Lytham St Annes
Encyclopedia
Lytham St Annes is a conurbation in the Fylde district of Lancashire
, England. The neighbouring towns of Lytham and St-Anne's-on-the-Sea (or St-Anne's-on-Sea, but nearly always abbreviated to St Annes) have grown together and now form a seaside resort
. The towns are situated on the Fylde coast
, south of Blackpool
at the point where the coastline turns east to form the estuary of the River Ribble
leading inland to Preston. St Annes is situated on the northern side of the turning and, like Blackpool
, overlooks the Irish Sea, whereas Lytham is on the eastern side and overlooks the Ribble Estuary.
Lytham St Annes is internationally renowned for golf
and has four courses
and links
, the most notable being the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
, one of the host courses for the Open Championship
, also known as the "British Open", which has been a competition course since first hosting the Open in 1926. Approximately once every ten years, the coming of The Open—a major sporting event—brings a major influx of visitors, including the world's media, into a fairly peaceful community. Other significant local events include the annual St Annes Carnival and Lytham Club Day, both of which include a procession of decorated floats, the crowning of a carnival queen and a funfair.
Like similar seaside resorts, St Annes in particular is a popular place to retire to, which has resulted in the average age of the population being higher than the national average. There are a considerable number of nursing and retirement homes, many located in former large family homes along Clifton Drive, one of the main roads linking Lytham and St Annes. Many other large Victorian
and Edwardian
residences have been converted to apartments.
Lytham St Annes is considered to be a wealthy area with residents' earnings amongst the highest in Lancashire. It is popular with engineers and scientists from the nearby BAE Systems
site in Warton
, which provides some highly paid jobs that underpin the local economy.
Lytham was founded in about 600 AD. For many centuries the economy of Lytham was dependent on fishing
and shrimping, until the advent of tourism and seaside health cures. After the start of the Industrial Revolution
, wealthy industrialists moved from the east of the county.
Lytham's tree-lined streets are flanked by small shops, of which many are still family businesses. The town is nicknamed "Leafy Lytham" because of the large number of mature trees along many of the town's streets.
Notable Lytham landmarks include the Green, a strip of grass running between the shore and the main road; the recently restored Windmill
and Old Lifeboat
House Museum are to be found here. The Green overlooks the estuary of the River Ribble
and the Welsh
mountains. The centre of Lytham contains many notable buildings including Lytham public library, railway station
, market hall and "The County" and "The Ship and Royal" public houses. Some of the oldest buildings are found in Henry Street and Dicconson Terrace. Henry Street is also the location of the Taps public house, which is one of the most popuar real ale establishments on the Fylde
and which has won an award every year since the present proprietors arrived in 1991.
Until the middle of the 20th century the Clifton family was the leading family in Lytham and two of the town's main thoroughfares are named in their honour. Their estate on the outskirts of Lytham and Ansdell originally occupied a huge area. Lytham Hall
, the family seat, remained in the family's ownership until 1979, after which ownership passed to a number of corporate bodies. The grounds of the Hall are occasionally opened to the public for open-air concerts and plays. Several of the ornate gates to the estate and much of the distinctive pebble-dashed boundary wall survive.
The parish church
for Lytham is St Cuthbert's Church
located on Church Road overlooking the Lytham YMCA Football ground and the Ribble Estuary.
St Anne's-on-the-Sea (also known as St Annes-on-Sea or St Annes) was a 19th-century planned town, officially founded on 31 March 1875 when the cornerstone of the St Anne's Hotel was laid. The town was mostly laid out according to a plan drawn up by businessman Elijah Hargreaves, who saw the economic benefits of attracting large numbers of visitors from the mill town
s to the east. It retains much of its original character today, and is fighting hard to become a stylish town to rival Lytham, its nearby neighbour. It is a traditional quiet Victorian
/ Edwardian seaside resort
with up-market hotel
s, a sandy beach
, donkey
s, a small pier
and ice cream
stalls. Sand dunes fringe the beach and the town has an excellent, but little-known sand dune nature reserve and very good floral displays.
St Annes is the original home of Premium Bonds and their prize-selecting computer ERNIE
, which were situated on a site between Shepherd Road and Heyhouses Lane. Premium Bonds operated from there for more than 40 years and then moved to Blackpool
.The shopping area declined towards the end of the 20th century and was redeveloped in an attempt to attract more retailers and shoppers. As part of this project a restaurant quarter was established, centred around Wood Street.
Work has also begun on a £2m restoration project in Ashton Gardens, a park situated near the town centre. As this is where many of the activities for St Annes Carnival are held, the 2009 carnival was cancelled and the 2009 carnival queen's title was extended by a year.
The beach to the north of St Anne's Pier
was an internationally renowned sand yachting location for many years, but sand yachting has been suspended since 2002, when a visitor to the beach died after being hit by a sand yacht. St Annes Beach also hosts a number of kite flying events each year. In 2006 kite enthusiasts raised concerns about the future of these activities following a decision by Fylde Borough Council in 2006 to ban the flying of kites with two or more lines anywhere in the Fylde. Following representations from kite-fliers and completion of a risk assessment, the council rescinded the ban on condition that kite fliers remain at least 50m from the sand dunes.
A memorial statue of a lifeboatman looking out to sea was placed on the promenade at St Annes after the Mexico Disaster
of 1886. The original lifeboat station was established in 1881 but closed in 1925 due to silting of the channel (a secondary channel of the Ribble that ran past the pier). A lifeboat continued to operate from Lytham, but the main channel of the River Ribble
also became silted up, so the lifeboat was moved to a new all-weather RNLI base a few hundred metres south of St Annes pier which opened in 2000.
