St Annes on the Sea: A History
by Peter Shakeshaft
St Anne's on the Sea did not exist until the 1870s. When a new
railway connection between Lytham and Blackpool was opened, the land-owning Clifton
family hit upon the idea of persuading the railway company to build an intermediate
station on the line.
A new church - dedicated to St Anne - was built, and a Land and
Building Company set up. Parcels of land were leased, and the new town was born. St
Anne's was a Victorian new town, its genteel character a product of deliberate
planning.
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With the booming, bustling working-class seaside resort of
Blackpool just a few miles up the coast, the developers of St Anne's were
determined to cater for a slightly higher social class.Wander around the town today
and you can easily discern tell-tale signs of the original town foundation: broad
avenues, the relatively uniform middle-class villas, and the regular street
pattern.
What you cannot so easily discern is the previous history of the
region, and this is where Peter Shakeshaft's book differs from most. He takes the
reader back to the earliest references to the rural settlements of Heyhouses and
Kilgrimol.
Part I of this important new book deals exclusively with the
history of the area before the establishment of the Victorian new town. Part II
looks in detail at the first 130 years of St Anne's history: foundation, local
government, disputes, even a proposed amalgamation with Blackpool. The book is
beautifully illustrated, with many old and new photographs reproduced in full
colour.
About the Author
Peter Shakeshaft was born in St Anne's in 1942, the town where
his parents had come to live in the early 1920s. In 1958 he went to live at
Freckleton, but in 1967 returned to St Anne's, where he still resides with his wife
Maureen.
He was educated at King Edward VII School, Lytham, and after
leaving school he worked for the Department for National Savings for thirty-seven
years.He has had a lifelong interest in history and following early retirement in
1995 began to research the history of Freckleton.
His book, The History of Freckleton was published by Carnegie
Publishing in 2001, and also featured on the BBC local history website. In the same
year he began his research into the history of the Heyhouses farming community, and
the rise and progress of the modern town of St Anne's on the Sea.
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St Annes on the Sea: A History
(Hardcover)
by Peter Shakeshaft
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Carnegie Publishing Ltd (31 Jul 2008)
ISBN-10: 1859361595
ISBN-13: 978-1859361597
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St Annes on the Sea: A History
(Paperback)
by Peter Shakeshaft
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Carnegie Publishing Ltd (7 Aug 2008)
ISBN-10: 185936182X
ISBN-13: 978-1859361825
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