Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire Genealogy

England Lancashire  Lancashire Parishes

Parish History
POULTON-IN-THE-FYLDE (St. Chad), a markettown and parish, in the union of the Fylde, hundred of Amounderness, N. division of Lancashire; containing, with the new town of Fleetwood, and the townships of Carleton, Hardhorn with Newton, Marton, and Thornton, 7273 inhabitants, of whom 1128 are in the township of Poulton, 16 miles (W. N. W.) from Preston, 21 (S. W. by S.) from Lancaster, and 235 (N. W. by N.) from London. This place, called Poltun in the Domesday survey, appears to have belonged, about the time of that survey, to the priory of Lancaster; and in the 27th of Edward I., Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and others held Pulton in trust for the priory. In 1342, a family of the local name possessed a small quantity of land in the parish. This is an extensive tract of champaign country, comprehending one-third, or more, of the hundred of Amounderness: the addition of "the Fylde," given to it to distinguish it from Poulton in Lonsdale, means a field, the district being celebrated for the growth of corn. The northern part is formed into a peninsula by the Irish Sea and the river Wyre, and that river, with the parish of Kirkham, bounds the parish on the east; while the Irish Sea and the parish of Bispham are the western boundaries. The area is 14,289 acres, of which 899a. 3r. 38p. are in Poulton township. The town is a small, irregular, and old-fashioned place, situated on an eminence rising gradually on every side, and one mile distant from the Wyre. It consists of seven streets, five of which are conjoined into the form of the letter I: the general lighting and watching act is partly in operation. Here is a station on the Preston and Fleetwood railway. Petty-sessions are held on the first Friday in each month; and one of the county debtcourts established in 1847 is fixed at Poulton, with powers extending over the registration-districts of The Fylde and Garstang. The market is on Monday; and fairs for cattle, cloth, and other commodities, are held on Feb. 3rd, April 13th, and Nov. 3rd. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 16. 8.; net income, £257; patron, the Rev. Charles Hesketh, M.A.; impropriators, Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, Bart., and three others. The great tithes of Poulton township have been commuted for £94, and the small for £55: the vicar has a glebe of 12 acres. The church occupies the site of an ancient structure which, having stood for nearly seven centuries, was taken down in 1751, with the exception of the tower, that had been rebuilt in the time of Charles I., and remains attached to the modern edifice. At Fleetwood, Marton, and Thornton are other livings. The Wesleyans have a place of worship in the town, where also a Roman Catholic chapel, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, was built in 1813; the priest has six acres of ground, and a house. The children of the township of Poulton have the privilege of attending an endowed school at Hardhorn, founded in 1717, by James Baines, who also bequeathed property now producing £100 per annum for apprenticing children, one moiety for those in Poulton township, and the other moiety for the children in the four other townships of the parish. A savings' bank was established in 1815, and a neat house built for it in 1839.

From: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis (1848), pp. 602-605. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51221 Date accessed: 20 July 2010.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Census records
Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Lancashire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.