St Pauls Church, Marton, Blackpool.

It was a Saturday morning, I had gone to have the tyres changed on the car and I decided that I could do the walk down Preston New Road, visit the memorial and head back. However Blackpool away from the seafront is just like any suburban town and has a wealth of history just waiting to found. I went down Preston Old road instead, took photos in Marton Burial Ground, unusually there does not seem to be a church "looking after" it , found a boundary marker that I didn't know existed, took photos of the "Boars Head", and the hall opposite. There are some older cottages there too - they also ended up in the memory card too. Turned onto Whitegate drive at the "Saddle" pub, which is the longest permanently licensed pub in Blackpool. There is a shot up Preston Old Road from here.

The inscription

St Pauls Memorial

John Picken Dixon

The Outside of the Church

The inside of the church

The church is set back from the road and there is a pleasant clump of trees in front of the church. The memorial is set in front of the grass and is on the corner of a side road and Whitegate Drive. I walked around the church, there are some quite unusual features. The bell tower is set very low. There are no gravestones to be found. There is a tasteful foundation stone set in the church wall commemorating the founder of the church, John Picken Dixon. A biography is found here. The biography states that some members of the family are buried in the crypt at the church. The founder and his family have had a very illustrious career as an industrialist as well as having a huge influence in Blackpool and in particular, Marton.  It is quite a large size and is made of fine red brick, very much a traditional build - It is quite a modern church, but the surprises lie within. No pews - Apparently there was quite a bit of resistance from some members of the congregation. Looks good though! There were some ladies setting up for a Saturday coffee morning, on remarking there was very little in the way of ornamentation she showed me through the offices.

Cookson Memorial

Cookson Memorial

Metal Plaque inside Church

The memorial plaques to the first incumbent and his family. All three plaques are dedicated to the Cookson family whose origins clearly hark back to South Lakeland. A church definitely worth a visit! There is the compete list of the names on the memorial here as well as some more pictures of the church