St Annes' Library and Information Service is situated just outside of the town centre in an Edwardian, Carnegie
-funded building.
There is some confusion, even among residents of the town, about whether the correct name is "St Annes" or "St Anne's". The apostrophe has been dropped from the name by many of the residents of the town and has long been absent in many formal uses, such as local newspaper the Lytham St Annes Express
, St Annes Parish Church, and Lytham St. Annes High Technology College
, although the spelling St. Anne's is still sometimes used.
On 23 October 2008 a bronze statue by sculptor Graham Ibbeson of the late comedian Les Dawson
, who lived in the town, was unveiled by Dawson's widow and daughter in the ornamental gardens next to St Annes Pier. The late comedian George Formby, Jr. also lived in the town.
(shared with Fairhaven), the "Ansdell Institute" club and a public library. It is famous because of Richard Ansdell
RA, an artist who lived in the area and painted a large number of oils depicting hunting scenes. In fact, Ansdell enjoys the distinction of being the only place in England to be named after an artist.
Ansdell hosts the largest school in Lancashire, Lytham St. Annes High Technology College
, with over 2000 students, a dedicated technology and IT department, and an integrated A-Level College. Ansdell also encompasses the southern end of Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
. Ansdell is also the home of Fylde Rugby Club
, established in May 1920, later to be closed during the war effort, and re-opened in 1946. FRC has reared many eminent players, notably Malcolm Phillips (a former President of the club) who earned 25 England caps, and Bill Beaumont
who earned 34 caps before retiring in 1982.
, which is of unusual design, being built in Byzantine
style and faced with glazed white tiles, and commonly known as the White Church. Fairhaven also contains King Edward VII and Queen Mary School
.
The sands and tidal mudflats of the area (the mouth of the River Ribble
) are an important feeding area for wintering wader
s and the RSPB operate a visitor centre from Fairhaven Lake to provide information and guided walks.
, and scattered hamlets have existed there ever since, including a village called Kilgrimol or Kilgrimhow, which is believed to have been founded in around 900 AD by Vikings expelled from Dublin. The area including the Fylde
was known in Anglo-Saxon
and medieval times as Amounderness
. Lytham is mentioned in the Domesday Book
as Lidun, and in 1199 Richard Fitzroger gave his Lytham estates (then known as Lethun) to the Benedictine
monks of Durham
. The monks established a priory
(although it was really too small to be called that as it comprised three or four monks only) on the site of the present Lytham Hall. The Priory existed until 1539; in 1540 the monastery at Durham
was dissolved and the Crown became the lord of the manor.
The manor of Lytham passed through several owners until in 1606 it was sold to Cuthbert Clifton for £4300. Clifton enlarged the manor house and made it the family seat. The house was replaced in 1757 with the present Lytham Hall
, designed by architect John Carr of York
. At this time St Annes did not exist, but Lytham was large enough to be called a town—it had a promenade of sorts and had a reputation as a resort.
Northwards along the coast from Lytham, within the Clifton estates, were mostly sand dunes. The only habitations were the tiny hamlet of Heyhouses and the rural Trawl Boat Inn (a name resurrected in recent times for a public house in Wood Street in St Annes, opened by Wetherspoons
). In 1873 the Cliftons built a chapel of ease
dedicated to St Anne in this area, to encourage better religious observance, as most inhabitants found the long journey to St Cuthbert's in Lytham too onerous. This became the parish church of St. Anne's. At the time it was built the church had no tower.
On 14 October 1874 the St Anne's-on-the-Sea Land and Building Company Ltd was registered, mainly at the instigation of Elijah Hargreaves, a wealthy Lancashire mill owner from Rawtenstall
whose intention was to develop the area as a resort. The land of St Annes was leased from the Clifton estate for 999 years, although the lease still gave the Cliftons the right to kill game
on the land for this period. Building rapidly commenced with the St Anne's Hotel (built in 1875, since demolished), the Hydro Terrace, which later became St Annes Square, and the railway station being among the first buildings.
A separate company was formed to finance the construction of the pier
, which was opened on 15 June 1885. At that time the main channel of the River Ribble
ran by the end of the pier, and boats would bring people in from Lytham and Southport
. The Ribble Navigation Act of 1883, which came into force in 1889, was intended to stabilise the often silted River Ribble to allow a steady trade into Preston docks
. However, this work moved the main channel much further out and left St Annes Pier on flat sandbanks, where no ships could dock. In June 1910 the Floral Hall was opened at the end of the pier. It was a popular attraction and stars including Gracie Fields
, Leslie Henson
and Claude Hulbert
all performed there. In 1974 a major fire seriously damaged the hall. It was restored to some extent, but another fire in July 1982 destroyed it. About half the pier was then demolished to make the beach safe to use.
, St Annes station
and Ansdell & Fairhaven station
all lie on the Blackpool South
to Preston
branch of the Blackpool Branch Lines.Prior to the closure of Blackpool Central in 1964 the Coast Road, as it was known, was the main line into Blackpool. It has been reported that Central station in Blackpool could handle with ease one million people, in and out, in one day. Today the line is truncated at South station and the branch is operated euphemistically as "one engine in steam" but in actual fact is just a long siding from Kirkham.
