Kirkland, Lancashire

"Churchtown, Lancashire" redirects here. For Churchtown near Southport, which was in Lancashire until 1974, see Churchtown, Sefton.

‹ The template below (Infobox England and Wales civil parish) is being deleted. See templates for discussion for the discussion that led to this result. ›

Kirkland
Civil parish
Status:	Parish
Population:	343 (2001 Census)[1]
Administration
Primary council:	Wyre
County:	Lancashire
Region:	North West England
Coordinates:	53°52′47″N 2°47′27″W / 53.87968°N 2.79096°W / 53.87968; -2.79096Coordinates: 53°52′47″N 2°47′27″W / 53.87968°N 2.79096°W / 53.87968; -2.79096
Politics

Kirkland is a civil parish located on the banks of the River Wyre midway between Preston and Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. It is also the historic name of the village of Churchtown within the parish. There are two pubs: the Punchbowl and the Horns Inn.

Kirkland forms part of the Wyre district. It has a long history centred on its parish church, St Helen's, once known as the Cathedral of the Fylde. The church includes: -

• a "lepers' window" to enable those unfortunates an opportunity to attend its services;
• a grave marker for the village's only victim of the Black Plague;
• a large rafter, once known as the "new beam", supposedly presented to the parish by King Henry VIII at the time of the Reformation.

There are significant pointers such as a circular churchyard with several yew trees to its original use as a Druid temple. It was believed by some that the area may have been the site where Christian missionaries from Ireland first set foot in Lancashire at the end of the navigational portion of the River Wyre which flows to the Irish Sea some 14 miles away. St Helen's is one of only two Grade I listed buildings in the Borough of Wyre.^[2]

References

1. ^ "Parish headcount". http://www.lancashireparishcouncils.gov.uk/documents/information/Parish_headcount.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-13. 
2. ^ "Listed Buildings". Wyre Borough Council. http://www.wyrebc.gov.uk/Page.aspx?PvnID=75600&PgeID=46729&BrdCb=1-1447-1499. Retrieved 2010-02-12. 

External links

• Map sources for Kirkland, Lancashire - using the name Churchtown
• Lancashire Churches
• Lancashire parish portal
• A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7 Pages: 313-15
• A History of the County of Lancaster: St Helen's Church, Kirkland