Great Eccleston

Great Eccleston was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Eglestun. In various 13th-century documents it was recorded as Ecclisto, Ecleston and Great Eccleston.[3] In 1066 when the Normans conquered England, the township of Great Eccleston—then part of the ancient hundred of Amounderness—was in the possession of Tostig Godwinson, the brother of King Harold II.[4] Tostig died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and his lands were subsequently taken over by the Normans. Between 1069 and 1086 William the Conqueror gave Amounderness to Roger de Poitou, an Anglo-Norman baron.[5] In the Domesday Book, the area of Great Eccleston was estimated at two carucates (ploughlands) of land.[3]

The township was originally part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Michael's on Wyre and Great Eccleston's parishioners would have worshipped there at St Michael's Church.[6] In 1723, a chapel of ease to St Michael's was built in a part of Great Eccleston called Copp. It was dedicated to St Anne.[3]

Great Eccleston is governed locally by a parish council, which is made up of eight elected councillors.[7] Great Eccleston, with the parishes of Inskip with Sowerby, Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre and Out Rawcliffe, forms the ward of Great Eccleston, which elects one councillor. Susan Catterall, a Conservative politician, was elected councillor for the ward in 2008.[8] The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 3,581.[9] Great Eccleston was formerly part of the rural district of Garstang. In 1974, the district merged with those of Fleetwood, Thornton Cleveleys, Poulton-le-Fylde and Preesall to form Wyre Borough Council.[10]

The village is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of Wyre and Preston North. It elects one MP by the first past the post system of election. Since its creation for the 2010 general election, Wyre and Preston North has been represented at Parliament by Conservative MP Ben Wallace.[11] Prior to the 2010 general election, Great Eccleston was part of the constituency of Lancaster and Wyre. The village was part of the North West England constituency of the European Parliament.[12]

At 53°51′18″N 2°52′15.6″W (53.855°, −2.871°), and approximately 240 miles (390 km) north-west of London, Great Eccleston lies on a coastal plain called the Fylde. It is approximately 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of the seaside resort of Blackpool, approximately 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Poulton-le-Fylde and about 12 miles (19 km) north-west of its post town, Preston. Nearby villages include Little Eccleston, Elswick and St Michael's on Wyre and Singleton.

Great Eccleston has a generally temperate maritime climate like much of the British Isles, with cool summers and mild winters. In nearby Blackpool, there is an annual average rainfall of 871.3 millimetres (34.30 in).[13]

The Great Eccleston Agricultural Show is held in the village over two days every July along with Tractor Pulling,[14] which also sees an event held in its own right at the same show ground during the August bank holiday.[15] Horse, steam and agricultural shows have been held in Great Eccleston since the mid-19th century. Like many similar rural events, the Great Eccleston Show waned in popularity and ceased to take place in the 1950s; it was reinstated in 1972.[15] Up to 40,000 people were expected to attend the 2011 show.[16] Displays typically feature livestock, horticulture, country crafts, local produce and agricultural vehicles.[17] A farmers' market is held in Great Eccleston every month.[18] A weekly general market takes place each week.

The village is home to three public houses: the Farmers Arms, in Halsalls Square, and the Black Bull Hotel and White Bull, both on High Street.[19]

In business between 1975 and 1998 was the Blinking Owl, an 85-seat restaurant located in a converted farm on Brock Road. The two-tier dining room was in what was formerly the barn. It served nightly (except Mondays) dinners and lunch on Sundays. Owners Keith and Barbara Baxendale took the restaurant's name from a pub in Yorkshire.[20]

• Listed buildings in Great Eccleston
• List of civil parishes in Lancashire

Footnotes

Bibliography

Media related to Great Eccleston at Wikimedia Commons