Previously there were stations in Station Road, Lytham
(1846–1874) and at near the Old Links Golf Course, St Annes (1913–1949).
was accepted, and the pool re-opened on September 1, 2010.
A campaign against the planned closure of Warton Street Post Office, serving the eastern end of Lytham, met with more immediate success. In March 2008, the post office was removed from the national list of post offices scheduled for closure.
issue in Lytham St Annes concerned property development. No more greenfield sites were available and developers were seeking to replace existing buildings or to build on open spaces such as Ashton Gardens in St Annes. Many historic building
s had been demolished and replaced with larger modern constructions of standard design as can be found in many other places. For example the art deco
former headquarters of the Football League was demolished and replaced with a block of flats. Fylde Rugby Club's ground and other open spaces have been built on.
In 2005 a property development company submitted a proposal for a 2,800 apartment development called Lytham Quays to be built on industrial brownfield sites in the east of Lytham; the proposal was rejected by the council's development control committee after 98.4% of the population voted against the development in a poll organised by the local press. In spite of this, the developer, Kensington Developments, still claimed in a 2008 article in the Daily Telegraph that "In truth, the majority of people were for it". The "Defend Lytham" pressure group opposed the development. Objections included predictions of a loss of industrial land
, increases in traffic congestion
, and increased demands on local school
s and health services. Environmental
objections were also raised, given that the site is in an area prone to flood
ing and next to an important wildfowl habitat
. The developers submitted a substantially smaller proposal for 260 dwellings which was approved in May 2006, and construction started.
In St Annes another group of developers succeeded in gaining planning permission
to build a block of flats on the site of a derelict children's home in the sand dunes to the north of St Annes. This plan was resisted by local campaigners, as a result of which the council initially refused planning permission, but their decision was overturned on appeal to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
, and building work was nearing completion by late 2007.
, mainly as a feeding ground for wader
s during winter and spring. There are flocks of thousands of red knot
s, dunlin
s, sanderling
s, bar-tailed godwit
s and other waders; over 100,000 birds winter there. Flocks of pink-footed geese
are commonly seen in winter as they fly over St Annes between their feeding grounds around Southport
and Over-Wyre
. Many pintail
s and other duck
s feed and rest in the estuary.
There are 80ha of sand dune habitat on the coast of Lytham St Annes which is home to a wide variety of rare and interesting plants and wildlife communities. The Lytham St Annes Nature Reserve has around 250 different plant species include internationally rare plants not found outside the UK. Common Lizards are found across the dune system and it is an important habitat for various breeding birds including stonechat, skylark
, linnet
and reed bunting
. The Grayling
butterfly, which is a coastal specialist, is also found on the dunes.
, the Open Championship
and the Dunlop Cup. The clubhouse is situated on Links Gate and the course runs southwards as far as Ansdell, adjacent to the railway line.
Lytham Green Drive Golf Club was founded in 1913 and registered as "Lytham Golf Club Ltd.", opened with a match on Saturday 3 May, between the Captain, Mr. James Wallace and the President and Landlord, Mr. J. T. Clifton, which was played over 9 holes. The course became 18 holes in early 1914. It hosted qualifying for Open Championship
in 1974, 1979 and 1988. The clubhouse is situated on Ballam Road, a little over half a mile from the centre of Lytham. The course runs adjacent to the scenic walk of Green Drive.
There are two other golf clubs in the area, which have all hosted qualifying for The Open Championship. They are Fairhaven Golf Club and perhaps the most well known, St Annes Old Links Golf Club, which has also hosted many other top events in the golfing calendar. The Old Links course runs northwards from Highbury Road on the landward side of the railway line.
Fylde Rugby Club
, who compete in National Division Three North, play at the Woodlands Memorial Ground
, which is shared with Blackpool Rugby League Club
, who compete in National League Two
. Amongst their notable players are two British and Irish Lions
, Bill Beaumont
and Brian Ashton.
The headquarters of the English Football League
were re-located to the former Sandown Hotel in Clifton Drive in St Annes in 1959, having previously been situated in Preston, Lancashire, where they are now once again.
St Annes Cricket Club are based at Vernon Road, St Annes. England and Lancashire
cricket
er Andrew Flintoff
played for St Annes, starting as a 12 year old in 1989.
Lytham Cricket and Sports Club is based in Church Road, Lytham. It is the home of Lytham St Annes Hockey Club
and also provides facilities for cricket, tennis and football.
Fylde Triathlon Club was formed following the success of the annual St Annes Triathlon that is held in May at St Annes Swimming pool. In 2009 the club is also organising a triathlon in Fleetwood
.
There have been a number of recent reorganisations and creation of new premises for delivery of general practice in the area.
General Practice in Lytham is delivered from a health centre opened in 2009 called the Lytham Primary Care Centre. This building is on the site of the original Lytham Hospital
. Two practices are located in this building
Secondary care is mainly delivered by the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The local hospital included in the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust include
The information in this section about the Church of England and Roman Catholic churches is mainly from Pevsner (1969).
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. The neighbouring towns of Lytham and St-Anne's-on-the-Sea (or St-Anne's-on-Sea, but nearly always abbreviated to St Annes) have grown together and now form 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 :...
. The towns are situated on the Fylde coast
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...
, south 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...
at the point where the coastline turns east to form the estuary of the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
leading inland to Preston. St Annes is situated on the northern side of the turning and, like 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...
, overlooks the Irish Sea, whereas Lytham is on the eastern side and overlooks the Ribble Estuary.
