Great Eccleston
Encyclopedia
Great Eccleston is a village and civil parish
in the English
county of Lancashire
, situated on a coastal plain
called the Fylde
. The village lies to the south of the River Wyre
and the A586 road, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) upstream from the port of Fleetwood
. At the 2001 United Kingdom census
, the parish had a population of 1,473.
Great Eccleston is part of Wyre
district and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wyre and Preston North
. Locally, the village is known for its annual agricultural show.
of 1086 as Eglestun. In various 13th-century documents it was recorded as Ecclisto, Ecleston and Great Eccleston. 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
. 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. In the Domesday Book, the area of Great Eccleston was estimated at two carucate
s (ploughlands) of land.
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. 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.
, forms the ward
of Great Eccleston, which elects one councillor
. Susan Catterall, a Conservative
politician, was elected councillor for the ward in 2008. 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
.
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. Prior to the 2010 general election, Great Eccleston was part of the constituency of Lancaster and Wyre. The village is also part of the North West England constituency
of the European Parliament
.
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
.
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 (34.3 in).
is held in Great Eccleston every month.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, situated on a coastal plain
Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
called the Fylde
The Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
. The village lies to the south of the River Wyre
River Wyre
The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles in length...
and the A586 road, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) upstream from the port of Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
. At the 2001 United Kingdom census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the parish had a population of 1,473.
Great Eccleston is part of Wyre
Wyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
district and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wyre and Preston North
Wyre and Preston North (UK Parliament constituency)
Wyre and Preston North is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in the most recent fifth periodic review of constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...
. Locally, the village is known for its annual agricultural show.
History
Great Eccleston was listed in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Eglestun. In various 13th-century documents it was recorded as Ecclisto, Ecleston and Great Eccleston. In 1066 when the Normans conquered England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
, the township
Township (England)
In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...
of Great Eccleston—then part of the ancient hundred of Amounderness
Amounderness
Amounderness was a hundred of Lancashire in North West England. Formerly, the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble that had been included in Domesday Yorkshire.-Etymology and history:...
—was in the possession of Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned english King of England.-Early life:...
, the brother of King Harold II
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
. Tostig died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge
Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and the English king's brother Tostig...
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
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
baron. In the Domesday Book, the area of Great Eccleston was estimated at two carucate
Carucate
The carucate or ploughland was a unit of assessment for tax used in most Danelaw counties of England, and is found for example in Domesday Book. The carucate was based on the area a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season...
s (ploughlands) of land.
The township was originally part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Michael's on Wyre
St Michael's On Wyre
St Michael's on Wyre is a village on the Fylde, in the Borough of Wyre, in Lancashire, England; it lies on the River Wyre. The village is centred on the church of St Michael's which was founded before AD 640...
and Great Eccleston's parishioners would have worshipped there at St Michael's Church. In 1723, a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
to St Michael's was built in a part of Great Eccleston called Copp. It was dedicated to St Anne.
Governance
Great Eccleston is governed locally by a parish council, which is made up of eight elected councillors. Great Eccleston, with the parishes of Inskip with Sowerby, Upper Rawcliffe with Tarnacre and Out RawcliffeOut Rawcliffe
Out Rawcliffe is a village and civil parish on the north bank of the River Wyre in the Over Wyre area of the Fylde in Lancashire, England.It is the location of the medieval Rawcliffe Hall...
, forms the ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
of Great Eccleston, which elects one councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
. Susan Catterall, a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, was elected councillor for the ward in 2008. Great Eccleston was formerly part of the rural district
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
of Garstang. In 1974, the district merged with those of Fleetwood, Thornton Cleveleys, Poulton-le-Fylde and Preesall to form Wyre Borough Council
Wyre
Wyre is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Poulton-le-Fylde.The district is named after the River Wyre, which runs through the district...
.
The village is represented in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
as part of Wyre and Preston North
Wyre and Preston North (UK Parliament constituency)
Wyre and Preston North is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in the most recent fifth periodic review of constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...
. 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. Prior to the 2010 general election, Great Eccleston was part of the constituency of Lancaster and Wyre. The village is also part of the North West England constituency
North West England (European Parliament constituency)
North West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For the 2009 elections it elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.-Boundaries:...
of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Geography
At 53°51′18"N 2°52′15.6"W (53.855°, −2.871°), and approximately 240 miles north-west of London, Great Eccleston lies on a coastal plainCoastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...
called the Fylde
The Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
. It is approximately 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of the seaside resort of Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, approximately 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde
Poulton-le-Fylde is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman...
and about 12 miles (19 km) north-west of its post town
Post town
A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system. Including the correct post town in the address increases the chances of a letter or parcel being delivered on time. Post towns are usually based upon the location of...
, Preston. Nearby villages include Little Eccleston
Little Eccleston
Little Eccleston with Larbreck is a civil parish on the southern bank of the River Wyre on the Fylde in the English county of Lancashire. The river is crossed by Cartford Bridge, a toll bridge, an unusual feature in England....
, Elswick
Elswick, Lancashire
Elswick is a rural village and civil parish in the English county of Lancashire, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, the parish had a population of 1,057. At the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Elswick was a small agricultural...
and St Michael's on Wyre
St Michael's On Wyre
St Michael's on Wyre is a village on the Fylde, in the Borough of Wyre, in Lancashire, England; it lies on the River Wyre. The village is centred on the church of St Michael's which was founded before AD 640...
.
Great Eccleston has a generally temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
maritime climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
like much of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, with cool summers and mild winters. In nearby Blackpool, there is an annual average rainfall of 871.3 millimetres (34.3 in).
Culture and community
The Great Eccleston Agricultural Show is held in the village over two days every July. 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. Up to 40,000 people were expected to attend the 2011 show. Displays typically feature livestock, horticulture, country crafts, local produce and agricultural vehicles. A farmers' marketFarmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
is held in Great Eccleston every month.