Roads and artifacts: Blue Badge

Milestones, Boundary Markers, Historical Artifacts, Street Furniture, lost roads and buildings.

There are many traces of our ancestors scattered around our landscape. Mile Markers and Boundary stones are there too. The Milestone Society believes that there are approximately 9000 left in the United Kingdom. Some are cherished but others are hidden in hedgerows, some have been unwittingly destroyed by crashes, road equipment or even stolen. Roads have been straightened to make them safer. There are old gateposts still left in place, old buildings, and place names that declare an evocative past. The aim is to capture some of this information at least photographically before it disappears.

Although the Fylde Coast does not have ancient history, the Romans apparently struggled to Kirkham. There have been huge changes in the last two centuries from literally a a few fishermans' and agricultural dwellings, to a full blown tourist and light engineering industry.

More historical information can be found here about the Fylde coast.

It also seems that time has marched on and left what appears to be some very respectable buildings... which just should be used, but seem to have no worth.

Links from this Blog

Nearly-Midnight The genealogy website relating to the family. A tangled web of people all related to one another, explore!
Memorials Website dedicated to War Memorials - The majority in the North of England. Visits to churches, but also memorials in out of the way places.
Robert Clark The Father of Henry Martyn-Clark - A missionary out in the North-West Frontier of India. One of the first Europeans to set foot in Afganistan
Affetside Census A small village north of Bury, Lancashire, I can trace many of my immediate ancesters from there. On the Roman Road, Watling Street
Andrew Martyn-Clark My Father and his part in my World. Also my mother and his parents too.
Henry Martyn-Clark My Great Grandfather, his roots and his achievements. Discusses malaria but also his confrontations with Islam.

Thursday, 2 February 2012

Sir John W. Alcock

This Blue Badge is situated in the grounds of Heyhouses School, St Annes. The website is pretty informative but does not carry any information about these 2 gentlemen.

This from the road that runs past the church.
Heyhouses school is in the background.


LYTHAM ST ANNES CIVIC SOCIETY SIR JOHN W ALCOCK KK.B.E. D.S.C. attended this school 1900 -1905 With Sir Arthur W. Brown he made the first nonstop flight by aeroplane acros s the Atlantic. June 14-15 1919

From St Annes Road East. This is the main entrance to the school
The Blue Plaque is to the left of this photo

There is a brief biography here on Wikipedia on "Jack" W Alcock. Arthur Brown's biography is also here on Wikipedia. Both bio's are definately worth reading, if only for the possible clash of interest in the primary school of Alcock.

Recently "found" a photo of of the pilots scanned and published below.


Alcock and Brown

Monday, 3 October 2011

St. Annes War Memorial Hospital

Situated at the far end of St Annes road East lies the "remains" of the hospital. Surrounded by trees it displays what a treasure the stonework must have been. Truly a jewel in the crown of St Annes. Victorian opulence gone bonkers. Beautiful stone work. Morris homes eat your heart out!

The inscription reads:

ST ANNES WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

1922 - 1991

Opened by Lord Derby in May 1922

this former Bannister family home

was gifted to the community by

Lord Ashton, to honour local war dead

Supported entirely by

public subscription until 1948,

it closed in 1991, and was

demolished in 1996

The main entrance. I can't help but think some of the
brickwork has been renovated and rebuilt

Sandstone scroll


Fylde Borough Council 1998 CIVIC CONSERVATION AWARDS PREMIER AWARD FOR Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings

One of the new houses behind

View from the opposite side of the road

I run past here about 3 times a week. The entrance is set slightly back. I wonder what happened to the residents. It is certainly strangely quiet even though there are houses in the grounds.