structure damaged in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At 492 feet (150 m) in length, it was one of the shortest piers in the country. At various times, it was an amusement complex, bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
and dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
. In 1952 the pier was badly damaged in a fire which started in the cinema, and it did not reopen until 1958. The pier was closed again in 2006, and plans were drawn up to convert the structure into an apartment complex. However, the pier was again heavily damaged by fire in the early hours of 9 September 2008. On September 26, 2008, Wyre
Wyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
Borough Council announced that the pier would be completely demolished, and two weeks later confirmed that the pier would not be rebuilt.
Fleetwood has two prominent retail locations. Freeport Fleetwood, opened in 1995 and named after the American town of Freeport, Maine, is a waterfront outlet shopping village, on the site of the former Wyre Dock, with 45 shops in a Marina setting. Freeport was re-branded and re-launched in 2006 at a cost of £8.6M.
Fleetwood Market on Victoria Street is one of the largest covered market
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
s in the North West, with over 250 stalls. It was first opened in 1840, although the present stone building dates from 1892.
Museums
Fleetwood Museum stands on Queen's Terrace. The building, designed by Decimus Burton, was completed in 1838 and is the oldest building in Fleetwood. It was originally the Customs House, and from 1894 to 1974 it served as Fleetwood Town Hall, until local government activity was moved to Poulton. The museum tells the story of the fishing industry in the town. In January 2006, the museum was threatened with closure by owners Lancashire County CouncilLancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
(LCC). However, volunteers helped re-launch the museum in April 2007, setting up the Fleetwood Museum Trust to run the museum in partnership with LCC for twelve months with the intention of the trust eventually running the museum themselves. The museum also operates The Jacinta, the town's "heritage trawler", stationed in the Wyre Dock Marina and open for public viewing throughout the year. Built in 1972, it was moved to Hull in 1982, before being handed over to the Jacinta Charitable Trust in 1995 when restoration work began on the trawler.
Churches
Fleetwood's parish church, St Peter'sSt Peter's Church, Fleetwood
-External links:...
, designed by Decimus Burton in 1841, stands at the corner of Lord Street and North Albert Street. It formerly had a spire, but this was demolished in 1904. St Mary's
St Mary's Church, Fleetwood
St Mary's is a Roman Catholic church in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. Designed by E. W. Pugin, it was built 1867–68. It is an active church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster. It has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage....
, the town's main Roman Catholic church, stands nearby. Built in 1867, it was designed by E.W. Pugin. A more modern church of interest is the copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-roofed St Nicholas
St Nicholas' Church, Fleetwood
St Nicholas' Church is in the seaside town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, England, situated on The Fylde coast. It is an active Anglican church in the Diocese of Blackburn. It was constructed between 1960 and 1962, and designed by Laurence King.-History:...
, on Poulton Road, designed by Laurence King and completed in 1962.
Other buildings
Numerous other buildings designed by Decimus Burton remain in the town. Prominent are the PharosPharos Lighthouse (Fleetwood)
The Pharos Lighthouse is a tall sandstone lighthouse situated in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The lighthouse was designed in 1839 by Decimus Burton and Capt H.M. Denham. Burton has been commissioned three years previously by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood as the architect of the new town of...
and Lower Lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s, opened in 1840 and still in operation. 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 the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
built in the middle of the street. It now forms a traffic roundabout. The North Euston Hotel, opened in 1841, is still the largest hotel in Fleetwood. Queen's Terrace was completed in 1844 and is regarded as an outstanding example of classical architecture. Now mostly used for offices and private flats, at various times it has been used as a school, hospital, railway offices and wartime consulates for European nations.
Media
The Fleetwood Weekly NewsFleetwood Weekly News
The Fleetwood Weekly News is a weekly newspaper based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England published every week, on a Wednesday, which covers Fleetwood and North Fylde....
covers the town and the North Fylde Area. The newspaper was founded in 1984 as a successor to the Fleetwood Chronicle, which had ceased publication several weeks earlier. The Chronicle itself, founded in 1843, was the oldest newspaper in the Fylde. Daily newspaper coverage is provided by the Blackpool Gazette
Blackpool Gazette
The Blackpool Gazette is an English evening newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast...
