Kirkham aka Kirkam-in-

Amounderness The Amounderness Hundred () is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, but the name is older than the system of hundreds first recorded in the 13th century and might best be described as the name ...

is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Borough of Fylde The Borough of Fylde is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It covers part of the Fylde plain, after which it is named. The council's headquarters are in St Annes. Some council departments, including Plann ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, midway between

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 Preston and adjacent to the town of Wesham. It owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location of a

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

. At the census of 2011, it had a population 3,304 (Kirkham South) plus 3,890 (Kirkham North), giving a total of 7,194. By the census of 2021 the total had risen to 3,217 (Kirkham South) plus 4,666 (Kirkham North), giving a total of 7,883.

History

In his 1878 ''History of the Fylde of Lancashire'', John Porter described Kirkham as ".. probably the earliest inhabited locality in the Fylde district."Porter, J. MRCS, LSA (1878
''History of the Fylde of Lancashire''
Fleetwood and Blackpool, W. Porter and Sons Publisher, Chapter XII – The Parish of Kirkham. Remains found at Carleton in the 1970s of an elk with two harpoons embedded suggest that the Fylde was inhabited as long ago as 8,000 BC.Singleton, F. J. (1980), ''Kirkham – A Short History'', Kirkham & District Local History Society. The town is pre-Roman in its origin with a name originating from the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

''kirk'' (church) and ''-ham'' (

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

for settlement, or "home"). The town owes its existence to Carr Hill upon which it was built and which was the location of a

. It appears in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 under the name of ''Chicheham'' and is described as lying on the Roman road between

Ribchester Ribchester 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 ...

(

Bremetennacum Bremetennacum, or Bremetennacum Veteranorum, was a Roman fort on the site of the present day village of Ribchester in Lancashire, England (). (Misspellings in ancient geographical texts include ''Bremetonnacum'', ''Bremetenracum'' or ''Bresneten ...

) and the

River Wyre The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) in length. The river is a County Biological Heritage Site and has a sheltered estuary ...

. The town's market charter was granted in 1269–70 by King Henry III. In the 15th and 16th centuries Kirkham remained a small

. But from the late 17th century the town grew into a thriving textile centre. From 1830

sailcloth Sailcloth encompasses a wide variety of materials that span those from natural fibers, such as flax, hemp or cotton in various forms of sail canvas, to synthetic fibers, including nylon, polyester, aramids, and carbon fibers in a variety of wove ...

was being woven in cottages in the town and later at the

Flax Mill Flax mills are mills which process flax. The earliest mills were developed for spinning yarn for the linen industry. John Kendrew (an optician) and Thomas Porthouse (a clockmaker), both of Darlington developed the process from Richard Arkwrigh ...

, built in 1861 by John Birley.

Kirkham Grammar School Kirkham Grammar School is a selective, co-educational 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 in the 13th century. The sc ...

was founded in 1549 but the original building no longer exists. In 1792 a Roman

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

shield boss was discovered by local schoolmaster John Willacy, in the Dow Brook, in Mill Hill Field. Willacy sold the shield to a Scotsman, but it found its way to the

Charles Townley Charles Townley FRS (1 October 1737 – 3 January 1805) was a wealthy English country gentleman, antiquary and collector, a member of the Towneley family. He travelled on three Grand Tours to Italy, buying antique sculpture, vases, coins, manu ...

collection in

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and from there to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The oval shield, about in diameter, bore the representation of a human figure, seated, with an eagle to the left and an athlete at the side.

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

took place at Carr Hill in Kirkham in March 1852 and again in March 1853. Point-to-point races were still being staged at

Thornley-with-Wheatley Thornley-with-Wheatley is a civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is entirely rural, with no villages or other substantial settlements. Its population was 320 in 2011, a figure that has not changed much for over a c ...

, near Preston, by the Kirkham Hunt in the 20th century, including a meeting on Friday 6 April 1900. Races at Carr Hill continued up to the start of World War II, but it is uncertain whether they began again after the War had ended. In 1887 a memorial was erected, at Town End, to commemorate the

Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...

. The memorial was later moved to a site adjacent to the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

. Looms ran in the town from about 1850 until 2003. At one time the town had eleven mills, the last to be built being Progress Mill in 1915. On the lower part of Station Road "The Last Loom" of Kirkham is on permanent public display. This loom, a cross-rod type from the 1920s, with the use of tappets at the side, could produce an extensive range of fabrics including

velvets Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

twill Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under ...

s and

Bedford cord Bedford cord, named after the town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, a famous 19th century textile manufacturing city, is a durable fabric that resembles corduroy. The weave has faint lengthwise ridges, but without the filling yarns that make the d ...

. In 1925, Church Street became the subject of a pencil on paper drawing by

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester city centre, north-west of Salford and south-east of Bolton. Historically in Lancash ...

artist

L. S. Lowry Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...

In his later "A Lancashire Village, 1935" he painted the scene again, but with a wider street full of people and a house in front of the church. Due to an expansion of secondary education after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1957 Carr Hill

Secondary Modern School A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usually ...

