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Morecambe, Lancashire

Historical Description

Morecambe or Poulton-le-Sands, a seaport town and bathing resort in the township of Poulton, Bare, and Torrisholme, Lancaster parish, Lancashire, on the southern extremity of Morecambe Bay, 4 miles WNW of Lancaster, with stations on the L. & N.W.R. and M.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.) The township is governed by an urban district council consisting of fifteen members, and has an area of 1725 acres; population, 6476. The town is beautifully situated, and commands good views of the Cumberland and the Westmorland hills. It has splendid sands for bathing, and is a very favourite watering-place. There is a regular service of steamers to Dublin, the Giant's Causeway, and Londonderry, and during the season there are frequent trips across the bay to Grange, Barrow, and Peel (for Furness Abbey), and occasional excursions to other places of interest. There is a fine promenade, 2 miles in length, protected by a strong sea-wall. A promenade pier, 1000 feet long, constructed in 1870 and since extended, .has a platform at its head with landing-stages for steamers. The summer gardens-about 80 acres in extent, and beautifully laid out-contain a handsome pavilion, with accommodation for 10,000 persons, in which concerts and dramatic performanies are given during the season. The People's Palace, erected in 1879, is a handsome building in the Italian style, and consists of a large hall, baths, and aquarium. The town is supplied with water by the Lancaster Corporation Works. There are several good hotels and lodging-houses, assembly rooms, sea-water baths, two small batteries, gaswork, an electric light station, and a cemetery opened in 1875 and nnder the control of a burial board. A dock, with stone pier and lighthouse, was constructed in 1848, and is capable of accommodating vessels of considerable size. Large quantities of fish, especially mussels and shrimps, are caught. The ecclesiastical parish is known as Poulton-le-Sands. The living of Holy Trinity, with St Lawrence annexed, is a rectory in the diocese of Manchester; net value, £315 with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Lancaster. The parish church of Holy Trinity is a fine building in the Early English style, rebuilt an 1841; consists of chancel, nave, S aisle, a western tower, and has a beautiful stained E window. St Lawrence and St Barnabas are chapels of ease to the parish church. There are also Baptist, Congregational, Primitive Methodist, Wesleyan, United Methodist Free Church, and Christian Brethren chapels, and several schools. There is a chapel of ease at Bare, and a Wesleyan chapel at Torrisholme.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Church Records

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Lancashire Archives, have images of the Parish Registers for Lancashire online.


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Lancashire is available to browse.


Maps

Online maps of Morecambe are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Lancashire newspapers online:

DistrictLancaster
CountyLancashire
RegionNorth West
CountryEngland
Postal districtLA4
Post TownMorecambe

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