. Both papers are published by Johnston Press
Johnston Press
Johnston Press plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its flagship titles are The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post; it also operates many other newspapers around the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Isle of Man. It is the second-largest publisher...
. The Lancashire Evening Post
Lancashire Evening Post
The Lancashire Evening Post is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library, its first edition was published on 18 October 1886...
is an independent daily newspaper covering the county of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
.
Fleetwood falls within the coverage area of BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to its current name on 4 July 1981...
. Commercial radio stations serving the area include Radio Wave
Radio Wave 96.5
Radio Wave 96.5 is a British Independent Local Radio station that serves the Blackpool and Fylde coast areas of Lancashire. The station's output is broadcast from a specially-constructed transmitter aerial which is situated atop Blackpool Tower...
based in Blackpool, 97.4 Rock FM
97.4 Rock FM
97.4 Rock FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Lancashire, North West England and some parts of North Wales. Its output is mainly contemporary pop and current chart hits. The station is owned & operated by Bauer Radio and forms part of Bauer's Place Network of stations...
and Magic 999
Magic 999
Magic 999 is an Bauer Radio-owned local radio station serving Lancashire on 999 kHz AM, DAB digital radio, Virgin Media TV channel 932 and online. The station broadcasts from a converted church at St...
based in Preston, and Smooth FM 100.4
Smooth FM 100.4
Smooth Radio 100.4 was an Independent Local Radio station based in Salford, Greater Manchester. It was part of the Smooth brand of stations from 1 March 2004, and changed its name from "Smooth FM" in March 2007. Along with other stations in the network, it was subsumed into a national Smooth Radio...
and 105.4 Century FM
105.4 Century FM
105.4 Real Radio is an independent local radio station controlled by GMG Radio. It is the flagship station of the Real Radio network and has a regional license to broadcast to North West England. The station was part of the Century Network for over ten years until it was rebranded in 2009.The...
broadcasting from Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
.
Independent television service is provided by Granada
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
- the ITV franchise holder for the North West region. BBC North West
BBC North West
BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Walsden in West Yorkshire, the Isle of Man , north-west Derbyshire, the Yorkshire Dales including Settle and Ribblesdale, and southern Cumbria.BBC North West television output is also broadcast in...
is the regional BBC station serving Fleetwood.
Musicians
The young John LennonJohn Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
spent his childhood summer holidays in Fleetwood with a cousin who lived in the town, returning to the town on 25 August 1962 when The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
played at the Marine Hall.
The best known bands to feature musicians from Fleetwood are the 90's rock group Kiss of the Gypsy
Kiss of the Gypsy
Kiss of the Gypsy is an Rock band formed in Fleetwood, Lancashire in 1990.-History:In 1991, Fleetwood, Lancashire blues rock band Kiss of the Gypsy, led by singer/songwriter, Tony Mitchell, released their only album, “Kiss of the Gypsy”. The band lasted only 3 years, 1 album and 3 singles after...
, who were signed to Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in the USA, and punk bands One Way System
One Way System
One Way System is a street punk band formed in the Fleetwood area of Lancashire, England in 1979.-Career:One Way System had an initial line-up of Craig Halliday , Gavin Whyte , Tez Mcdonald and Gaz Buckley...
, the first signing on Cherry Red
Cherry Red
Cherry Red is a London-based independent record label formed in 1978.-History:Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens...
's Anagram Records and UFX
UFX
UFX is an Alternative Rock band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 2000.-History:Duncan Jowitt had been guitarist in an early line-up of Section 25 before the band signed to the Factory record label...
. Musicians from all three bands combined in 2011 to form the Psychobilly
Psychobilly
Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
band Boneyard Zombies.
