Fleetwood Museum
Encyclopedia
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 Decimus Burton
. The building is now a maritime museum. It has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage
.
who employed Decimus Burton
to lay out the town and design many of the buildings. Hesketh-Fleetwood intended his town to be a major port and Burton designed the Customs House as one of the first buildings, completed in 1836. In 1876 it became the private residence of Alexander Carson, who extended the building to the north, and named it "Wyre Holm"; the customs offices were transferred to another building on the same terrace. The building became Fleetwood's Town Hall in 1889. For a short time, it was occupied by a private school and in 1992, it became Fleetwood Museum.
On 31 March 1978, English Heritage
designated the building a Grade II listed building. The Grade II designation—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".
, rendered
with roughcast lime plaster
. The front façade has eight ranges of sash window
s. The building is accessed from the front through two portico
s. Both entrances are at the top of stone staircases and flanked by column
s—the south entrance by round Doric
columns and the north entrance by square columns. Between the two staircases there are iron railings with spear-shaped finial
s.
At the roof line there is a parapet
with ornamental iron decoration and corner finial
s. Below the parapet there is a blocking course
and a moulded cornice
.
Fleetwood
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...
, 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...
. 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 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...
. The building is now a maritime museum. It has been designated a Grade II listed building by 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...
.
History
Fleetwood was planned by local landowner Peter Hesketh-FleetwoodPeter Hesketh-Fleetwood
Sir 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...
who employed 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...
to lay out the town and design many of the buildings. Hesketh-Fleetwood intended his town to be a major port and Burton designed the Customs House as one of the first buildings, completed in 1836. In 1876 it became the private residence of Alexander Carson, who extended the building to the north, and named it "Wyre Holm"; the customs offices were transferred to another building on the same terrace. The building became Fleetwood's Town Hall in 1889. For a short time, it was occupied by a private school and in 1992, it became Fleetwood Museum.
On 31 March 1978, 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...
designated the building a Grade II listed building. The Grade II designation—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest".
Architecture
Fleetwood Museum is on two storeys. It is built of sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, rendered
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
with roughcast lime plaster
Lime plaster
Lime plaster is type of plaster composed of hydrated lime, sand and water. Lime plaster is similar to Lime mortar, the main difference is the based on use rather than composition. Traditional lime plaster contains also horse hair to reinforce plaster....
. The front façade has eight ranges of sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s. The building is accessed from the front through two portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
s. Both entrances are at the top of stone staircases and flanked by column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s—the south entrance by round Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns and the north entrance by square columns. Between the two staircases there are iron railings with spear-shaped finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s.
At the roof line there is a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with ornamental iron decoration and corner finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s. Below the parapet there is a blocking course
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
and a moulded cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
.