Lytham, Lancashire

Description
Lytham, a fashionable seaside resort and a parish in Lancashire. The town stands on the N shore of the Ribble estuary, at the meeting-point of two branch railways from respectively the Preston and Wyre railway and the town of Blackpool, 8 miles SSE of Blackpool, and 12 W of Preston. It is a sub-port to Preston, a bathing-place, and a seat of petty sessions; presents a new, neat, and clean appearance; possesses one of the finest beaches in England; has pretty environs and an equable climate, has undergone many improvements by a board of commissioners under a local act; and has a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.), a station on the Preston and Wyre Joint railway, a neat market-house of 1848, three banks, a cottage hospital, a county constabulary station, assembly-rooms, public baths and gardens, presented to the town in 1872 by the late Mr John Talbot Clifton, an institute, several first-class hotels, a number of lodging-houses, two churches, Congregational, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic chapels, several good schools, a long marine parade, and a handsome pier with large pavilion. A drinking fountain was erected in the market square in 1882 by Lady Eleanor Cecily Clifton in memory of her husband. Two weekly newspapers are published. There is a daily market for fish, vegetables, &c., but the market days are Wednesday and Saturday. St Cuthbert's or the parochial church was rebuilt in 1834, a new organ was erected in 1881, and it was reseated in 1887; is a neat structure of red brick; consists of nave, aisles, and chance], with porch and tower; and contains monuments of the Clifton family. St John's Church stands on the E beach, was built in 1850, and is a stone edifice in the Early English style. The Roman Catholic chapel (St Peter's), Clifton Street, the Wesleyan chapel, Park Street, and the Congregational chapel, Westby Street, are handsome structures. The marine parade was formed by levelling the beach, is more than 2 miles long, and commands a fine view across the estuary. The pier was constructed in 1865, is 914 feet long, and was greatly improved in 1891; besides serving for steamboats from Blackpool, Southport, and other places, it forms a splendid promenade. The branch railway from the Preston and Wyre line was opened inl846, and that from Blackpool in 1863. Lytham Pool, about a mile E of the town, serves as an entrepot to Preston, accommodates large vessels for the discharging of their cargoes into smaller crafts, and has a graving dock for building and repairing vessels. A lifeboat station is on the E beach. The parish comprises 5020 acres; population, 2238. The population has largely increased, mainly owing to the attractions of the town as a watering-place. The manor, with Lytham Hall, belongs to the Clifton family. The hall stands on the NW side of the town, was erected between 1757 and 1764, and is a spacious mansion. A Benedictine priory, a cell to Durham Abbey, was founded on or near the site of the hall in the time of Richard I., by Roger Fitz-Roger, and some remains of it are included iti the hall. There are two ecclesiastical pari&hes viz., St Cuthbert and St John the Divine. The livings are vicarages in the diocese of Manchester ; gross value, £340 and £280, both with residence.