Festivals
The Fylde Folk Festival is held each year at the Marine Hall and other venues in the town. It is a festival of traditional and contemporary folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, song and dance. The festival has been held continuously since 1971. The opening concert each year is staged aboard Jacinta, the town's heritage trawler. The 2011 festival is set to run from 2–4 September.
Another annual music festival, originating in 2005, is Fleetwoodstock, named after the famous New York Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
. Fleetwoodstock 2011 will take place on 4-6 November 2011, although dates vary by as much as a month from year to year. The usual venue is the Marine Hall.
Fleetwood Transport Festival, also known as Tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
Sunday, has been held annually on the third Sunday of July since 1985. It is a festival of vintage vehicles highlighted by a number of historical tram-cars which parade along Lord Street.
Fleetwood Beer & Cider Festival is held in February each year and is organised by the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre branch of CAMRA. The festival offers a choice of around 100 real ales as well as a selection of ciders and foreign beers.
Sport
Fleetwood has had several footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
clubs over its history. The current club, dating from 1997, is now known as Fleetwood Town F.C.
Fleetwood Town F.C.
Fleetwood Town F.C. is an English football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire. They currently play in the Conference National having been defeated in the Conference National play-off semi-final by AFC Wimbledon in the 2010–11 season.-History:...
, and plays in the Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
. A previous incarnation of Fleetwood Town F.C. enjoyed a brief history from 1977, reaching the final of the FA Vase
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System...
in 1985, before being wound up because of financial difficulties in 1996. The same fate also befell the two previous town clubs. Fleetwood F.C. was founded in 1908 and wound up in 1976, having been several times Lancashire Combination
Lancashire Combination
The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League...
cup champions in the 1930s, and founder members of the Northern Premier League
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
in 1968. Fleetwood Rangers, the town's first club, spent ten seasons in the Lancashire League and Lancashire Combination from 1889 to 1899. Since 1939, home games have been played at Highbury Stadium
Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood
Highbury Stadium is a football stadium in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England with Wyre Borough Council as the landlords. It is the home ground of Fleetwood Town and is also used for home matches by Blackpool F.C. reserves. As of the opening of the new Parkside Stand on 16 April 2011, the ground has a...
. Blackpool Reserves
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
also use the stadium for their home matches.
In January 1938, Jimmy Hampson
Jimmy Hampson
James "Jimmy" Hampson was an English professional footballer. He spent eleven seasons at Blackpool, where he remains record goalscorer with 252 goals in 373 games, and is still regarded as one of the best centre forwards to play for the club.-Club career:Born in Little Hulton, Lancashire, Hampson...
, who remains Blackpool's record goalscorer, drowned off the Fleetwood coast during a fishing trip. The yacht on which he was sailing collided with a trawler and Hampson, 31, was knocked overboard. He drowned, and his body was never recovered.
Speedway
Motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
racing was staged at Highbury Stadium from 1948 to 1952, with Fleetwood Flyers
Fleetwood Flyers
Fleetwood Flyers were a speedway team in Fleetwood, England which operated from 1948 until 1952. Home meetings were raced at Highbury Stadium stadium, Park Avenue in Fleetwood.-Seasons:...
riding in the Second Division of the National Speedway league.
Speedway National League Division Two
The National League Division Two was the second tier of Speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. The competition was founded in 1938 following a competition named "The National Provincial League". Following World War II the second tier of racing was entitled "The Northern League" in 1946...
The Flyers started the 1948 season as Wigan Warriors but moved to Fleetwood after racing a few away fixtures billed as Wigan. The Flyers 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 with the team renamed the Fleetwood Knights.
Fleetwood Rugby Union Football Club is an amateur rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club, first registered in 1932 as Fleetwood Old Boys, with the Old Boys title being dropped in the 1950s. Fleetwood Cricket Club, based at Broadwater, are affiliated with the Lancashire Cricket Board and compete in the Northern League.
From the 1930s to the present, the Model Yacht Pond, one of Europe's largest, has been host to numerous national and international championships, held under the aegis of the Fleetwood Model Yacht and Power Boat Club.
