Freckleton,Lancashire

Introduction
Freckleton is a village and civil parish on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England, to the south of Kirkham and east of the seaside resort of Lytham St Annes.

Freckleton Holy Trinity was founded as a township chapelry in 1834 to Kirkham, Lancashire

The Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley.



History
The name of the village appears in the Domesday Book as Frecheltun and is said to derive from "Farmstead of a man called Frecla", with Old English tun and Nordic personal name. An alternative spelling of Frequleton has been referred to in local history publications.

In the 1800s, Freckleton, already a place used to supply water to the Roman fort at Kirkham, was used as a port assisting the ship building industry. The local community helped making rope and sail cloth, remnants of which exist in local street names.

FRECKLETON, a township-chapelry in Kirkham parish, Lancashire; near Naze Point, on the estuary of the Ribble, 2½ miles SSE of Kirkham r. station, and 7½ W of Preston. It has a post office under Preston. Acres, 2,659; of which 885 are water. Pop., 879. Houses, 188. A manufacture of sacks and sailcloth, which had been extensively carried on, was recently discontinued. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the p. curacy of Warton, in the diocese of Manchester. The church was built in 1838. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels, and a national school.

John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

USAAF Base Depot 2 (Warton Aerodrome)
Freckleton is close to Warton (near Kirkham), Lancashire and Warton areodrome was used in World War 2 by the USAAF.

Freckleton Air Disaster
On 23 August, 1944, an American United States Army Air Force B-24 Liberator heavy bomber crashed into the centre of the village of Freckleton, Lancashire, England. The aircraft crashed into the Holy Trinity Church of England School, demolishing three houses and the Sad Sack Snack Bar. The death toll was 61, including 38 children. Two newly refurbished B-24s, prior to delivery to the 2nd Combat Division, departed USAAF Base Air Depot 2 at Warton Aerodrome on a test flight at 10.30 a.m. Due to an impending violent storm, both were recalled. By the time they had returned to the vicinity of the aerodrome, however, the wind and rain had significantly reduced visibility. Contemporary newspaper reports detailed wind velocities approaching 60 m.p.h., water spouts in the Ribble estuary and flash flooding in Southport and Blackpool.

On approach from the west, towards runway 08, and in formation with the second aircraft, the pilot of B-24H-20-CF Liberator, aircraft serial number 42-50291, named "Classy Chassis II", 1st Lieutenant John Bloemendal, reported to the tower that he was aborting landing at the last moment and would "go around". Shortly afterwards, and out of visibility from the second aircraft, the aircraft hit the village of Freckleton, just east of the airfield.

Already flying very low to the ground and with wings near vertical, the aircraft's right wing tip first hit a tree-top, and then was ripped away as it impacted the corner of a building. The rest of the wing continued, ploughing along the ground and through a hedge. The fuselage of the 25-ton bomber continued, partly demolishing three houses and the Sad Sack Snack Bar, before crossing the Lytham Road and bursting into flames. A part of the aircraft hit the infants' wing of the Freckleton Holy Trinity School.



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 Free BMD. Online index of Lancashire Births, Marriages and Deaths Lancashire BMD

Lancashire Online Parish Clerks
An extremely useful resource for research in Lancashire Parishes http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/

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

Parish registers for Freckleton, 1860-1900 Microfilm of original records at the Lancashire Record Office, Preston. Freckleton is a township-chapelry in the parish of Kirkham, Lancashire. Lancashire Record Office no. : PR 3216/1/1, 3, 7, 9.

Freckleton Wesleyan Methodist
The Wesleyan Methodist church was formed in the 18th century from religous societies founded by John Wesley and his preachers. It suffered many secessions, but was the largest Nonconformist denomination in the 19th century. In 1932 the Wesleyan Methodists joined with the Primitive Methodists and the United Methodists to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain.

Kirkham Road Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was founded in 1810

Lancashire Methodist records, 1799-1837 Microfilm of original records in the Public Record Office, London. Includes records of Wesleyan Methodist chapels "situate at Freckleton in the parish of Kirkham, at Longton in the parish of Penwortham, at Leyland in the parish of Leyland and situate at Preston." Public Record Office no.: RG4/1469.

Freckleton- Wesleyan Baptisms-1810-1837- MFPR 271

The Manchester Room and Greater Manchester County Record Office Email: archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk

The Manchester Room@City Library (Local Studies)

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. http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Fylde Poor Law Union, Lancashire

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.

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/lait/site/B-24%2042-50291.htm Freckleton Air Disaster Lancashire Aircraft investigation Team website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/lancashire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8189000/8189386.stm BBC Lancashire web page Freckleton Disaster

http://www.freckleton.org/ Village website

http://www.freckleton.org/raf-freckleton/raffreck.html RAF Freckleton website (Site 13)