History of the Fylde of LancashirePorter, John (Writer on the Fylde of Lancashire)
History
History of the Fylde of Lancashire
Porter, John (Writer on the Fylde of Lancashire)
Lancashire (England) -- History
in Sheaf Street, also, there existed about half a century ago a small
but respectable hotel, called the Wheat Sheaf Inn, with bowling green
attached, but like other more pretentious establishments, it has been
converted into a dwelling-house, whilst a handsome residence occupies the
old bowling green.
The Independents were the first section of the Dissenting community to
erect a chapel for their members, which they accomplished in 1808. After
being in use twenty or thirty years, this place of worship was closed,
and not re-opened until about ten years since. In 1819 a chapel was
erected by the Wesleyans in Back Street, and in 1861 the building was
enlarged. At the Breck there is a Roman Catholic chapel, which stands
back some distance from the road leading to Skippool, and is approached
by a long avenue of trees. The chapel is a plain brick building, with
three unstained windows on each side; and above the entrance has been
placed a square stone inscribed with a verse from the Psalms—“I have
loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy House, and the place where thy Glory
dwelleth,”—and the date of erection, “A.D. 1813.” Within the edifice the
pews are open and arranged in three rows, one running down each side,
and a double set occupying the central portion of the body. The solitary
gallery at the end opposite the altar is lined with seats, and contains a
harmonium, whilst the altar itself is handsomely and suitably decorated.
The chapel is dedicated to St. John, and on the east and south sides
lies the burial ground, wherein may be seen a stone slab carved by an
eccentric character of Poulton, named James Bailey, whose remains are
now deposited beneath it. The upper surface of the stone is ornamented
with the outlines of two coffins, recording respectively the demises of
Margaret Bailey, in 1841, and James Bailey, her father, in 1853. Between
the coffins, and severing their upper portions, is a cross, with a few
words at the foot, on each side of which are the representations of a
scull and cross-bones. Other specimens of the sculptural genius of Bailey
are lavishly, if not tastefully, scattered over the remainder of the
slab. The residence of the priest is attached to the chapel, and in Breck
Road are the elegant Gothic schools connected with it. Until the opening,
in 1868, of these schools, which have since been extended by the erection
of a wing, a loft over an outbuilding facing the priests’ house, received
the Catholic children of the parish for educational purposes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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