Kirkham, or as it once was known,
Kirkam-in-AmoundernessAmounderness is an area of North West England. In its most recent incarnation it was a hundred of Lancashire. Previously the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble that had been included in the Domesday Book's Yorkshire section.The name is first recorded...
is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in the Fylde district of
LancashireLancashire 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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, midway between
BlackpoolBlackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. Situated along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the fourth-largest settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington...
and
PrestonPreston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign...
(11 miles west of Preston). It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location of a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
fort
The town is pre-Roman in its origin with a name originating from the
DanishDanish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the...
kirk (church) and
-ham (Saxon for settlement, or "home").
Kirkham, or as it once was known,
Kirkam-in-AmoundernessAmounderness is an area of North West England. In its most recent incarnation it was a hundred of Lancashire. Previously the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble that had been included in the Domesday Book's Yorkshire section.The name is first recorded...
is a
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in the Fylde district of
LancashireLancashire 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. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, midway between
BlackpoolBlackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. Situated along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the fourth-largest settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington...
and
PrestonPreston is a city and non-metropolitan district of Lancashire, in North West England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign...
(11 miles west of Preston). It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location of a
RomanThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
fort
History
The town is pre-Roman in its origin with a name originating from the
DanishDanish is one of the North Germanic languages , a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken by around 6 million people, mainly in Denmark; the language is also used by the 50,000 Danes in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany where it holds the...
kirk (church) and
-ham (Saxon for settlement, or "home"). It appears in the
Domesday BookThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
of 1086 under the name of
Chicheham and is described as lying on the Roman road between
RibchesterRibchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings...
(
BremetennacumBremetennacum was a Roman fort which is now the village of Ribchester in Lancashire . The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The first Roman activity on the site was the establishment of a timber fort believed to have been constructed during the campaigns of Petillius Cerialis around AD 72/3...
) and the
River WyreThe River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, England, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles in length...
. The town's market has one of the oldest charters in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
having been granted in 1269–70 by King
Henry IIIHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
. The
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
parish church is
St Michael'sSt Michael's Church, Kirkham is in the town of Kirkham in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England . The church is a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Blackburn, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the deanery of Kirkham.-History:The earliest...
. There is also a Roman Catholic church - St John The Evangelist, but known locally as "The Willows" - on Ribby Road
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Kirkham/StJohnTheEvangelist.shtml, a
United Reformed ChurchThe United Reformed Church is a Christian church in Great Britain. The URC is the result of a union between the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales in 1972 and subsequent unions with the Re-formed Association of Churches of Christ in 1981 and the...
on Poulton Street
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Kirkham/PoultonStCongregational.shtml,a Free Methodist church "Cornerstone" based out of The Dove Theatre at Carr Hill High School and a Methodist church on Nelson Street
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Kirkham/NelsonStreetWesleyanMethodist.shtml.
Location and amenities
Kirkham lies in the centre of a relatively rich agricultural area. By the mid 18th century, however, the manufacture of sail-cloth and the flax-weaving industry had become well established in the town. By 1876 there were several factories employing almost 1,000 workers in the cotton and other industries and by the end of the century the town had grown considerably in importance.
Kirkham and Wesham railway stationThe Lancashire towns of Kirkham and Wesham, in England, are served by one railway station, Kirkham and Wesham.The station, opened in 1840, was originally located to the west of Station Road and named Kirkham Station...
was opened in 1840 as "Kirkham Station", when the
Preston and Wyre Railway and Harbour Companyright|256px|thumb|Carleton level crossing between Poulton-le-Fylde and Laytonright|256px|thumb|The sorry state of Thornton for Cleveleys station in 2005...
opened its line to
FleetwoodFleetwood 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...
. South of the town is
Kirkham open prisonHM Prison Kirkham is a Category D men's prison, located southwest of Kirkham in Lancashire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-RAF Kirkham:...
, built on part of the site of the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
base which closed in 1957.
The two secondary schools are
Carr Hill High SchoolCarr Hill High School and Sixth Form Centre is an 11–18, mixed comprehensive school and sixth form in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. The school holds specialist Engineering College status. The school has 1313 students currently enrolled...
and
Kirkham Grammar SchoolKirkham Grammar School is an independent school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England . It was founded in 1549. Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church, Kirkham in the 13th century. The school remained in the church grounds until it moved to occupy its present...
.
See Education section below
Kirkham has had its own small library since 1939.
The town is served by its own free
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
, the
Kirkham and Wesham Advertiser. Both the
Blackpool GazetteThe Blackpool Gazette is an English evening newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast...
and the
Lancashire Evening PostThe Lancashire Evening Post is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library, its first edition was published on 18 October 1886...
cover Kirkham news, as does the weekly
Kirkham and Fylde Express.
Regular bus services are provided by the
RibbleRibble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West of England, based in Preston. The company was started in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching from Carlisle to south Lancashire...
branch of
Stagecoach BusesStagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
.
Education
Kirkham boasts two secondary schools,
Carr Hill High SchoolCarr Hill High School and Sixth Form Centre is an 11–18, mixed comprehensive school and sixth form in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. The school holds specialist Engineering College status. The school has 1313 students currently enrolled...
and
Kirkham Grammar SchoolKirkham Grammar School is an independent school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England . It was founded in 1549. Its roots can be traced back to the chantry school attached to St Michael's Church, Kirkham in the 13th century. The school remained in the church grounds until it moved to occupy its present...
. Kirkham Grammar is an
Independent SchoolAn independent school is a school which is independent in terms of its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some...
and is well-known for the success of its pupils, both in terms of exam results and extracurricular endeavours. Carr Hill has achieved better examination results than it used to.. Kirkham Grammar Junior School has a well developed pastoral care system.
Kirkham Baths
Kirkham Swimming Baths was erected in 1914 at the bequest of William Segar Hodgson J.P. It has served Kirkham as a public swimming pool for over 90 years. Now operated by Fylde Borough Council it is open seven days a week. Swimming galas, children fun swims and adult only swims are regularly held. In February 2008 a campaign was initiated to save the baths from closure. This included a public march through Kirkham and Wesham on 1 March attended by some 3,000 local supporters A local action group was subsequently formed to organise the longer term survival of the baths
http://www.myfylde.co.uk/KirkhamSplash and has been successful in presenting a business plan to Fylde Borough Council.
Football Club
The football club was formed by the amalgamation of Kirkham Town F.C. and Wesham F.C. in 1988 and was thereafter called "Kirkham and Wesham F.C." until the end of the 2007-08 season. Since then the club's name has been changed to
A.F.C. FyldeA.F.C. Fylde is a football club based in Warton, Lancashire, England. The club were known as Kirkham & Wesham F.C. until the end of the 2007-08 season. The club has spent most of its existence in the West Lancashire League, but, after winning the league title for seven out of eight seasons, were...
, the name of a previous club which had played in the
West Lancashire LeagueThe West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions - three for first teams , and two for reserve teams...
in the years immediately before the First World War.
The football club is now based in the nearby village of
WartonWarton is a village on the the Fylde in Lancashire, England.The village is about six miles from Preston and eight miles from Blackpool. It is located on the banks of the River Ribble, close to its entry into the Irish Sea. It is best known for its airfield, BAE Warton and its associated aircraft...
and the team plays in the
North West Counties LeagueThe North West Counties Football League is a football league in North west of England. As of 2008, the league covers the whole of the North West England region, and part of the West Midlands region, from Stoke-on-Trent, the Peak District in Northern Derbyshire up to the Lake District...
, after being promoted from the West Lancashire League in 2007. Following their defeat of
Lowestoft TownLowestoft Town F.C. is a semi-professional football team based in Lowestoft, England, currently playing in the Isthmian League Division One North, at the 4th step within the non-league pyramid.-History :...
at the
Wembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007.-History:...
final on May 11 2008, the team are the current holders of the
FA VaseThe Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System. For the 2008–09 season 514 entrants were accepted, with two qualifying rounds preceding the six proper rounds, semi-finals and final to be played at...
.
Twin Towns
Kirkham is twinned with both
AncenisAncenis is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Now, in Région Pays de la Loire, it played a great historical role as a key location on the road to Nantes , the historical capital of Brittany...
in
Loire-AtlantiqueLoire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
Bad BrückenauBad Brückenau is a spa town in Bad Kissingen district in northern Bavaria. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 30 kilometers south of Fulda.- Geography :Bad Brückenau is located in the valley of the River Sinn, in the western part of the Rhön Mountains...
a
spaA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.-Definitions:...
town in
Bad KissingenBad Kissingen is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district Main-Kinzig and Fulda in Hesse, and the districts of Rhön-Grabfeld, Schweinfurt and Main-Spessart.- History :...
district, northern
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
which is situated in the
Rhön MountainsThe Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end of the East Hesse Highlands , are partly a result of ancient volcanic activity...
in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
Kirkham has an active Twinning Association and has regular contact with both Ancenis and Bad Brückenau. Details can be found on the Association's web site www.kirkhamtwinning.org
External links