Lytham St Annes is internationally renowned for golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and has four courses
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...
and links
Links (golf)
A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect...
, the most notable being the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course four times: once prior to being designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour, and three times since.The...
, one of the host courses for the Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
, also known as the "British Open", which has been a competition course since first hosting the Open in 1926. Approximately once every ten years, the coming of The Open—a major sporting event—brings a major influx of visitors, including the world's media, into a fairly peaceful community. Other significant local events include the annual St Annes Carnival and Lytham Club Day, both of which include a procession of decorated floats, the crowning of a carnival queen and a funfair.
Like similar seaside resorts, St Annes in particular is a popular place to retire to, which has resulted in the average age of the population being higher than the national average. There are a considerable number of nursing and retirement homes, many located in former large family homes along Clifton Drive, one of the main roads linking Lytham and St Annes. Many other large Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Edwardian
Edwardian architecture
Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914....
residences have been converted to apartments.
Lytham St Annes is considered to be a wealthy area with residents' earnings amongst the highest in Lancashire. It is popular with engineers and scientists from the nearby BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
site in Warton
Warton Aerodrome
Warton Aerodrome is located near to Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is west of Preston, Lancashire, UK.Today the airfield is a major assembly and testing facility of BAE Systems Military Air Solutions....
, which provides some highly paid jobs that underpin the local economy.
Lytham
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and shrimping, until the advent of tourism and seaside health cures. After the start of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, wealthy industrialists moved from the east of the county.
Lytham's tree-lined streets are flanked by small shops, of which many are still family businesses. The town is nicknamed "Leafy Lytham" because of the large number of mature trees along many of the town's streets.
Notable Lytham landmarks include the Green, a strip of grass running between the shore and the main road; the recently restored Windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
and Old Lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
House Museum are to be found here. The Green overlooks the estuary of the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
and the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
mountains. The centre of Lytham contains many notable buildings including Lytham public library, railway station
Lytham railway station
Lytham railway station is on the Blackpool South to Preston railway line, in Lancashire, England.The conurbation of Lytham St Annes is served by three stations: Lytham, and St Annes...
, market hall and "The County" and "The Ship and Royal" public houses. Some of the oldest buildings are found in Henry Street and Dicconson Terrace. Henry Street is also the location of the Taps public house, which is one of the most popuar real ale establishments on 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...
and which has won an award every year since the present proprietors arrived in 1991.
Until the middle of the 20th century the Clifton family was the leading family in Lytham and two of the town's main thoroughfares are named in their honour. Their estate on the outskirts of Lytham and Ansdell originally occupied a huge area. Lytham Hall
Lytham Hall
Lytham Hall is an 18th century English manor house in the seaside town of Lytham, Lancashire. It has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage.-History and assessment:...
, the family seat, remained in the family's ownership until 1979, after which ownership passed to a number of corporate bodies. The grounds of the Hall are occasionally opened to the public for open-air concerts and plays. Several of the ornate gates to the estate and much of the distinctive pebble-dashed boundary wall survive.
The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
for Lytham is St Cuthbert's Church
St Cuthbert's Church, Lytham
St Cuthbert's is an Anglican church in Lytham, Lancashire, England. It was built 1834–1835, replacing a previous church on the same site. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn. It has been designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage.-History:The current church is...
located on Church Road overlooking the Lytham YMCA Football ground and the Ribble Estuary.
St Annes
Mill town
A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories .- United Kingdom:...
s to the east. It retains much of its original character today, and is fighting hard to become a stylish town to rival Lytham, its nearby neighbour. It is a traditional quiet Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
/ Edwardian 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 :...
with up-market hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, a sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
, donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
s, a small 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...
and ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
stalls. Sand dunes fringe the beach and the town has an excellent, but little-known sand dune nature reserve and very good floral displays.
St Annes is the original home of Premium Bonds and their prize-selecting computer ERNIE
Ernie
Ernie is a fictional character, a Muppet on the Public Broadcasting Service's long-running children's television show, Sesame Street. He and his roommate Bert form a comic duo that is one of the program's centerpieces, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve troublemaker and Bert the world-weary foil...
, which were situated on a site between Shepherd Road and Heyhouses Lane. Premium Bonds operated from there for more than 40 years and then moved to 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...
.The shopping area declined towards the end of the 20th century and was redeveloped in an attempt to attract more retailers and shoppers. As part of this project a restaurant quarter was established, centred around Wood Street.
Work has also begun on a £2m restoration project in Ashton Gardens, a park situated near the town centre. As this is where many of the activities for St Annes Carnival are held, the 2009 carnival was cancelled and the 2009 carnival queen's title was extended by a year.
The beach to the north of St Anne's Pier
St Anne's Pier
St Anne's Pier is a Victorian era pleasure pier in the English seaside resort of St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Lancashire. It lies on the estuary of the River Ribble. The pier, designed by A. Dowson, was completed in 1885 and was one of the earliest public buildings in St Anne's, a 19th-century planned town...
was an internationally renowned sand yachting location for many years, but sand yachting has been suspended since 2002, when a visitor to the beach died after being hit by a sand yacht. St Annes Beach also hosts a number of kite flying events each year. In 2006 kite enthusiasts raised concerns about the future of these activities following a decision by Fylde Borough Council in 2006 to ban the flying of kites with two or more lines anywhere in the Fylde. Following representations from kite-fliers and completion of a risk assessment, the council rescinded the ban on condition that kite fliers remain at least 50m from the sand dunes.