(now Carr Hill 11-18 High School and Sixth Form Centre), was built on the site of Carr Hill House and a former

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

. It was officially opened in 1958 by the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

. Several housing developments have been built on the edge of the town in the last half of the 20th century.

Governance

The

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

for Kirkham is elected as a parish council, which has six elected councillors and operates under the name "Kirkham Town Council". The council manages local services such as

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

, community spaces, planning permission and

council tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge The Community C ...

among others. The

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

councillor is Stewart Jones. In the 2023 local elections the three Fylde Council seats were won by Edward Collins, Damian Buckley and Paul Hodgson (all Independent).

Banks

The Kirkham branch of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

closed in 2015 and that of Nat West closed in 2017. The branch of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

also closed in 2017, the branch of

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

closed in October 2018 and the branch of

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

closed in January 2019, leaving Kirkham with no bank branches at all. The town has a

building society A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdo ...

agent, for

Yorkshire Building Society Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest building society in the UK, with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The society also owns the Chelsea Building Society a ...

at Guy Penn Community Insurance Brokers, on Poulton Street.

Regeneration

In 2022 Fylde Borough Council purchased Grade II listed "Hillside" on Preston Street and the former

on Poulton Street, as part of the town's £10m regeneration plan, Kirkham Futures. "Hillside" was a former restaurant and popular wedding venue, but both buildings had been empty for some years. The former bank, which was originally a Charity Girls School dating back to 1860, is hoped to be converted into a community cinema. Kirkham Futures is a four-year plan, led by Fylde Council's regeneration team, in partnership with

and Kirkham Town Council, which will use a £6.3m grant from the Government's Future High Streets Fund (FHSF). In January 2023, the town's Market Square closed for up to 52 weeks for town centre improvements to be carried out. The Phase 1 Public Realm works for Kirkham will replace existing public realm and infrastructure, such as street furniture, in the area of Market Square and Poulton Street. Included in the contract is a five-year maintenance and repair commitment by the contractor, after which such upkeep would be included in existing revenue budgets. A lighting scheme to be implemented in Market Square will be maintained and repaired within the existing revenue budget provision. The contract was awarded to Eric Wright Civil Engineering Ltd following a successful procurement exercise. In 2023 and 2024 a cooperative partnership funded a programme of events inspired by the former Roman presence in Kirkham and Wesham, allowing the community to participate in art and archaeology projects. Activities indlcued a community archaeology project, a high street mural and a heritage-inspired art and lantern festival.

Education

Kirkham has two secondary schools:

Carr Hill High School Carr Hill High School is an 11–16, mixed comprehensive school in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. The school has 1,166 pupils currently enrolled. It has a learning library centre including a library area, an IT suite and a conference room, coll ...

a mixed

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

, and

, an independent school. Feeding into these two schools are the primary schools of Kirkham: Kirkham and Wesham Primary School, Kirkham Grammar Junior School, St John the Evangelist (also known as "The Willows") Catholic Primary School and Kirkham St Michael's C of E Primary School. Additionally, Pear Tree School offers

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

for children and young people, aged 2-19, with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties.

Churches

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church is St Michael's whose minister is Fr Richard Dashwood. The

on Poulton Street is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and is an early example of the work of the architectural practice of Briggs & Wolstenholme. It has a "massing and prominent spire rising from a tall tower" and was built in 1896. In 1995 a large single-storey rear extension, including a basement, was built to accommodate a youth centre, meeting rooms, kitchen and toilets. In about 2000 the vestibule was extended forward to the same level as the balcony above. There is also a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church –

St John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

, built in 1845, but known locally as "The Willows" – on the Ribby Road, and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church on Nelson Street. Zion (Independent) Chapel was founded in 1818. Although the church has long since been demolished, the graveyard remains. Now associated with Kirkham United Reformed Church, but adjacent to the Manse Nursing Home in the centre of the town, this unusual isolated burial-ground is still well maintained.

Location and amenities

Kirkham lies at the centre of a relatively rich agricultural area. By the mid 18th century, however, the manufacture of

sail cloth A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, Windsurfing, windsurfers, ice boats, and even land sailing, sail-powered l ...

and the

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

-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 station Kirkham and Wesham railway station serves the Lancashire towns of Kirkham and Wesham, in England. It is managed by Northern Trains, who operate most of the passenger services that call there. Description There were originally two platforms, ...

was opened in 1840 as "Kirkham Station", when the

Preston and Wyre Railway and Harbour Company The Preston and Wyre Railway was promoted to open up agricultural land in the Fylde in Lancashire, access a new port at what became Fleetwood and the Lancaster Canal at Preston, Lancashire, Preston: it opened in 1840. An associated company built ...

opened its line to

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

. South of the town is Kirkham Prison, an open prison built on part of the site of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

base which closed in 1957. The small library located on Station Road has been open since 1939 and has recently reopened following a major refurbishment. Kirkham 008

Kirkham

Club Day Club Day, also known as Gala Day or Field Day, is an annual community celebration, common in rural communities in North West England, during which clubs, churches and other organizations process and gather for various activities such as competiti ...