Fleetwood Reservoir on Copse Road provides coarse fishing facilities. The fishing club is affiliated to the National Federation of Anglers. Matches take place every Sunday and Friday during the summer months.
Fleetwood is a popular location for kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
and other power kite
Power kite
A power kite or traction kite is a large kite designed to provide significant pull to the user.They come in three main forms: foils, leading edge inflatables and supported leading edge. There are also rigid-framed kites and soft single skin kites. There are several different control systems used...
sports. There are several suitable beaches and training is available at the local kite school.
Transport
Fleetwood lies at the northern end of the Blackpool tramwayBlackpool tramway
The Blackpool tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England, and is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. The tramway dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is run by Blackpool Transport as...
, which is operated by Blackpool Transport
Blackpool Transport
Blackpool Transport Services is a bus and tram operator running within the boroughs of Blackpool and Fylde and into the surrounding area, including Fleetwood, Lytham St Annes, Poulton le Fylde and Kirkham, Preston...
. It is about 12 miles (19.3 km) from Fleetwood to the southern terminus at Starr Gate, and about 8 miles (12.9 km) to Talbot Square, Blackpool. Trams run the full length of both Lord Street and North Albert Street, undivided from regular road traffic, cars passing trams on the kerb side. Bus service to Blackpool is provided by Blackpool Transport and Ribble
Stagecoach North West
Stagecoach North West is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and has its origins in the purchase of Cumberland in 1987 and Ribble in 1988 from the National Bus Company. The head office of Stagecoach North West is in Carlisle...
, who also provide service to Preston and other local destinations.
There are frequent ferry sailings from Fleetwood across the River Wyre to Knott End-on-Sea
Knott End-on-Sea
Knott End-on-Sea is a village in Lancashire, England, situated on the southern side of Morecambe Bay, across the Wyre estuary from Fleetwood. Although there is no through road , the village is in fact the main commercial centre for the Over Wyre area...
.
Passenger sailings to Douglas
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
are not currently on a regular timetable. Ferries were operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
Isle of Man Steam Packet
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, celebrating its 180th anniversary in 2010....
from 1876 to 1961, and again periodically from 1971. However, in recent years the service has been restricted to once or twice per year. From 2004, Stena Line
Stena Line
Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...
provided some passenger accommodation on its thrice daily service to Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. However, Stena Line withdrew the service at the end of 2010.
The town being built on a peninsula, for many years there were only two roads into and out of Fleetwood; Broadway/Rossall Road, through Cleveleys
Cleveleys
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles north of Blackpool and 2 miles south of Fleetwood...
, designated as the A587, and Fleetwood Road, through Thornton
Thornton, Lancashire
Thornton is a village on the Fylde, in Lancashire, England, about four miles north of Blackpool and two miles south of Fleetwood. It is in the Borough of Wyre...
, designated as the A585
A585 road
The A585 is a primary road in England which runs from Kirkham to Fleetwood in Lancashire.The road runs a total distance of just under , on a mixture of rural and urban residential/commercial streets...
. To cater for container traffic, Amounderness Way was built in the late 1970s and re-designated as the A585. In the 1990s, Amounderness Way was extended into town to the end of Dock Street along the former railway bed.
The town was for several years the northern Fylde terminus of the railway line
Fleetwood Branch Line
The Fleetwood Branch Line consists of the train line from to . It passed through many smaller stations along the way . When work at Fleetwood docks was under threat, the Fleetwood station was closed, this effectively closed the branch in 1970...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, hence the hotel opposite the site of the now demolished Fleetwood railway station
Fleetwood railway station
There have been three locations for Fleetwood railway station in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The first, from 1840 to 1883, was in Dock Street, opposite Church Street. The second, from 1883 to 1966, was in Queen's Terrace...
is called The North Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
. The line also carried landed fish from the docks to distant markets. There has been no railway service to Fleetwood since 1970. Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde railway station
Poulton-le-Fylde railway station serves the town of Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is managed by Northern Rail, but also served by First TransPennine Express.-History:...
and Blackpool North
Blackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....
are the nearest stations.