A memorial statue of a lifeboatman looking out to sea was placed on the promenade at St Annes after the Mexico Disaster
Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster
On the 9 December 1886 the Mexico, a Hamburg-registered barque bound for Guayaquil from Liverpool went aground near Southport, in a full west north westerly gale....
of 1886. The original lifeboat station was established in 1881 but closed in 1925 due to silting of the channel (a secondary channel of the Ribble that ran past the pier). A lifeboat continued to operate from Lytham, but the main channel of the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
also became silted up, so the lifeboat was moved to a new all-weather RNLI base a few hundred metres south of St Annes pier which opened in 2000.
St Annes' Library and Information Service is situated just outside of the town centre in an Edwardian, Carnegie
Carnegie
Carnegie may refer to:*Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, for whom many entries on this page are named*Dale Carnegie, motivational speaker and author*David Carnegie , Scottish-Swedish industrialist...
-funded building.
There is some confusion, even among residents of the town, about whether the correct name is "St Annes" or "St Anne's". The apostrophe has been dropped from the name by many of the residents of the town and has long been absent in many formal uses, such as local newspaper the Lytham St Annes Express
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...
, St Annes Parish Church, and Lytham St. Annes High Technology College
Lytham St. Annes High Technology College
LSA Technology and Performing Arts College is a community school maintained by Lancashire County Education Authority. It is an 11 –18 Comprehensive and 6 Form offering seven years of successful education. As one of the largest schools in Lancashire they offer a wide range of curricular &...
, although the spelling St. Anne's is still sometimes used.
On 23 October 2008 a bronze statue by sculptor Graham Ibbeson of the late comedian Les Dawson
Les Dawson
Leslie "Les" Dawson was a popular English comedian remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.-Life and career:...
, who lived in the town, was unveiled by Dawson's widow and daughter in the ornamental gardens next to St Annes Pier. The late comedian George Formby, Jr. also lived in the town.
Ansdell
Ansdell is a small village between Lytham and St Annes, on the landward side of the railway line. It has its own railway stationAnsdell and Fairhaven railway station
Ansdell and Fairhaven railway station is on the Blackpool South to Preston railway line in Lancashire, England. In the past, it has also been known as Ansdell Station, Ansdell’s Gate station, and Ansdell’s Halt....
(shared with Fairhaven), the "Ansdell Institute" club and a public library. It is famous because of Richard Ansdell
Richard Ansdell
Richard Ansdell was an English oil painter of animals and genre scenes. He was also an engraver.-Life:Ansdell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of Thomas Griffiths Ansdell, a freeman who worked at the port, and Anne Jackson. His father died young and Richard was educated at the Bluecoat...
RA, an artist who lived in the area and painted a large number of oils depicting hunting scenes. In fact, Ansdell enjoys the distinction of being the only place in England to be named after an artist.
Ansdell hosts the largest school in Lancashire, Lytham St. Annes High Technology College
Lytham St. Annes High Technology College
LSA Technology and Performing Arts College is a community school maintained by Lancashire County Education Authority. It is an 11 –18 Comprehensive and 6 Form offering seven years of successful education. As one of the largest schools in Lancashire they offer a wide range of curricular &...
, with over 2000 students, a dedicated technology and IT department, and an integrated A-Level College. Ansdell also encompasses the southern end of Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England, is one of the courses in the Open Championship rotation. The Women's British Open has also been played on the course four times: once prior to being designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour, and three times since.The...
. Ansdell is also the home of Fylde Rugby Club
Fylde Rugby Club
Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. Its home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell...
, established in May 1920, later to be closed during the war effort, and re-opened in 1946. FRC has reared many eminent players, notably Malcolm Phillips (a former President of the club) who earned 25 England caps, and Bill Beaumont
Bill Beaumont
William "Bill" Blackledge Beaumont CBE was captain of the England rugby union team at a time when they struggled to win games. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980 Grand Slam. He played as a lock...
who earned 34 caps before retiring in 1982.
Fairhaven
Fairhaven is the district between Lytham and St Annes on the coastal side of the railway line. It is named after Thomas Fair, an early resident of Lytham St Annes. Its main claim to fame is an artificial lake, known as Fairhaven Lake or more formally as the Ashton Marine Park, which is an important wildfowl habitat. Its other famous landmark is the Fairhaven United Reformed ChurchUnited Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
, which is of unusual design, being built in Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
style and faced with glazed white tiles, and commonly known as the White Church. Fairhaven also contains King Edward VII and Queen Mary School
King Edward VII and Queen Mary School
King Edward VII and Queen Mary School is an HMC Independent Co-educational school in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, England.The Lytham Schools Foundation was established in 1719 after a flood disaster in the town. In 1908, one hundred and eighty-nine years after the Foundation's initial formation,...
.
The sands and tidal mudflats of the area (the mouth of the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
) are an important feeding area for wintering wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s and the RSPB operate a visitor centre from Fairhaven Lake to provide information and guided walks.
History
The area is known to have been populated during the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, and scattered hamlets have existed there ever since, including a village called Kilgrimol or Kilgrimhow, which is believed to have been founded in around 900 AD by Vikings expelled from Dublin. The area including 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...
was known in Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
and medieval times as 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:...
. Lytham is mentioned in 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...
as Lidun, and in 1199 Richard Fitzroger gave his Lytham estates (then known as Lethun) to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
. The monks established a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
(although it was really too small to be called that as it comprised three or four monks only) on the site of the present Lytham Hall. The Priory existed until 1539; in 1540 the monastery at Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
was dissolved and the Crown became the lord of the manor.
