St Nicholas' Church, Fleetwood

The town of Fleetwood, a coastal settlement in the Borough of Wyre at the northwest corner of the Fylde, acquired its current character when it was developed as a resort in the 1830s by landowner Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood. A parish church serving the town, dedicated to St Peter, was completed in 1841 to a design by the architect Decimus Burton. A daughter church to the parish church of St Peter was established in 1908, when a modest chapel dedicated to St Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, was constructed on Wyre Street, close to the site of the present building, in an area prone to flooding. This building was washed away in the devastating floods that struck Fleetwood in October 1927. In…

St Nicholas stands on a triangular plot of land at the intersection of Poulton Road, Highbury Avenue and Broadway. The north-south orientation of the church means that the congregation faces north towards the altar rather than east, as is conventional. Whilst modern in appearance, it is traditional in form, comprising a central tower, nave, chancel, porches, and vestry rooms. King's design was intended to resemble the upturned keel of a ship - the Ark of Salvation - reflecting the seafaring aspects both of the town and St Nicholas himself. The external construction of the church is largely of light brown brick. There is no stone or concrete used anywhere. A series of steeply pitched copper…