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LYTHAM ST.ANNE'S, LANCASHIRE
A Brief History of Lytham St.Anne's
Lytham is first thought to have been settled by the Anglo Saxons c.600AD. Then, c.900AD, the Fylde, was subject to a huge wave of immigration by Vikings. These were Irish-Norse Vikings and had been expelled from Dublin. They crossed the Irish Sea forming new fishing, farming and trading communities in Lancashire and Cumbria. The Vikings became Overlords of the Lytham area and local place names such as Kilgrimol (near Lytham) and Kellermergh (by the Birley Arms, Warton), date from this period.
After the conquest of Northern England by the Normans, the Lytham’s Viking Overlords seem to have adapted to Norman rule by becoming Norman Thanes and the second generation were given French names. The last of these Norse descendents was Richard Fitz Roger. He had no heir and bequeathed all his lands at Lytham to the Benedictine Monks of Durham.
For a period of 350 years Lytham belonged to Durham, and it was governed by a succession of Priors sent by Durham to reside in the small Benedictine Priory in the Lytham Hall Park area. With the exception of the occasional plague, inundation, storm and riot, the centuries passed peacefully here, mainly because of Lytham’s isolation.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Lytham had several successive landowners who subleased Lytham to tenant farmers such as Dannett (in the 1540s and 50s) and the Rodgerley family (in the 1580s and 1590s). These tenant farmers ruled the entire Lytham Estate and had similar rights to those enjoyed by the previous priors.
In 1606, as part of a land deal, the Clifton family came into possession of Lytham. They made it their family seat, converting the old priory buildings into Lytham Hall and the estate became Lytham Manor. In their 250 year association with Lytham, the Clifton family carried out huge agricultural improvements to their large estate.
From the 1790s onwards, they oversaw the transition of Lytham from farming and fishing community, to a health resort and residential town. Then, in the 1870s, there was the construction of the new town of St.Anne’s-on-the-Sea, in the dunes at the West End of Lytham Manor.
From the 1930s onwards, the Clifton family gradually sold off their interests at Lytham, leaving behind them two well-planned, middle-class towns.
For more local history click on one of the links below.
1924 Guide to Lytham St.Anne's
Old Photos of Lytham St.Anne's
Lytham Heritage Group
Send E-Mail to: rob.haley@worldonline.fr
Copyright © 2003 Robert Haley. All Rights Reserved