The manor of Lytham passed through several owners until in 1606 it was sold to Cuthbert Clifton for £4300. Clifton enlarged the manor house and made it the family seat. The house was replaced in 1757 with the present Lytham Hall
Lytham Hall
Lytham Hall is an 18th century English manor house in the seaside town of Lytham, Lancashire. It has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage.-History and assessment:...
, designed by architect John Carr of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. At this time St Annes did not exist, but Lytham was large enough to be called a town—it had a promenade of sorts and had a reputation as a resort.
Northwards along the coast from Lytham, within the Clifton estates, were mostly sand dunes. The only habitations were the tiny hamlet of Heyhouses and the rural Trawl Boat Inn (a name resurrected in recent times for a public house in Wood Street in St Annes, opened by Wetherspoons
Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon plc is a British pub chain based in Watford. Founded as a single pub in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company now owns 815 outlets. The chain champions cask ale, low prices, long opening hours, and no music. The company also operates the Lloyds No...
). In 1873 the Cliftons built a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
dedicated to St Anne in this area, to encourage better religious observance, as most inhabitants found the long journey to St Cuthbert's in Lytham too onerous. This became the parish church of St. Anne's. At the time it was built the church had no tower.
On 14 October 1874 the St Anne's-on-the-Sea Land and Building Company Ltd was registered, mainly at the instigation of Elijah Hargreaves, a wealthy Lancashire mill owner from Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
whose intention was to develop the area as a resort. The land of St Annes was leased from the Clifton estate for 999 years, although the lease still gave the Cliftons the right to kill game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
on the land for this period. Building rapidly commenced with the St Anne's Hotel (built in 1875, since demolished), the Hydro Terrace, which later became St Annes Square, and the railway station being among the first buildings.
A separate company was formed to finance the construction of the 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...
, which was opened on 15 June 1885. At that time the main channel of the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
ran by the end of the pier, and boats would bring people in from Lytham and Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
. The Ribble Navigation Act of 1883, which came into force in 1889, was intended to stabilise the often silted River Ribble to allow a steady trade into Preston docks
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
. However, this work moved the main channel much further out and left St Annes Pier on flat sandbanks, where no ships could dock. In June 1910 the Floral Hall was opened at the end of the pier. It was a popular attraction and stars including Gracie Fields
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...
, Leslie Henson
Leslie Henson
Leslie Lincoln Henson was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comedian who enjoyed a long stage career...
and Claude Hulbert
Claude Hulbert
Claude Noel Hulbert was a British comic actor. He was the younger brother of Jack Hulbert. Like his brother, he was Cambridge educated and was a member of the Footlights comedy club as an undergraduate....
all performed there. In 1974 a major fire seriously damaged the hall. It was restored to some extent, but another fire in July 1982 destroyed it. About half the pier was then demolished to make the beach safe to use.
Railway
Lytham stationLytham railway station
Lytham railway station is on the Blackpool South to Preston railway line, in Lancashire, England.The conurbation of Lytham St Annes is served by three stations: Lytham, and St Annes...
, St Annes station
St Annes-on-the-Sea railway station
St Annes-on-the-Sea railway station serves the town of St Annes-on-Sea in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Blackpool South to Preston railway line 3¼ miles south-southeast of Blackpool South....
and Ansdell & Fairhaven station
Ansdell and Fairhaven railway station
Ansdell and Fairhaven railway station is on the Blackpool South to Preston railway line in Lancashire, England. In the past, it has also been known as Ansdell Station, Ansdell’s Gate station, and Ansdell’s Halt....
all lie on the Blackpool South
Blackpool South railway station
Blackpool South railway station is a single platform stop at the end of the Fylde coast branch line from Kirkham, in Lancashire, England. It is unmanned and has an hourly service daily, except winter Sundays....
to Preston
Preston railway station
Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...
branch of the Blackpool Branch Lines.Prior to the closure of Blackpool Central in 1964 the Coast Road, as it was known, was the main line into Blackpool. It has been reported that Central station in Blackpool could handle with ease one million people, in and out, in one day. Today the line is truncated at South station and the branch is operated euphemistically as "one engine in steam" but in actual fact is just a long siding from Kirkham.
Previously there were stations in Station Road, Lytham
Lytham (Station Road) railway station
The original Lytham railway station was the Lytham terminus of a branch of the Preston and Wyre Joint Railway from Kirkham in Lancashire, England. It opened, along with the branch, on 16 February 1846; the road it was located in became known as Station Road. It was built in a Renaissance style from...
(1846–1874) and at near the Old Links Golf Course, St Annes (1913–1949).
Lowther Pavilion Lytham
In 2008 local residents became aware that Fylde Borough Council was struggling financially, and in particular was becoming unable to subsidise local amenities. The closure of St.Annes swimming pool demonstrated how serious the situation was. It was felt that a group needed to take immediate action if they wished to reduce the subsidy from the council and ensure that Lowther Pavilion, the only purpose-built theatre in the area, remained open. In November 2008 Friends of Lowther Pavilion was formed, with the stated purposes of reducing the subsidy required from the Council; securing the future of Lowther Pavilion, raising money for improvements, and ultimately generate profits; involving the local community in the running of the theatre and making it part of the town; and becoming the basis of a networking forum for the participating groups.Closure of public facilities
In 2008 Fylde Borough Council announced that the borough's two public swimming pools, in Kirkham and St Annes, would be closed. Public campaigns were started to oppose both closures. In April 2008 the council gave Kirkham Baths a one-year stay of execution, but St Annes swimming pool was closed. Supporters of the St Annes swimming pool have cited the lack of facilities for the town's children and young people, and the impact of the closure on the tourist industry. The discussion on St Annes pool continued; Fylde Council had called for bids from firms to run the pool, and had received "All the bids from those wanting to run the pool". The bid from Fylde Coast YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
was accepted, and the pool re-opened on September 1, 2010.