, an annual gala, is held in early June, jointly with Wesham. The day involves the various churches and their chosen "Rose Queens", together with biblical tableau floats, civic dignitaries and brass bands, walking in procession through the town in the morning. The town's

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

is located in a small memorial garden on Barnfield. The St George Hotel was situated at the bottom on Station Road, at Town End, but closed in 2011 and was demolished in 2012 to make way for a block of flats. In January 2021 Bradley's Bar, located inside

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

's Mill Farm Stadium, was converted to become one of the North West's COVID-19 vaccination centres. The facility was adapted to meet the necessary standards to allow a safe and efficient delivery of the vaccine whilst critically maintaining social distancing requirements.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC North West BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire (western Craven), West Yorkshire (western Calderdale), Derbyshire (western High Peak), Cumbria (Barrow-in-Furness and So ...

and

ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Darwen Street in Blackburn. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly au ...

Heart North West Heart North West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to North West England from studios in the Spinningfields area of Manchester city centre. Overview Century Radio (1998–2009 ...

Smooth North West Smooth North West is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Smooth network. The station broadcasts to the North West of England from studios at Spinningfields in Manchester. History GMG Radio ow ...

Capital Manchester and Lancashire Capital Manchester and Lancashire is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It was broadcast to Greater Manchester and eastern & central parts of Lancashire from studios at the XYZ Building in Spinn ...

Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire Greatest Hits Radio (Lancashire) is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Lancashire and North West England. As of June 2022, t ...

and Central Radio North West, a community based station which broadcast from Preston. The town is served by its own free newspaper, the ''Kirkham and Wesham Advertiser''. Both the ''

Blackpool Gazette The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as '' ...

'' and the ''

Lancashire Evening Post The ''Lancashire Evening Post'' is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of th ...

'' cover Kirkham news, as does the weekly ''Kirkham and Fylde Express''.

Sport

Kirkham Swimming Baths was erected in 1908 by the bequest of William Segar Hodgson J.P. and has served Kirkham as a public swimming pool for over a century. Open seven days a week, galas, free children swims and adult-only swims were 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, and was successful in presenting a business plan to Fylde Borough Council. The baths, were run by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, having been re-branded as "Rural Splash", but closed permanently after suffering significant structural damage caused by

Storm Arwen Storm Arwen was a powerful extratropical cyclone that was part of the 2021–22 European windstorm season. It affected the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, bringing strong winds and snow. Storm Arwen caused at least three fatalities and wides ...

in December 2021. The town's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club is

. The club was known as Kirkham and Wesham F.C until the end of the 2007–08 season, and was formed by the amalgamation of Kirkham Town F.C. and Wesham F.C. The change of name to AFC Fylde was made to try to encourage a broader fan-base from across the Fylde coast. AFC Fylde is currently based north of Wesham on the Mill Farm complex and plays in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The team won the

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

in the 2007–08 season, beating

Lowestoft Town Lowestoft Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. They are currently members of the and play at Crown Meadow. History The club was established in 1887 as Lowestoft F.C. by a merger of East Suf ...

in the final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 11 May 2008. They were also promoted to the

North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

Premier Division after finishing second in Division Two. In 2008–09 they were North West Counties Football League champions and so won promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One North. In May 2022 the British Lawn Mower Racing Association staged a meeting at Sunfield Farm, off Freckleton Road, to help to raise money for Ukraine.

Twin towns

Kirkham is twinned with both

Ancenis Ancenis (; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. It is a former Subprefectures in France ...

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

, France and

Bad Brückenau Bad Brückenau () is a spa town in Bad Kissingen district in northwestern Bavaria in the Rhön Mountains. Geography Bad Brückenau is in the tree-lined Sinn valley, in the western Rhön Mountains – this river being a tributary of the Main ...

, a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

town in

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which be ...

district, northern

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

which is situated in the

Rhön Mountains The Rhön Mountains () are a group of low mountains (or ''Mittelgebirge'') 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 o ...

in Germany. Kirkham has an active Twinning Association and has regular contact with both Ancenis and Bad Brückenau.

Places of interest

Kirkham currently has 20

s, one of them being Grade II* and the rest being Grade II. Many of the buildings in the town centre date from the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

and

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

s. * St Michaels Church, Kirkham, Church Street *Kirkham

, Poulton Street * *Kirkham Windmill - Dowbridge, now a private residence * *

R.C Church (known locally as the Willows Church) *Kirkham Baths, Station Road - built in 1914, now closed * *Kirkham Library, Station Road * *Ash Tree House - formerly a house, built c.1765, Church Street, is a Grade II

and is now a

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

References

External links

A comprehensive history of Kirkham

Historic Town Assessment Report (Archaeological and Historical Report)

Roman Roads in Lancashire

Geograph images of Kirkham

Kirkham Twinning Association

Kirkham Methodist Church
{{authority control Towns in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of Fylde