Education
Rossall SchoolRossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
is a co-educational
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
, independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, day
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
and boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for ages 5 to 18. It was founded in 1844 on the site of Rossall Hall in the south west of the town. There are two public-sector secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s in the town. Fleetwood High School on Broadway was founded in 1977 as a comprehensive
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
non-denominational secondary school, a successor to Fleetwood Grammar School (1921–77) and Bailey School. It was ‘re-branded’ as Fleetwood Sports College in 2005 when the school was given Specialist school
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
status in sport, but reverted to its original name in September 2010. Cardinal Allen Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic high school, founded in 1963 as a secondary modern school.
The only tertiary educational institution in Fleetwood is the Nautical Campus of Blackpool and The Fylde College
Blackpool and The Fylde College
Blackpool and The Fylde College is a university college linked to the University of Lancaster.It has 49 buildings spread over the towns of Blackpool, St Annes, Bispham and three locations in Fleetwood. The college brands itself an "associate college of Lancaster University".The College offers...
, located at Broadwater.
Fleetwood has seven public sector primary schools. Chaucer Community Primary School serves the oldest part of the town, around the Mount. Shakespeare Primary School serves the northwest part of the town. Flakefleet Primary School serves the south-central Flakefleet area. Charles Saer Primary School and Larkholme Primary School serve the western part of the town, around West View and Larkholme. Additionally, there are two Roman Catholic primary schools: St Mary’s, founded in 1870, which serves the northern part of the town, and St Wulstan’s and St Edmund's, serving the southern part of the town and formed in 2006 from a merger of two existing schools.
The town is also home to a large public library, which as well as lending print and audio-visual material also has an extensive reference and local studies collection.
Cultural references
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.Fleetwood is the setting for Juliet McKoen's ghost story/murder mystery film Frozen (2005) starring Ralph Little, which was filmed in and around the town .
Bell Bottom George, a 1944 film starring comedian, musician and actor George Formby, was filmed in Fleetwood, despite being set in and around naval bases along England's south coast. The North Euston Hotel, Lower and Pharos lighthouses, the Mount and the Mount Hotel can all be seen during the film's finale, filmed just off Fleetwood Beach.
Fleetwood was mentioned as a holiday destination in Charles Kingsley's classic novel 'The Water-Babies' published in 1863
Fleetwood has been the scene for many TV programs and dramas, including The Man from the Pru (starring Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
), Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
's GBH, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's All Quiet on the Preston Front
All Quiet on the Preston Front
All Quiet on the Preston Front was a BBC comedy drama about a group of friends in the fictional Lancashire town of Roker Bridge, and their links to the local Territorial Army infantry platoon. It was created by Tim Firth.-Episodes:Three series were made...
and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is a genteel British crime–comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One. The series starred Patricia Routledge as the title character , Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger Geoffrey Shawcross...
.
Notable people
- William Allen - English Catholic priest and cardinalCardinal (Catholicism)A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
. - Alfie BoeAlfie BoeAlfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, known professionally initially as Alf or Alfred Boe and now as Alfie Boe, , is an English tenor.-Background:...
- OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
. - Stuart ChatwoodStuart ChatwoodStuart Chatwood, is a Canadian musician, best known as the bass guitar and keyboard player for the rock band The Tea Party. The Tea Party are known for fusing together musical styles of both the Eastern and Western worlds, in what they call "Moroccan roll"...
- The Tea PartyThe Tea PartyThe Tea Party is a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock, Indian and Middle Eastern influences, dubbed "Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s up until 2005 when the band broke up, The Tea Party released eight albums on EMI Music Canada, selling 1.6 million records...
bass player and videogame soundtrack composer. - Jane CouchJane CouchJane Couch, MBE became the first officially licensed British female boxer in 1998. In a 14-year professional career, she won five world titles and announced her retirement from boxing on 1 December 2008...
