24 Facts About Fleetwood

Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde.

Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal landowner Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, High Sheriff and MP, conceived an ambitious plan to re-develop the town to make it a busy seaport and railway spur.

Fleetwood commissioned the Victorian architect Decimus Burton to design a number of substantial civic buildings, including two lighthouses.

Fleetwood is the only town in the United Kingdom to possess three lighthouses and the two within the town itself remain fully operational.

Fleetwood had numerous financial arguments with Frederick Kemp, who borrowed against the estate revenues to finance the expansion of the town, and was suspected of taking financial advantage of Sir Peter.

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Hesketh-Fleetwood became short of cash and was forced to mortgage his properties.

Fleetwood leased Rossall Hall itself to the Church of England, which intended to set up a boarding school as a North of England equivalent of Marlborough School.

Virtually bankrupt, Hesketh-Fleetwood retired to Brighton, giving up his parliamentary obligations in 1847.

Fleetwood had set up the Fleetwood Estates Company to manage the land, and the North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company in 1843 to manage the expanding steamer trade.

The Fleetwood Docks Act of 1864 enabled the construction of a dock and embankment for both fishing and general cargo.

Fleetwood is the only town in Britain with trams running the full length of its main street, sharing road-space with cars.

In 1996, Fleetwood could be seen in "A High Profile", an episode of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

Since the Local Government Act 1972, effective 1 April 1974, Fleetwood has been part of the Borough of Wyre, together with the neighbouring communities of Thornton Cleveleys and Poulton-le-Fylde, the Over Wyre villages and Garstang.

From 1997 to 2010, Fleetwood was included with Thornton and parts of Blackpool, as part of the Blackpool North and Fleetwood parliamentary constituency.

Fleetwood is located on the Fylde Peninsula, 8 miles north of Blackpool, on the western side of the mouth of the River Wyre.

Access to Fleetwood is thus restricted, and for many years there were only two roads into and out of the town.

Fleetwood falls within the coverage area of BBC Radio Lancashire.

In May 2014 Fleetwood were victorious in the League 2 play-off final to win promotion to League 1.

Fleetwood FC was founded in 1908 and wound up in 1976, having been several times Lancashire Combination cup champions in the 1930s, and founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968.

Speedway racing was staged at Highbury Stadium from 1948 to 1952, with Fleetwood Flyers riding in the Second Division of the National Speedway league.

Fleetwood Rugby Union Football Club is an amateur rugby union club, first registered in 1932 as Fleetwood Old Boys, with the Old Boys title being dropped in the 1950s.

Fleetwood is a popular location for kitesurfing and other power kite sports.

Fleetwood has suffered severe unemployment due to the collapse of the fishing industry and the closure of a local ICI factory.

Only tertiary educational institution in Fleetwood is the Nautical Campus of Blackpool and The Fylde College, located at Broadwater.