A campaign against the planned closure of Warton Street Post Office, serving the eastern end of Lytham, met with more immediate success. In March 2008, the post office was removed from the national list of post offices scheduled for closure.
Property developments
the most controversial politicalPolitics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
issue in Lytham St Annes concerned property development. No more greenfield sites were available and developers were seeking to replace existing buildings or to build on open spaces such as Ashton Gardens in St Annes. Many historic building
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
s had been demolished and replaced with larger modern constructions of standard design as can be found in many other places. For example the art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
former headquarters of the Football League was demolished and replaced with a block of flats. Fylde Rugby Club's ground and other open spaces have been built on.
In 2005 a property development company submitted a proposal for a 2,800 apartment development called Lytham Quays to be built on industrial brownfield sites in the east of Lytham; the proposal was rejected by the council's development control committee after 98.4% of the population voted against the development in a poll organised by the local press. In spite of this, the developer, Kensington Developments, still claimed in a 2008 article in the Daily Telegraph that "In truth, the majority of people were for it". The "Defend Lytham" pressure group opposed the development. Objections included predictions of a loss of industrial land
Brownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
, increases in traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
, and increased demands on local school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s and health services. Environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
objections were also raised, given that the site is in an area prone to flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing and next to an important wildfowl habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. The developers submitted a substantially smaller proposal for 260 dwellings which was approved in May 2006, and construction started.
In St Annes another group of developers succeeded in gaining planning permission
Town and country planning in the United Kingdom
Town and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...
to build a block of flats on the site of a derelict children's home in the sand dunes to the north of St Annes. This plan was resisted by local campaigners, as a result of which the council initially refused planning permission, but their decision was overturned on appeal to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
, and building work was nearing completion by late 2007.
Wildlife
The Ribble Estuary and sands of St Annes and Lytham are an Important Bird AreaImportant Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
, mainly as a feeding ground for wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s during winter and spring. There are flocks of thousands of red knot
Red Knot
The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...
s, dunlin
Dunlin
The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
s, sanderling
Sanderling
The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
s, bar-tailed godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
s and other waders; over 100,000 birds winter there. Flocks of pink-footed geese
Pink-footed Goose
The Pink-footed Goose is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark...
are commonly seen in winter as they fly over St Annes between their feeding grounds around Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
and Over-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...
. Many pintail
Northern Pintail
The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...
s and other duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s feed and rest in the estuary.
There are 80ha of sand dune habitat on the coast of Lytham St Annes which is home to a wide variety of rare and interesting plants and wildlife communities. The Lytham St Annes Nature Reserve has around 250 different plant species include internationally rare plants not found outside the UK. Common Lizards are found across the dune system and it is an important habitat for various breeding birds including stonechat, skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
, linnet
Linnet
The Linnet is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.The Linnet derives its scientific name from its fondness for hemp and its English name from its liking for seeds of flax, from which linen is made.- Description :...
and reed bunting
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
. The Grayling
Grayling (butterfly)
The Grayling is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. It sometimes occurs in coastal areas of northeast Scotland such as the Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve. It can also be found near the coast around England, such as Fire Beacon Hill...
butterfly, which is a coastal specialist, is also found on the dunes.
Sport
The Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club was founded in March 1886 and moved to its present site in 1926. Many world tournaments have been, and are, played there, including the Ryder CupRyder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
, the Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
and the Dunlop Cup. The clubhouse is situated on Links Gate and the course runs southwards as far as Ansdell, adjacent to the railway line.
Lytham Green Drive Golf Club was founded in 1913 and registered as "Lytham Golf Club Ltd.", opened with a match on Saturday 3 May, between the Captain, Mr. James Wallace and the President and Landlord, Mr. J. T. Clifton, which was played over 9 holes. The course became 18 holes in early 1914. It hosted qualifying for Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
in 1974, 1979 and 1988. The clubhouse is situated on Ballam Road, a little over half a mile from the centre of Lytham. The course runs adjacent to the scenic walk of Green Drive.
There are two other golf clubs in the area, which have all hosted qualifying for The Open Championship. They are Fairhaven Golf Club and perhaps the most well known, St Annes Old Links Golf Club, which has also hosted many other top events in the golfing calendar. The Old Links course runs northwards from Highbury Road on the landward side of the railway line.
Fylde Rugby Club
Fylde Rugby Club
Fylde Rugby Union Club is a rugby union club based in Lytham St Annes, on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. Its home venue is the Woodlands Memorial Ground on Blackpool Road in Ansdell...
, who compete in National Division Three North, play at the Woodlands Memorial Ground
Woodlands Memorial Ground
Woodlands Memorial Ground is a rugby stadium in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England. It is the home of Fylde Rugby Club and Blackpool Panthers between 2006 and 2010....
, which is shared with Blackpool Rugby League Club
Blackpool Panthers
Blackpool & The Fylde Panthers RLFC was an English professional rugby league club based in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. They played at Woodlands Memorial Ground owned by Fylde rugby union club...
