Garstang Town Hall from High Street 239-1

Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268; the larger Garstang Built-up Area, which includes the adjoining settlements of Bonds and

Cabus Cabus is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It lies 12 miles north of Preston, 9 miles south of Lancaster and 16 miles north east of Blackpool. The electoral ward of Cabus, which includes some northern suburbs of Garstang and ...

, had population of 6,779. Garstang is famous for being the world's first ever Fairtrade Town.

Etymology

Garstang is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ''Cherestanc in 1086''. Later recordings of the name include Geresteng, Gairstang in 1195; Grestein, 1204; Gayrestan, 1236; Gayerstang, 1246; Gayrstang, 1274; Gayrestang, 1292. The original spelling of Garstang has several interpretations: "'gore by the boundary pole", "spear post", "triangular piece of land", "common land" or "meadowland". Possibly signifying the site of a meeting-space. The Old Norse derivation being 'geiri', a gore, from 'geirr', with 'stang' or 'stong', meaning "pole" or "boundary marker". Or the Saxon derivation 'Gaerstung'. It is probable that the historic market cross is this same site.

History

Early history

A brief but comprehensive history of the parish, including the parish church of St Helen in Churchtown and

Greenhalgh Castle Greenhalgh Castle is a castle, now ruined, near the town of Garstang in Lancashire, England. Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, had the castle built in 1490 to provide defence for his estates around Garstang. He was also allowed to enclose a par ...

, can be found in "The Parish of Garstang", ''A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7''. St.

John Plessington John Plessington (c. 1637 – 19 July 1679), also known as John Plesington, William Scarisbrick and William Pleasington, was an English Catholic priest who was executed by the English Crown for violating the ban on the presence of Catholic prie ...

was born at Dimples Hall, which is just outside the town. Garstang was once served by Garstang and Catterall railway station which closed in 1969, and Garstang Town railway station which closed to passengers in 1930. The town is overlooked by the ruined remains of

, built in 1490 by Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. Garstang Town Hall was completed in 1764.

Modern history

Garstang's traditional market day on Thursdays dates back to the early-1300s and stretches the length of street. The Market Cross at the top of the High Street one of the most familiar landmarks in the area. The town celebrates an arts festival and an agricultural show (which has been continued for 200 years) every year in August. In April 2000, Garstang declared itself "the world's first Fairtrade Town", influencing many other towns, cities and counties around the United Kingdom to work towards the same goal. The Fairtrade Town status was renewed by the Fairtrade Foundation on 13 August 2003. In 2011, a wind turbine, the UK's largest, was built in the town to provide power for Dewlay; a local factory producing the award-winning Garstang Blue cheese. The local newspaper, the ''Garstang Courier'', is available on tape free of charge to blind and partially-sighted people from Galloway's Society for the Blind. Following success in winning the Small Country Town category in the 2002 Britain in Bloom Awards, Garstang won the Small Town category in the 2005, 2006 and 2010 and was invited to the champion of champions in 2010 also. Local primary schools are Garstang Community Primary School, Garstang St Thomas Church of England School and SS Mary and Michael Catholic School. The local

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

is Garstang Community Academy which does not offer sixth form courses; pupils have to travel to Lancaster,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and further to sit

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

courses. The town has seven public houses: The Farmers Arms, the Crown, the Eagle and Child, the King's Arms, the

Royal Oak Hotel The Royal Oak Hotel is a pub located in Balmain, a suburb in the inner west region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The pub has historical links with the union movement and is one of a number of buildings which formed a ...

, the Wheatsheaf, Th'Owd Tithe Barn, with the Bellflower (formerly the Flag) in Nateby and Crofters Tavern in

. It has three restaurants: Pipers, Ken Ma and the Great Season, the latter two being Chinese restaurants. There is also a golf club and Country Hotel and the Crofter's Hotel, on the main A6 road. Garstang is referenced in episode 5 of the first series of the comedy ''

Phoenix Nights ''Phoenix Nights'' is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Bolton, Greater Manchester. The show is a spin-off from the "In the Club" episode of the spoof documentary series ''That Pete ...

