Cockle Hall

Cockle Hall
A photograph of the cottage's facade, viewed from the river bank
Cockle Hall is located in Lancashire
Cockle Hall
Cockle Hall
Location within Lancashire
OS grid referenceSD361427
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townThornton-Cleveleys
Postcode districtFY6
Dialling code01253
PoliceLancashire
FireLancashire
AmbulanceNorth West
List of places
UK
England
Lancashire
53°52′38″N 2°58′24″W / 53.8771°N 2.9732°W / 53.8771; -2.9732

Cockle Hall is an historic location in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, England. Located in today's Wyre Estuary Country Park, it was the location of one of the earliest crossings of the River Wyre,[1] and was used as such until the 1930s.[2] It is also the former site of a two-storey cottage occupied by the Lawrenson family of thirteen.[3] It was located a short distance along today's footpath running from the car park at Wyre Estuary, along the western banks of the river. The ferryman who took people to and brought people from Wardleys Creek,[4] on the eastern side of the river, also lived there.[5]

As C. Allen Clarke discovered, the original tenant of the cottage called himself the Squire of Cockle Hall, and said he was "the only squire this side o' th' Wyre".[4] A former Roman road was reused in Victorian times by people walking from nearby Underbank Road to the ferry, across a hilly field. It is a public footpath today.[6]

In the late 19th century, the Fleetwood Estate Company purchased the cottage from Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood. The cottage appears on the Ordnance Survey maps from the 1840s.

  • The rear of the cottage, viewed from the elevated field behind it
    The rear of the cottage, viewed from the elevated field behind it
  • The same view in 2024
    The same view in 2024
  • Viewed from Wardleys Creek
    Viewed from Wardleys Creek
  1. ^ Commons, Great Britain Parliament House of (1907). Parliamentary Papers. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 78.
  2. ^ "Wyre Estuary Country Park". www.northlancs.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  3. ^ Wyre Estuary Country Park – Stanah Management Plan 2021 - 2026 – Wyre Council
  4. ^ a b Clarke, Allen (1918). Windmill Land: Rambles in a Rural Old-fashioned Country, with a Chat about Its History and Romance. Dent. p. 401.
  5. ^ "Geograph:: Cockle Hall Picnic Area © Bob Jenkins". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Roman Roads in Lancashire". www.romanroads.org. Retrieved 11 March 2024.