- former Women's International Boxing FederationWomen's International Boxing FederationThe WIBF is, along with the WIBA, IWBF and others, one of the more recognized world championship fight sanctioning organizations in women's boxing. The organization is based in Miami, Florida, and is not associated with male boxing's IBF.The WIBF was formed in the middle 1990s. It is presided by...
welterweightWelterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
champion. - Kelsey-Beth CrossleyKelsey-Beth CrossleyKelsey-Beth Crossley is an English actress from Fleetwood, Lancashire, who plays the part of Scarlett Nicholls, the secret teenage daughter of deceased millionaire Tom King and Carrie Nicholls on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale...
- EmmerdaleEmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
actress. - John Robb - musician and writer, noted for his work in the MadchesterMadchesterMadchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
era - Peter Hesketh-FleetwoodPeter Hesketh-FleetwoodSir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, 1st Baronet, was an English landowner, developer and Member of Parliament, who founded the town of Fleetwood, in Lancashire, England. Born Peter Hesketh, he changed his name by Royal assent to Hesketh-Fleetwood, incorporating the name of his ancestors, and was later...
- landownerLanded gentryLanded gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
, developer and Member of Parliament, best known as the founder of Fleetwood. - Percy C. MatherPercy C. MatherPercy Cunningham Mather was a pioneer British Protestant Christian missionary to China, the second China Inland Mission missionary to Xinjiang....
- pioneer English Protestant Christian missionary to China, the second China Inland MissionChina Inland MissionOMF International is an interdenominational Protestant Christian missionary society, founded in Britain by Hudson Taylor on 25 June 1865.-Overview:...
missionary to XinjiangXinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
Province. - Wes NewtonWes NewtonWesley "Wes" Newton is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments.-Darts career:...
- ProfessionalProfessionalA professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
DartsDartsDarts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player, born in Blackpool, now resides in Fleetwood. - Charles Kay OgdenCharles Kay OgdenCharles Kay Ogden was an English linguist, philosopher, and writer. Described as a polymath but also an eccentric and outsider, he took part in many ventures related to literature, politics, the arts and philosophy, having a broad impact particularly as an editor, translator, and activist on...
- English linguist, philosopher, and writerWriterA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Inventor and propagator of Basic EnglishBasic EnglishBasic English, also known as Simple English, is an English-based controlled language created by linguist and philosopher Charles Kay Ogden as an international auxiliary language, and as an aid for teaching English as a Second Language...
. - Jean RigbyJean RigbyJean Rigby , is an English opera and concert singer. A mezzo-soprano, she is a long-time principal with the English National Opera....
- OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. - Billy RonsonBilly RonsonWilliam "Billy" Ronson is a retired English footballer who spent twelve seasons in the English leagues, one in the North American Soccer League, six in the Major Indoor Soccer League and another seven years in a variety of lower division indoor and outdoor leagues in the United States...
- former professional footballer. - Frank Searle - Loch Ness photo hoaxer.
- George Smith - former professional footballer for Manchester City.
- Harry StirzakerHarry StirzakerHenry "Harry" Stirzaker was an English professional footballer. He played as a defender and spent his entire professional career with Blackpool....
- former professional footballer for Blackpool. - Syd LittleSyd LittleSyd Little is an English comedian and straight man in the double act Little and Large, with Eddie Large....
- part of comedy duo Little and Large along with Eddie LargeEddie LargeEddie Large is the stage name of Edward Hugh McGinnis, a British comedian. He is best known as a partner in the double act Little and Large, with Syd Little.... - Billy PorterBilly Porter (footballer)Billy Porter was an English footballer. His regular position was at full back. He was born in Fleetwood, Lancashire. He played for Windsor Villa, Fleetwood Town, Oldham Athletic, Manchester United and Hyde United, as well as guesting for several teams during the Second World War.-External links:*...
- football fullback for Windsor Villa, Fleetwood TownFleetwood Town F.C.Fleetwood Town F.C. is an English football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire. They currently play in the Conference National having been defeated in the Conference National play-off semi-final by AFC Wimbledon in the 2010–11 season.-History:...
, Oldham AthleticOldham Athletic A.F.C.Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
, Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Hyde United