A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



A village called Singleton Thorp, near Rossall 

 Grange, is said to have been destroyed in 1555 by an 

 irruption of the sea. 6 



One Robert Hey, ' a wise man, a witch or charmer,' 



POULTON 



AND 



BISFHAM. 



was presented by the vicar in 161 1 for the Bishop of 

 Chester's censure for telling fortunes and the like. 

 He was known as ' the wise man of the Fylde,' but 

 appeared to disclaim the title, and as the vicar did 

 not press his accusation and the churchwardens 

 averred that he was ' an honest man, a good church- 

 man ' and a communicant, he was merely ordered to 

 appear in Poulton Church on Sunday during service 

 and declare his sorrow for giving offence, renouncing 

 publicly the title of ' wise man of the Fylde.' 7 



The protestation of 1641-2 was signed by Peter 

 White the minister and ninety-seven inhabitants. 8 



In 1643 a large Spanish ship laden with arms for 

 the Low Countries appeared in the Wyre, having been 

 driven out of its course, and created great excitement 

 by firing guns as signals. The Parliamentarians first 

 seized it, but the Earl of Derby having heard visited 

 the place, took possession, and ordered the ship to 

 be burnt, allowing the crew to go free. A Parlia- 

 mentary major who also went to see the vessel was not 

 able to save it ; his force being small, he had to avoid 

 the earl. 9 



Several ancient customs lingered in the Fylde till 

 recent times, such as the bonfires on All Hallows' Eve, 

 known locally as ' Teanley night.' A gala day marked 

 the close of marl-getting. Onion seed had to be 

 sown on St. Gregory's Day. A small stone through 

 which a hole had been bored was tied to the stable 

 key to protect the horses from witchcraft. ' Ignaging ' 

 was a dance performed by the village lads at Easter. 10 



John Hull, M.D., a botanist of some note, was 

 born at Poulton in 1761. He practised as a physician 

 at Manchester and died in 1843." George Long, a 

 classical scholar, was born at Poulton in 1800 ; he 

 became Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, edited 

 the Penny Cyclopaedia, 1833-46, and afterwards estab- 

 lished the Bibliotheca Classica. He died in 1879." 



The church of ST. CHAD stands on 

 CHURCH an elevated site in the centre of the 

 town of Poulton at the north end of the 

 market-place, and consists of an apsidal chancel 20 ft. 

 by 17 ft. 6 in., nave 93 ft. 6 in. by 36 ft. and west 

 tower 12 ft. square, all these measurements being 

 internal. The site is an ancient one, but all trace of 

 the original church has vanished, the oldest part of 

 the present building being the tower, which is said to 

 have been erected in the reign of Charles I. The 

 nave dates from 17523 and the apse from 1868. 



The old structure, 13 which was pulled down in 1751, 

 is described as being built of red sandstone with 

 double-gabled roof supported down the middle by 

 four octagonal pillars and semicircular arches and lit 

 by round-headed windows. It appears to have been 

 originally, like Bispham, a narrow, aisleless building 

 with small chancel, enlarged at a later date by the 

 addition on the north side of an aisle which perhaps 



6 Thornber, op. cit. 54, referring to 

 Dodsworth. The story is very doubtful, 

 but the coast-line has suffered much from 

 erosion. 



7 Chester Dioc. Reg. 



8 The names are printed by Fishwick, 

 Poulton (Chet. Soc.), 31-3. Another list 

 of the inhabitants, from an assessment of 

 1660, will be found ibid. 2024. 



9 ^ijr/nLaa.(Chet.Soc.),25-7. This 

 miy be the origin of the 'tradition' of a 

 vessel of the Spanish Armada having been 

 ia danger off Rossall ; Thornber, op. 

 cit. 60. 



10 Details of these and other local cus- 

 toms are given by Thornber, op. cit. 82- 

 105 ; and Trans. Hist. Soc. iv, 102-18. 

 The Teanley fires were lighted on a cairn 

 in Hardhorn. 



11 Diet. Nat. Stag. ; see notes on Carleton 

 township. 



13 Diet. Nat. Biog. 



1S A description of the church is given 

 by Thornber ( Blackpool, 285), who, after 

 recording the wanton destruction of a 

 monument to the Singletons of Staining, 

 adds : ' Two other relics which belonged 

 to this house of God long before the 



220 



Refo-mation are still existing [1842] in 

 the possession of the Roman Catholics, 

 viz. a rude brass crucifix, the property of 

 the Reverend Mr. Platt, late priest of the 

 Breck Chapel, and a chalice, which, 

 having fallen into the hands of James 

 Hesketh Brockholes, esq., of Mains Hall, 

 was presented by him to the Popish chapel 

 at Claughton.' There does not seem any 

 evidence that either of these had belonged 

 to Poulton Church. 



Its appearance about 1870 is described 

 by A. Hewitson, Our Country Churches, 

 391. 



