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
Building proceeded with rapid strides; house after house sprang up in the
lines of streets, which had only lately received their first coating of
shingle, and in 1841, one year after the opening of the railway, the town
had assumed considerable proportions. Near the entrance from Poulton road
were three or four double rows of cottages for the accommodation of the
workpeople, and a Roman Catholic chapel. Preston Street contained but
few houses in addition to the Fleetwood Arms Hotel; thence, travelling
eastward were Dock Street, with the Crown Hotel, as far as and including
the Victoria Hotel; the east side of Warren Street, the west side of St.
Peter’s Place, the church and Sunday school, both sides of Church Street,
Custom House Lane, the Lower Queen’s Terrace, the North Euston Hotel, and
the bath houses. The Upper Queen’s Terrace was in process of erection,
but was not completed until 1844, after having been allowed, for some
reason, to remain in a partially finished state for two years.
The church, standing on a raised plot of ground in the centre of the town
and surrounded by an iron palisading, is dedicated to St. Peter, and
was first opened for divine service in 1841. It is a stone edifice with
a square tower and octagonal spire at the west end, and was erected by
voluntary contributions, the site being provided by Sir P. H. Fleetwood,
who retained the right of presentation to the living. The interior of the
building is neat, and contains sittings for about four hundred persons
in the body, with additional accommodation for two hundred more in the
gallery, at the end of which are the choir-pew and organ-loft, the
latter being occupied by an instrument constructed by Gray, of London.
Previous to the alterations, which were made seventeen years since,
and consisted of the erection of a gallery and the convertion of some
of the private pews into free seats, the family pew of the Fleetwoods
stood in front of the organ-loft, and was the only one raised out of the
body of the church. The chancel window is of stained glass, large and
handsome, representing a central figure of St. Peter bearing the Keys
of Heaven, below and on each side of which several scriptural subjects
are illustrated. This window, purchased by subscription amongst the
parishioners, was inserted in 1860; and in the previous year a handsome
font of Caen stone was presented by Mrs. G. Y. Osborne. Two upright
tablets, the gift of the late vicar, the Rev. G. Y. Osborne, illuminated
with the Ten Commandments, are placed, one on each side of the Communion
table. Four other tablets are fixed against the walls of the church,
the first of which was erected by a few friends as a tribute of respect
to the memory of Dobson Ward, died 1859, aged 43 years, a humble but
zealous worker in the Sunday school; another was placed by the Rev. G. Y.
Osborne, in loving memory of his deceased daughter; the third, a handsome
tablet, was erected at the entrance to the vestry, by parishioners and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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