''. Brian Potter (played by

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

) said ''"What have you called us? What have you called the best cabaret lounge this side of Garstang?"'' in reference to an

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

night being run at his fictional club. The town is served by the Anglican church of St Thomas and the Catholic church of St Mary and St Michael (just outside the town's boundaries in Bonds). Until 1881, Garstang's official parish church was

St Helen's St Helens or St. Helen's may refer to: Places Australia * St Helens, Queensland (Fraser Coast Region), a locality in the Fraser Coast Region * St Helens, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality in the Toowoomba Region * St Helens Beach, Queenslan ...

, away in Churchtown.

Governance

From a very early time, Garstang lay within the Amounderness Hundred of Lancashire. From 1894 until 1974 Garstang formed its own local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire; "Garstang

Rural District Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

", which extended beyond the current civil parish boundaries, including villages such as Pilling. Since 1974, Garstang has formed part of the Wyre borough of Lancashire, although it retains an elected Town Council with limited jurisdiction. The borough ward has three councillors, including Lady Dulcie Atkins, wife of former MEP Sir Robert Atkins. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 4,852.

Geography

Lying on the River Wyre, River Calder and the

Lancaster Canal The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, a ...

, Garstang is situated close to the A6 road, the M6 motorway, and the West Coast Main Line, between Lancaster and

. It lies on the eastern edge of the Fylde, and the Forest of Bowland is not far to the east. Garstang and the nearby villages of Bonds,

Bowgreave Bowgreave is a village in the parish of Barnacre-with-Bonds, Lancashire, England. Its nearest town is Garstang, a mile to the north. Garstang Community Academy Garstang Community Academy (formerly Garstang High School) is a secondary sch ...

, Catterall and Western

Claughton-On-Brock Claughton ( ) is a sparse village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire in the north of England, in the Borough of Wyre. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 633. It is sometimes called Claughton-on-Brock to disting ...

form an almost continuous built-up area, bypassed by the A6 road in 1928 (incorrectly given as 1926 in). Other nearby villages not bypassed by the A6 road include: Brock, Bilsborrow,

and Churchtown form another, much larger, continuous built-up area which includes Garstang in the centre.

Sport

People

The following people have lived, or were born, in Garstang: *

Isaac Ambrose Isaac Ambrose (1604 – 20 January 1664) was an English Puritan divine. He graduated with a BA. from Brasenose College, Oxford, on 1624. He obtained the curacy of St Edmund’s Church, Castleton, Derbyshire, in 1627. He was one of king's four pr ...

(1604–1664), a Puritan vicar * Sir Robert Atkins, Member of the European Parliament for the

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

region and Vice-President of

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

Dicky Bond Richard Bond (14 December 1883 – 25 April 1955) was an English footballer who played outside right. He was capped eight times by England and spent the vast majority of his playing career at Bradford City where he played more than 300 games. C ...

(1883–1955), footballer noted for his time at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

* Harry Dean (1884–1957), Lancashire

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played three Test matches for England * George Benson (1893–1974), a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

noted for his time at Accrington Stanley *

Mary Anne Hobbs Mary Anne Hobbs (born 16 May 1964) is an English DJ and music journalist from Lancashire, England. She currently hosts the BBC Radio 6 Music weekday mid-morning show, Monday to Friday, 10:30am1pm, and her ''6 Music Recommends'' show, Wednesday ...

(1964–), a BBC Radio 6 Music disc jockey * Adam Phillips, footballer * Jason Robinson (1974–), an England rugby player (both league and union) *

Robert Terrill Rundle Robert Terrill Rundle (18 June 1811 – 4 February 1896) was a Cornish Wesleyan Methodist missionary from Cornwall, UK. His most noteworthy activities relate to his missionary work in Western Canada between 1840 and 1848. Early life Rundl ...

(1811–1896), a Methodist missionary noted for his work in Western Canada * Rt Revd

Paul Swarbrick Paul Swarbrick (born 2 July 1958) is a Roman Catholic prelate, who has served as Bishop of Lancaster since 2018. Early life and education Born on 2 July 1958 at Garstang, Lancashire, England, Swarbrick was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar S ...

(born 1958), Roman Catholic bishop *

John Woolrich John Woolrich ( ; born 1954 in Cirencester) is an English composer. Biography Woolrich has founded a group (the Composers Ensemble), a festival (Hoxton New Music Days), and has been composer in association with the Orchestra of St John's and th ...

(1954–), composer, lived in Garstang from 1955 to 1972