, who compete in National League Two
Rugby League National Leagues
The Championship, known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group, is a professional rugby league competition based in the United Kingdom. It is currently contested by ten teams from England. It acts as Europe's second-tier competition below the Super League, and has...
. Amongst their notable players are two British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
, Bill Beaumont
Bill Beaumont
William "Bill" Blackledge Beaumont CBE was captain of the England rugby union team at a time when they struggled to win games. His greatest moment as captain was the unexpected 1980 Grand Slam. He played as a lock...
and Brian Ashton.
The headquarters of the English Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
were re-located to the former Sandown Hotel in Clifton Drive in St Annes in 1959, having previously been situated in Preston, Lancashire, where they are now once again.
St Annes Cricket Club are based at Vernon Road, St Annes. England and Lancashire
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
played for St Annes, starting as a 12 year old in 1989.
Lytham Cricket and Sports Club is based in Church Road, Lytham. It is the home of Lytham St Annes Hockey Club
Lytham St Annes Hockey Club
Lytham St Annes Hockey Club is based at Lytham Cricket and Sports Club on Church Rd, Lytham, Lancashire, England. It comprises 5 men's and 3 ladies' sides with the men's 1st XI competing in the North Hockey League Division 1 and the ladies' 1st XI competing in North Women's Hockey League Division 2...
and also provides facilities for cricket, tennis and football.
Fylde Triathlon Club was formed following the success of the annual St Annes Triathlon that is held in May at St Annes Swimming pool. In 2009 the club is also organising a triathlon in Fleetwood
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...
.
Festivals
Lytham Beer Festival has been held annually in September since 2007 and is organised by the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre branch of CAMRA. The festival offers a choice of around 90 real ales as well as a selection of ciders and foreign beers.Health care
Primary care is delivered by NHS North Lancashire Primary Care Trust.There have been a number of recent reorganisations and creation of new premises for delivery of general practice in the area.
General Practice in Lytham is delivered from a health centre opened in 2009 called the Lytham Primary Care Centre. This building is on the site of the original Lytham Hospital
Lytham Hospital
-Lytham Hospital 1871-1948:Lytham Hospital , instituted for the relief of the poor when suffering from sickness or accident, was first opened in 1871, funded by Colonel John Talbot Clifton, Squire of Lytham at an original cost of £1,200. The original building was a two storey structure with four...
. Two practices are located in this building
- Holland House Surgery
- Fernbank Surgery
Secondary care is mainly delivered by the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The local hospital included in the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust include
- Main acute hospital: Blackpool Victoria Hospital
- Two community hospitals – Clifton Hospital and FleetwoodFleetwoodFleetwood 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...
Hospital
- Three elderly rehabilitation hospitals – Wesham Hospital Rehabilitation Unit, Rossall Hospital Rehabilitation Unit and Bispham Hospital
- The National Artificial Eye Service
- Blenheim House Child Development Centre
Lytham
- Lytham Methodist Church, The Serpentine – opened in September 1868
- St Cuthbert's Church of England (CofE) Church, Church Road – the parish church, built in 1834.
- St John the Divine CofE Church, East Beach – built in 1848–49 by Edwin H Shellard.
- St Peter's Roman Catholic (RC) Church, Clifton Street – built in 1838, the tower was added in 1878.
- Lytham Christian Centre, Preston Road
- Lytham United Reformed Church Bannister Street – founded in 1863
St Annes
- Church Road Methodist Church, Church Road
- St Anne's ChurchSt Anne's Church, St Anne's-on-the-SeaSt Anne's Church is an Anglican church in St Anne's-on-the-Sea, a town on the Fylde coastal plain in Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster...
, Oxford Road – built in 1873 by Paley & Austin. The tower was added in 1887. - St Annes Baptist Church, St.Andrews Road South – opened on Christmas Day 1886.
- St Annes on Sea United Reformed Church, Clifton Drive – built by W.J. Porritt from 1880 onwards.
- St Annes Hebrew Congregation, Orchard Road
- Our Lady Star of the Sea RC Church, St Annes Road East – R.C., build 1890 by Pugin & Pugin.
- St Thomas' ChurchSt Thomas' Church, St Anne's-on-the-SeaSt Thomas' Church is an Anglican church in St Anne's-on-the-Sea, a town on the Fylde coastal plain in Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster...
, St Thomas Road – built in 1899 by Austin & Paley. - Fylde Christian Service Church, Wood Street.
- St Margaret of Antioch, St.Leonards Road West – founded in 1925
- St Alban RC Church, Kilnhouse Lane – founded in 1964.
Ansdell and Fairhaven
- Ansdell Baptist Church, Ansdell Road North – founded in 1908
- Ansdell Unitarian & Free Christian Church, Channing Road – opened in 1930, new hall added in 1968.
- St Joseph's RC Church, Woodlands Road – opened on 20 September 1914, built in 1909, by Pugin & Pugin.
- Fairhaven United Reformed Church, Clifton Drive South -opened on 17 October 1912, built by Briggs, Wolstenholme & Thornley. Known locally as the "White Church".
- St Pauls CofE Church, Clifton Drive – built in 1902 by Medland Taylor.
- Fairhaven Methodist Church, Clifton Drive – founded in 1909.
The information in this section about the Church of England and Roman Catholic churches is mainly from Pevsner (1969).
External links
- lytham-stannes.com - Website with history of Lytham St Annes and local area directory.
- lythamproms.co.uk – Website for the annual Lytham Proms Festival Weekend.