Medlar with Wesham
| Medlar with Wesham | |
|---|---|
 War memorial, The Square, Wesham |
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 Medlar with Wesham
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| Medlar with Wesham shown within Lancashire | |
| Population | 3,584 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SD418330 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRESTON |
| Postcode district | PR4 |
| Dialling code | 01772 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Medlar with Wesham is civil parish and an electoral ward on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. It lies within the Borough of Fylde, and had a population of 3,245 in 1,294 households recorded in the 2001 census. rising to 3,584 at the 2011 Census.
The parish contains the town of Wesham, adjacent to the larger town of Kirkham outside the parish. Technically, town status attaches to the whole parish, but in practice it is the settlement of Wesham that is referred to as a "town".
The area within the boundaries of the parish have been populated since early medieval times, prior to the Norman conquest, with separate settlements at Bradkirk, Medlar, Wesham and Mowbreck. There was also a single moated farmstead at Pasture Barn midway between Medlar and Mowbreck. The present bridleway of Mowbreck Lane was the medieval route to Treales.
The modern town of Wesham (pronounced variously 'Wessam' 'Wesham' and 'Wezzum') is only about 160 years old, and developed as the railway expanded to serve the growing popularity of resort towns such as Blackpool. From the 1920s to the 1950s huge numbers of steam trains plied their way to the coast via the station at Kirkham and Wesham.
Situated to the north of the railway station, from ½ a mile to 2½ miles north of Kirkham, in 1870–72 it had an area of 1,971 acres (798 ha) and property worth £3,441. The population in 1851 was 170 but by 1861 was 563. The increase of population arose largely from additional employment in cotton mills. At that time the manor of Wesham, with Mowbreck Hall, belonged to J. T. Fazakerley-Westby, Esq. The hall was a fine edifice of red brick, castellated with stone and contained a domestic Roman Catholic chapel. It was once reputed to be haunted and had at one time been used as a Catholic school, one of whose pupils was Bible scholar George Leo Haydock.
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Wikipedia