Few natural disasters have had as profound an impact on the history of Lytham as the Great Flood of 1719–1720. Occurring more than three centuries ago, the catastrophe devastated farmland, destroyed homes and left many local families facing ruin after the sea breached the fragile coastal defences protecting the low-lying landscape. The flood took place during the night of 18–19 December 1719. However, because Britain was still using the Julian calendar at the time, with the new year beginning on 25 March, contemporary records often describe the event as occurring in 1720. Today, historians generally refer to it as the…