Kirkland, Lancashire

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 what is now the village of Churchtown, within the parish. It is part of the Wyre district.

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

The 18th-century dial post, Churchtown
Kirkland
Shown within Wyre Borough
Kirkland
Shown on the Fylde
Kirkland
Location within Lancashire
Population840 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSD479438
Civil parish
  • Kirkland
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPRESTON
Postcode districtPR3
Dialling code01995
PoliceLancashire
FireLancashire
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament

Kirkland has a long history centred on its Grade I listed building, St Helen's, the parish church of Garstang St Helen (or Churchtown) and once known as the Cathedral of the Fylde. The church features:

  • a "lepers' window" or "squint" 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]

Although known as "The Cross", the village has an 18th-century Grade II listed dialpost with a sundial at its head, at the top of Church Street. There are two pubs: the Punchbowl and the Horns Inn.

See also

References
  1. "Parish headcount" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  2. "Listed Buildings". Wyre Borough Council. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
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