Author: Ed

Freckleton’s Hall Cross House

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Standing in the small hamlet of Hall Cross on the edge of Frackleton, Hall Cross House is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the parish and an important reminder of the Fylde Coast’s agricultural heritage. Built in 1777, the Grade II listed house has overlooked the surrounding countryside for almost 250 years, surviving as a rare example of an eighteenth-century farmhouse that reflects the rural character of the area before the rapid expansion of the Fylde during the Victorian era. Hall Cross House occupies a prominent position on Kirkham Road within the historic hamlet of Hall Cross, a settlement…

The Plough Inn

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For almost two centuries, The Plough has been a familiar feature of village life in Freckleton, serving generations of residents, farmers, travellers and visitors. Although the present building dates from around 1930, its history stretches back to an earlier inn that stood nearby, making The Plough one of the village’s longest-established licensed premises and an enduring part of Freckleton’s social history. The original Plough Inn opened in 1830 as a beer house, occupying a site close to the present building on Lytham Road. Under the Beerhouse Act of that period, such establishments were permitted to sell beer but not wines…

Four New Unitary Councils to Replace Lancashire’s Current Local Government

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One of the biggest changes to local government in Lancashire for more than half a century is now set to reshape how council services are delivered across the county. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the existing two-tier system of county and district councils will be replaced by four new unitary authorities, each responsible for delivering all local government services within its area. Under the Government’s preferred proposal, the new authorities will cover four distinct areas. Lancaster, Preston and Ribble Valley will form one unitary authority, while Fylde, Wyre and Blackpool will become another. A third authority will bring together Blackburn with…

Robert Haley publishes Lytham St Anne’s – A Pictorial History

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While many local historians have documented individual aspects of the Fylde Coast’s past, few have created a resource as extensive and enduring as Robert Haley. Through his books and the Amounderness website, Haley has spent decades preserving the history of Blackpool, Lytham St Annes, Fleetwood, Poulton-le-Fylde and the wider Amounderness region, making an extraordinary collection of historical material freely available to researchers, residents and visitors alike. Click on the image above to buy the book on Amazon Among his best-known publications are Lytham St Anne’s: A Pictorial History and Images of England – Lytham St Annes, both of which use…

Vulcan Bomber Removed From Blackpool Airport

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After standing at the entrance to Blackpool Airport for 23 years the Vulcan bomber was dismantled and sent for recycling in January of 2006 For more than two decades, one of the most recognisable landmarks at Blackpool Airport was the imposing silhouette of an Avro Vulcan bomber standing beside the entrance on Squires Gate Lane. Visible to generations of residents, holidaymakers and aviation enthusiasts, the aircraft became synonymous with the airport itself, serving as a lasting reminder of Britain’s Cold War aviation heritage and the Fylde Coast’s important contribution to aerospace. The aircraft, Avro Vulcan B.2 XL391, made its final…

AIG Women’s Open Returned to Royal Lytham for its 50th Anniversary

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Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club will welcome the world’s leading women golfers from 29 July to 2 August 2026 when the AIG Women’s Open returns to the Fylde Coast for its landmark 50th staging. The championship will bring five decades of women’s golfing history back to a course that has played an important part in the development of the event. The championship was first held at Fulford Golf Club near York in 1976, where English amateur Jenny Lee Smith claimed the inaugural title. What began as a comparatively modest competition later developed into one of the most prestigious…

Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe Bring the Brexit Party to AFC Fylde

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On 4 May 2019, Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe appeared together at Mill Farm, the home of AFC Fylde, as part of the Brexit Party’s campaign for the 2019 European Parliament elections. The event attracted a crowd of around 1,600 supporters, making it one of the party’s largest campaign rallies in the North West during the election campaign. The venue’s main stand was filled with supporters who had travelled from across Lancashire and beyond to hear speeches from the party’s candidates. Nigel Farage was the principal speaker, setting out the Brexit Party’s argument that the result of the 2016 referendum…

Bob Dylan Returns to Blackpool Opera House

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Bob Dylan will return to Blackpool Opera House on 30 November and 1 December 2026, thirteen years after his last appearances at the Winter Gardens. The two concerts will bring one of the most influential figures in modern music back to a stage that already holds a distinctive place in his long performing history. Dylan’s previous visit came in November 2013, when he played three consecutive nights at the Opera House. The residency gave Blackpool an unusually prominent place in a British tour that included only a small number of extended engagements. For three evenings, audiences gathered inside the historic…

Blackpool Bound Express Ends in Tragedy

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On 16 July 1961, one of the most serious railway disasters in the history of the Fylde Coast occurred at Singleton Bank, between Weeton and Singleton, on the railway line between Colne and Fleetwood. The collision involved the 8.50 am express service from Colne to Fleetwood, carrying holidaymakers and passengers travelling to connect with the Belfast ferry. What began as a routine summer journey ended in tragedy when the train collided with a stationary engineering ballast train, resulting in the deaths of seven people and injuries to 116 others. Shortly after 10.25 am, the diesel multiple unit approached Singleton Bank…

The Sands Express

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Few episodes in Blackpool’s history are as unusual as the story of the Sands Express. For a few remarkable months during 1911, visitors strolling along the Promenade were greeted not only by the town’s famous electric trams but also by a fleet of steam locomotives hauling wagonloads of sand beside the seafront. The temporary railway became one of Blackpool’s most extraordinary engineering projects and played a crucial role in creating part of the modern promenade visitors enjoy today. The project arose from Blackpool Corporation’s ambitious programme of promenade improvements during the early twentieth century. Following the construction of a substantial…