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
On Monday, the 20th of September, 1847, Her Majesty, Queen Victoria,
accompanied by their Royal Highnesses, the Prince Consort, the Prince
of Wales, and the Princess Royal, landed at Fleetwood _en route_ from
Scotland to London. The spot fixed for the debarkation of the royal party
was near the north end of the covered pier, upwards of 100 feet of which
were boarded off and converted into a saloon, a covered gallery being
erected leading from it to the railway, where the special train was
stationed. The floors of the saloon and gallery were covered with crimson
drugget and at the entrance to the former a beautiful triumphal arch was
formed of various coloured draperies, and adorned with the national flag
and other emblems of loyalty. The walls of the saloon were hung with
white and coloured draperies, festooned with evergreens, and British
ensigns were suspended from the roof. This elegant apartment contained a
gallery for ladies at the north end, and near to the entrance was a small
octagonal throne, having an ascent of three steps, upon which a handsome
gilded chair of state and a footstool were placed. Behind the two latter,
draperies of crimson cloth were suspended, surmounted by the Arms of Her
Majesty. On Sunday, the 19th of September, the High-sheriff of the county
of Lancaster, William Gale, esq., of Lightburne House, near Ulverston,
who had arrived in order to receive Her Majesty on the following day,
attended divine worship at St. Peter’s Church, being driven there
in his state carriage, drawn by four splendid greys and preceded by
his trumpeters and twenty-four javelin men with halberds. Monday was
ushered in with boisterous winds, a cloudy sky, and other indications of
unpropitious weather, which fortunately for the thousands who crowded
into the place from Yorkshire, Manchester, and intermediate localities,
considerably improved as the day advanced. The ships in the harbour were
draped with flags, and similar decorations floated from the windows of
almost every house. A little after three o’clock in the afternoon the
report of a signal gun announced that the royal squadron, consisting of
the Victoria and Albert, the Black Eagle, the Fairy, the Garland, and the
Undine, was in sight, and as the noble vessels steamed up the channel the
North Euston Hotel and the Pier burst out into brilliant illuminations.
As soon as the royal yacht, Victoria and Albert, had been safely moored
to the quay opposite the triumphal arch, and the gangways adjusted, the
High-sheriff, W. Gale, esq.; Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B.;
Sir P. H. Fleetwood, bart.; Major-General Sir William Warre; John Wilson
Patten, esq., M.P.; the Rev. St. Vincent Beechey, incumbent of Fleetwood;
Henry Houldsworth, esq., chairman of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Company; George Wilson, esq., deputy-chairman; and Thomas H. Higgin,
esq., managing director of the Preston and Wyre district; presented their
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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