| John Burke's Poulton-le-Fylde |
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Poulton-le-Fylde sits on the River Wyre to the east of Blackpool and was once
an important port in the height of the cotton trade. Now the town remains one of the Fylde's
more picturesque spots.
The River Wyre is a long walk from the town centre, but the roads around the town centre,
enclose a natural square which is a focus for craft fairs in Summer and whose cobbles are largely
traffic free, except for the occasional limousine, delivering a blushing bride to the gates of
St Chad's church. |
| There are a few reminders of the town's former, more ribald, nature in the form of this
whipping post and the stocks, seen in the photograph right.
The market cross behind the stocks is set on a Jacobean pillar mounted upon steps
which become a focus for the younger residents in warmer weather.
The stone table affair behind the market cross is the "fish-stones", where in the old days
much bartering for goods would be undertaken. |
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Despite there being a significant number of old inns around the town centre square
- as you might expect in an old town once frequented by sailors - the old Town Hall itself has
been press-ganged into service to slake the thirst of those in search of alcoholic refreshment.
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| Within the square of roads surrounding the town centre is a modern undercover
shopping precinct with a large car park (alas no longer free as it quite recently had remained)
built on the site of the Teanlow Field, where on those nights when evil spirits might be abroad,
burning bales of hay were held aloft on pitchforks to ward off the evil and keep the townsfolk
safe at night.
The name of the field is remembered in the shopping precinct which is called the Teanlow Centre. |
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