A town in Lancashire has been highlighted in a list of the UK’s seaside towns with hidden histories.

Introducing its list, The Guardian said: “Every summer, Which? magazine publishes a list of resort – 126 this year – ranked according to hotel quality and prices, food and drink, attractions, shopping, scenery. The top slots are inevitably occupied by smaller, smarter places visited by the better-off, probably before or after a trip to France or Crete.

“The bottom, though, is far more interesting. After all, what are we to make of places built for consumption if there’s nothing worth buying besides fish and chips? What about the timeless qualities of the shore – the horizon, the tides, the big skies? Is the point of the seaside its ahistorical oddness – or can history rescue resorts that seem stranded, sinking or sad?

“The following were all ranked in the bottom 10, or excluded altogether.”

You can see the list from Which? via its website.

Fleetwood was the only Lancashire town to feature in The Guardian’s list with the newspaper first mentioning the tram that travels from Blackpool to Fleetwood, describing it as “one of the most instructive journeys to be had on the English coast.”

It added: “The symbolism is huge, as you leave behind the neon, the rides, the three piers clutching at the sea and the tower and sail into an entirely different built environment – and a different idea.”

The Hidden History of Fleetwood

The Guardian went on to discuss the name of Fleetwood, saying: “The name of Fleetwood carries weight in these parts. It can be traced back to the 14th century, acquiring, through marriage, a connection to Swedish nobility in the 17th century.

“Local marriages linked the family to the Bolds, Aughtons and Heskeths. If the names mean nothing to you, consider that one little chap was christened Bold Fleetwood Hesketh in 1762 – in Lancashire, that’s like being called Windsor Tudor Stuart-Coutts-Mogg.

“Predeceased by an older brother, Peter Hesketh inherited the family estate at Rossall Hall in 1824. He changed his name in 1831 by Royal Licence to Hesketh-Fleetwood, incorporating the better-known family name of his ancestors – and was later created Baronet Fleetwood.

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“As a student, young Peter holidayed on the south coast; at St Leonards-on-Sea, he befriended the architect Decimus Burton – who had built the East Sussex resort as well as some of London’s grandest terraces. Rossall in Lancashire was a desolate tract, overrun by rabbits and seabirds and, on occasion, the sea.

“Hesketh-Fleetwood deemed it a propitious time to cash in on two booms – day tripping and the railways – and develop a fashionable holiday resort. As there was no London-to-Scotland railway, the town’s port could be an embarkation point for steamers to the Clyde, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

“Several names were considered, including “New Liverpool” and “Wyreton” – after the river – but in the end he couldn’t resist naming it after his recently acquired surname.”

It was then time to discuss the cost of building Fleetwood: “Building Fleetwood was costly. Hesketh-Fleetwood sold off his lands in Blackpool and Southport – allowing those towns to develop in their own distinctive manners. Burton chose the sandy tump of Top Hill – renamed The Mount – as the focal point of the town, with streets radiating out from it.

“Period houses still stand on Mount Street and Warren Street. He designed a Customs House with Tuscan columns, later becoming the town hall (now a museum), as well as two lighthouses – the upper or Pharos lighthouse (named after the Pharos of Alexandria) and lower or Beach lighthouse – Queen’s Terrace and St Peter’s Church.

“One of the most important buildings was the North Euston Hotel, the name reminding locals and prospective guests of the high-speed links to the capital.

“But Fleetwood faltered. Hesketh-Fleetwood was a busy man, serving as Sheriff of Lancashire and as an MP from 1832-47. He was an active member of the new Athenaeum club in London, built by Burton. He campaigned against slavery and the death penalty, translating Victor Hugo’s The Last Day of a Condemned Man. Meanwhile, he amassed huge debts and allowed his agent Frederick Kemp to take control and, probably, swindle him.

“He likely hoped the new railway – which he part-funded – would pinch potential visitors from Blackpool. But the co-owners realised they could make extra income by running third-class carriages to the more established resort. Unintentionally, Peter’s folly helped Blackpool boom.

“By the 1840s, when direct trains began operating between London and Scotland, Fleetwood was bypassed and Peter felt beaten and depressed. He moved to London, then Spain, dying at home in Piccadilly in 1866.”

In the early 1980s, The Guardian’s writer Chris Moss said he went on a coach trip to Blackpool and Fleetwood with his father.

Sharing his experience, he said: “By then the fishing port was the latter’s main attraction – a vaguely cultural experience to contrast with the former’s hedonism. If only I’d known the town was home to the headquarters of Fisherman’s Friend.

“Initially, it was a liquid “for internal and external use” containing liquorice, eucalyptus and menthol for fishermen suffering with coughs and respiratory problems. The firm spins a salty yarn that James Lofthouse, the pharmacist who created the potion and, later, the lozenges, invented the tincture because he struggled to make sense of the sailors’ stories due to their croaky voices.”

Finally, Fleetwood is said to be a “stately, serene, family-friendly town”, with The Guardian’s segment adding: “Fleetwood came ninth from bottom in the Which? hit parade. Yet it’s a stately, serene, family-friendly town with great views over Morecambe Bay from The Mount and Euston Gardens – where, since 2018, a statue of Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood has stood.

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“A BFI film made in 1940 captures a brief golden age, when a pier, floral gardens, pool and boating lake were considered “an infinite variety of pleasures”. There is space and quiet to reimagine such times, still.

“As the new government embarks on a major housing plan, ministers and developers should visit Decimus Burton’s proto-New Town. They will have to use the tram. Fleetwood lost its passenger railways and station in 1970.

“The axing of the Restoring Your Railway Fund, which envisaged a new Fleetwood Line, feels like Beeching all over again.”

When it comes to things to see and do in Fleetwood, The Guardian recommends visiting Fleetwood Market, going to Pisces Fish and Chips and checking out Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs.