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Freckleton village is situated on the south Fylde near the junction
of the Dow and Douglas rivers north of the Ribble. It existed in
Roman times and the lake or pool here was probably used as a port
to supply the fort at Kirkham a few miles north.What little remains
of the Freckleton quay can be seen at low tide between the boat
yard and Naze point at the end of the headland.
The village is mentioned in The Domesday Book, although the name
is apparently spelt FRECKULTON (or FRECHELTON depending on which
reference work you read). Various other names have been recorded
through the years such as FREQUELTON, FREKELTON and FREKILTON before
becoming known by its current name.
Freckleton water mill, built in the 14th century, provided milled
corn for the local agricultural community. It was demolished in
the 1960’s and replaced by the ‘modern’ flat roofed
square building that stands on the site today.
In the 1800’s Freckleton became an industrial village serving
the ship building industry. Factories were established to make sail
cloth and ropes. Most have now been demolished but some remains
still exist, mostly in road names.
At one time there were seven public houses in the village. The
Ship Inn, The Coach
and Horses and The Plough
Hotel are still serving food and drink today. The Mariners'
Arms, Lamaleach Arms, the Bush Inn and the Cyclists' Arms are no
longer in business.
Prior to 1920 when the current Preston road was built, Freckleton
controlled the access to Lytham and St Annes via the toll road running
across the marsh. The toll house still exists and can be seen on
the left when approaching Freckleton from Preston. The raised ground
that marks the route of the toll road can still be made out running
across the marsh at the bottom end of Preston Old Road / Lower Lane.
During WW2 the Americans were based at Warton Aerodrome. The disaster
that occurred when an aircraft crashed into the village school is
still discussed today. The Freckleton Memorial Playing Fields, dedicated
to the memory of those who died on the 23th August 1944, were reopened
in April 1986.
Modern day Freckleton serves as a dormitory for employees of nearby
BAE Systems at Warton and is a thriving community with a wide range
of shops and businesses. The village still has a large dependency
on agriculture.
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Reference books
'The History of Freckleton' , by Peter Shakeshaft, ISBN 1-85936-084-X
published by Carnegie Publishing Ltd.
'Warton and Freckleton' by Peter Benson, Lundy Publishing
'Freckleton Postcards', out of print but available in the library
'Freckleton Recalled', out of print but available in the library
We have a number of old pictures in our Picture
Gallery.
Freckleton Tragedy 1944
August 23rd 1944 is remembered as the worst day in the history
of Freckleton. Tragedy hit when an American B-24 Bomber crashed on Holy Trinity
School and a nearby cafe killing 61 people. Among
the dead were 38 children and two teachers, the proprietors and
staff of the cafe and a number of American and British
servicemen including the pilot and crew of the plane. The book
chronicles what happened on that terrible day using mainly survivor's
memories and eyewitness accounts. Written by village librarian
Joyce Turner the book is available from the library priced £6.
All proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the children
of Freckleton.
Old Photos of Freckleton
Mike Rigg has kindly provided us with some old photos and postcards
have been added to our gallery.
If anyone else has any old photos taken in and around Freckleton
that they would like to share with us then please
send an email to
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