A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



ancient rabbit warren and now formed into a separate 

 township, which includes Rossall on the western side 

 with its famous public school, founded in 1844. 

 The history of this school has been narrated else- 

 where in the present work.' 3 In the remaining part 

 of Thornton the original village occupies the south- 

 east portion on slightly elevated ground overlooking the 

 Wyre. On the north-west slope of the same ground 

 is Stanah. Trunnah, the Ho'mes and Pool Foot are 

 in the centre of the township and have Burn Hall to 

 the north and to the west a little seaside resort called 

 Cleveleys. This last name has in common usage 

 superseded the ancient Ritherham or Rithcrholme. 

 Burnt Naze or Bourne Naze lies on the Wyre on the 

 border of Fleetwood. The surface is low-lying and 

 flat, the ancient hamlets named occupying the more 

 elevated portions. 



In more recent times there have been three 

 divisions: Thornton, in the centre, with 2,112 

 acres ; Stanah, in which is Thornton Hall, 1,427 

 acres, and FleetwooJ, 2,848! acres ; in all 6,387^ 

 acres, including tidal water. 2 The population in 1901 

 was 3,108 in Thornton proper and 12,082 in 

 Fleetwood, or 15,190 in all. 



The principal road is that from Blackpool to Fleet- 

 wood, going north through the eastern side of the 

 township. It is joined by another road between the 

 same places going along the sea coast. From it other 

 roads branch out ; one goes west to Cleveleys, another 

 east to Thornton Church and then south to Poulton. 

 The Preston and Wyre railway goes north to Fleet- 

 wood, at which is the terminus ; there is a small 

 station called Cleveleys a misleading designation 

 to the south of Trunnah. On the western road 

 between Blackpool and Fleetwood an electric tram- 

 way runs. 



A ' submerged forest ' has tokens near Rossall and 

 along the coast to Blackpool. 



A special commission was in 1637 directed to 

 inquire into the possibility of gaining land from the 

 sea at Thornton Holmes or Poulton. 1 " 



Thornton Marsh was inclosed in 1800.* One 

 result of the making of the railway to Fleetwood has 

 been that about 400 acres of marsh land at the 

 mouth of the Wyre west of the line have been 

 reclaimed. 4 



From various allusions to saltcotes it seems that 

 salt-making is an ancient industry of the place. A 



' salt-weller ' of Thornton was buried at Poulton in 

 1676. There are modern salt and alkali works at 

 Burnt Naze. 



The soil is various, with clay subsoil ; oats and 

 potatoes are grown. 



A school board was formed in 1877.* 



Fleetwood became an independent township in 

 1894.' The remaining portion, the existing town- 

 ship of Thornton, is governed by an urban district 

 council of twelve members elected by four wards. 



Two newspapers are issued at Fleetwood, the 

 Chronicle and the Express ; each appears twice a 

 week. 



In 1066 there were three manors in this 

 MANORS township, all members of Earl Tostig's 

 Preston lordship, viz. Thornton, assessed 

 as six plough-lands, Burn and Rossall, as two each 

 ten in all. 7 They retained their individuality later, 

 but Thornton became still further subdivided. 



In 1 2 1 2 it was found that THORNTON proper, 

 as five plough-lands, was held in thegnage by William 

 son of Robert de Winwick, who rendered 20.1. a 

 year. 8 The other plough-land, lying in ST4NJH, 

 was held in drengage by Adam son of Eilsi and Alan 

 son of Hagemund, who rendered 5/. yearly.* Robert 

 de Winwick had granted one of his plough-lands to 

 Uctred son of Huck, 10 the ancestor of the Singleton 

 family, who by marriage acquired a further share of 

 Thornton and probably a moiety of the drengage 

 plough-land in Stanah. Thus in 1324 Adam son 

 of William Banastre held a moiety of Thornton, pay- 

 ing 8s., and a moiety of Stanah, paying 4/. 6J. ; 

 while the other moieties were held by Lawrence son 

 of Robert de Thornton and John son of John de 

 Staynolf respectively, paying corresponding rents, 

 viz. 8/. and 4*. 6J. 11 The assessment of the whole 

 appears to have been reduced by one-half, and thus 

 in 1 346 Thomas Banastre held one plough-land and 

 John son of Lawrence de Thornton another in 

 Thornton and Stanah, formerly Robert de Winwick's, 

 while the third plough-land in Stanah was held as to 

 one moiety by John de Staynolf and as to the other 

 by a number of tenants." In 1378 Thomas Banastre 

 and John de Thornton held the manor " and in 

 1445-6 Richard Balderston and the heir of John 

 son of Lawrence Thornton held a plough-land 

 each as before, but Stanah is omitted in the 

 record." 



la f'.C.H. Lane;, ii, 614-15. A coat 

 of arms was granted in i Si,,-. 



* The Cemus Rep. 1901 gives : Thorn- 

 ton, 2,996 acres, including 19 of inland 

 water; Fleetwood, 2,510 and 46. To 

 these must be added 73 acres of tidal 

 water and 657 of foreshore in Thornton 

 and 134 and 2,778 respectively in Fleet- 

 wood. 



Sa Duchy of Lane. Special Com. 

 no. 1167. 



3 Porter, Fylde, 271. The Act was 

 passed in 1799. The final award seems 

 to have been in 1806 ; Lanes, and Ches. 

 Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 56. 

 In 1739 the king leased to John Wilkin- 

 son the marshes called Thornton Marsh, 

 Holme Marsh, Stanah Marsh, Trunnah 

 Marsh and Haddle Moss for thirty-one 

 years ; Duchy of Lane. Misc. Bks. xxvii, 

 178. 



4 Porter, op. cit. 227. 



4 Load. Gax. ^^ Nov. 1877. 



6 Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 31813. 



7 y.C.H. Lanes, i, 28Sa. Thornton 

 proper seems to have contained four 

 plough-lands and Stanah two, afterwards 

 reduced (as stated in the text) to two and 

 one. Burn also was considered one 

 plough-land at a later time. 



8 Lanes. Inij. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 46. The 20*. rent 

 is named again in 1226 and 1297 ; ibid. 

 139, 289. 



9 Ibid. 51. The second plough-land in 

 Stanah was incluued in William de Win- 

 wick's Thornton estate. 



It appears to be this ' Stanhol ' which 

 is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls, &c., as 

 contributing to aids and similar taxes ; 

 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 35, 130 (where 

 the tenants are called Uctred and Gilbert); 

 Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 135, 176. 



10 From the later history it seems that 

 this plough-land was half in Thornton and 

 half in Stanah. This may account for an 



232 



error in 1226, when Robert de Winwick's 

 estate was called five plough-lands in 

 Thornton and half a plough-land in 

 Stanah. 



11 Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 40*. The 

 Stanah rent seems to be made up in each 

 case of a thegnage rent of 2s. for the 

 moiety of a carucate pertaining to the 

 Winwick estate and 21. kd. for the moiety 

 pertaining to the drengage land. Thus 

 Thornton (with half Stanah) paid 201. as 

 in 1 21 2, and the other half of Stanah 51. 

 M before. The tenants did suit to county 

 and wapentake. 



"Survey of 1346 (Chet. Soc.), 56. 

 The minor tenants in Stanah clearly 

 represent the Singleton or Banastre 

 portion ; the Thorntons do not seem to 

 have retained any part of it. 



13 Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. SiA. 



" Duchy of Lane. Knights' Fees, 

 bdle. 2, no. 20. 



