Marton, Blackpool
Encyclopedia
Marton is a settlement on the coastal plain
of the Fylde
in Lancashire
, England, most of which is now part of the seaside town of Blackpool
. Marton, which consisted of Great Marton, Little Marton, Marton Fold and The Peel, was originally part of the parish of Poulton-le-Fylde
, before the development of Blackpool as a resort.
of 1086 as Meretun. The name usually means "farmstead by a pool", derived from the Old English words mere and tūn. Its area was estimated in that survey to be six carucate
s of arable land.
By no later than the end of the 11th century, St Chad's Church
had been built in the nearby town of Poulton-le-Fylde
and became the parish church
for the area following the Reformation
in the 16th century. Marton residents travelled 5 miles (8 km) to worship at St Chad's, a journey that was difficult in winter. Around 1625, they petitioned to become a separate parish from Poulton-le-Fylde, with Layton and Blackpool. It was not until 1800 that their request was granted and the Church of St Paul was built in Great Marton. Originally a chapel
of Poulton-le-Fylde, the church was consecrated
in 1804. It later became a parish church. In 1857, the church as extended to accommodate Marton's growing population, and a tower was added.
In 1894, the hamlet of Great Marton was incorporated into Blackpool and parts of Little Marton into St-Anne's-on-Sea.
. Since 1997, Blackpool South has been represented at parliament
by Labour
MP
Gordon Marsden
.
freshwater lake was once approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and 1 miles (1.6 km) wide. It was gradually drained throughout the 18th century to allow land to be reclaimed for agriculture. The mere is now part of Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve, which has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
The other prominent geographical feature of the area is Marton Moss. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide. The structure of the moss
is peat
, on top of a layer of clay
, in which is embedded whole (and fragments of) tree trunks. These trunks indicate that the area was once covered in dense woodland.
. It is constructed of red and yellow sandstone, with more recent additions in brick.
Little Marton Mill
, situated close to the M55 motorway
, was built in 1838 on the site of a previous mill. It was a working gristmill
, grinding corn until 1928. It is the only remaining mill in Blackpool.
. The school still exists, as Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary School. Marton Primary School was founded in 1991. Marton also has two secondary school
s, Highfield Humanities College
and St. George's Church of England High School
.
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...
of 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...
in 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...
, England, most of which is now part of the seaside town 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...
. Marton, which consisted of Great Marton, Little Marton, Marton Fold and The Peel, was originally part of the parish 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...
, before the development of Blackpool as a resort.
History
Great Marton and Little Marton were collectively 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 Meretun. The name usually means "farmstead by a pool", derived from the Old English words mere and tūn. Its area was estimated in that survey to be six 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 of arable land.
By no later than the end of the 11th century, St Chad's Church
St Chad's Church, Poulton-le-Fylde
St Chad's Church is an Anglican church in Poulton-le-Fylde, a town on the Fylde coastal plain in Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster. It has been designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage...
had been built in the nearby town 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 became the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
for the area following the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
in the 16th century. Marton residents travelled 5 miles (8 km) to worship at St Chad's, a journey that was difficult in winter. Around 1625, they petitioned to become a separate parish from Poulton-le-Fylde, with Layton and Blackpool. It was not until 1800 that their request was granted and the Church of St Paul was built in Great Marton. Originally a chapel
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....
of Poulton-le-Fylde, the church was consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
in 1804. It later became a parish church. In 1857, the church as extended to accommodate Marton's growing population, and a tower was added.
In 1894, the hamlet of Great Marton was incorporated into Blackpool and parts of Little Marton into St-Anne's-on-Sea.
Governance
Marton is an electoral ward in the borough constituency of Blackpool SouthBlackpool South (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackpool South is a borough constituency in Lancashire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election, and was created in 1945.-History:...
. Since 1997, Blackpool South has been represented at parliament
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...
by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Gordon Marsden
Gordon Marsden
Gordon Marsden is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Blackpool South since 1997.-Early life:...
.
Geography
The pool referred to by Marton's name is Marton Mere. The glacialGlacial lake
A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...
freshwater lake was once approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and 1 miles (1.6 km) wide. It was gradually drained throughout the 18th century to allow land to be reclaimed for agriculture. The mere is now part of Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve, which has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
The other prominent geographical feature of the area is Marton Moss. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide. The structure of the moss
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
is peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
, on top of a layer of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, in which is embedded whole (and fragments of) tree trunks. These trunks indicate that the area was once covered in dense woodland.
Landmarks
The original Church of St Paul was replaced by the current church, built 1908–09. It is situated a few metres from the original site, on Whitegate Drive, and was designed by F. Freeman of BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. It is constructed of red and yellow sandstone, with more recent additions in brick.
Little Marton Mill
Little Marton Mill
Little Marton Mill is a 19th-century English tower windmill in Marton, now part of Blackpool, Lancashire. It was built in 1838 by John Hays for grinding corn, and worked until 1928...
, situated close to the M55 motorway
M55 motorway
The M55 is a motorway in Lancashire, England, which can also be referred to as the Preston Northern Bypass. It connects the seaside resort of Blackpool to the M6 at Preston. It is 11.4 miles in length.-Route:...
, was built in 1838 on the site of a previous mill. It was a working gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
, grinding corn until 1928. It is the only remaining mill in Blackpool.
Education
The first school in Marton was Baines' Free School, built in 1717, financed by James Baines who also built schools in Hardhorn-cum-Newton and ThorntonThornton, Lancashire
Thornton is a village on the Fylde, in Lancashire, England, about four miles north of Blackpool and two miles south of Fleetwood. It is in the Borough of Wyre...
. The school still exists, as Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary School. Marton Primary School was founded in 1991. Marton also has two secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s, Highfield Humanities College
Highfield Humanities College
Highfield Humanities College is a secondary school for 11-16 year olds in Marton, Blackpool, Lancashire, England.Highfield Humanities College, previously known as Highfield High School, is located on Highfield Road, Blackpool...
and St. George's Church of England High School
St. George's Church of England High School
St. George's School is a Church of England secondary school in Marton, Blackpool, Lancashire, England with a mixed intake of both boys and girls aged 11-16. It is located on Cherry Tree Road.-Renovation:The school has undergone a number of refurbishments...
.