Statue of Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood

Have you been to meet the man who founded the town? Find the statue of Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood in Euston Gardens, looking out over Morecambe Bay.

About Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood

Sir Peter, descendant of Edmund Fleetwood, was the first named person to reside at Rossall Hall. He was the man who put the town of Fleetwood on the map.

Born on 9th May 1801 in Wennington Hall near Lancaster, the second son of Robert and Maria (née Rawlinson) Hesketh. He was descended, through his paternal grandmother from the Fleetwood family who had owned the large Rossall estate in West Lancashire for over 200 years. On Robert’s death in 1824, the estate passed to Peter – his elder brother having died in 1820. By that time the family’s estate extended from Heysham in the north, to North Meols (near Southport) in the south and encompassed most of the Fylde.

It was after being knighted that he changed his name to Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood. He was an English landowner and developer, also Lord of the Manor, High Sheriff of the County of Lancashire and MP for Preston.

Seeing the Potential in Fleetwood…

At this time, nearby Poulton-le-Fylde was the busy sea port for sailings to the Americas. But Sir Peter believed that Fleetwood held the makings of a busy seaport and popular resort. It had a river mouth, a natural sheltered harbour, golden sands, sea, air like wine and breath-taking views across Morecambe Bay. All that it lacked was a railway from Preston.

Inspired by improvements in transportation, Sir Peter decided to bring the railway to the Lancashire coast. Peter enjoyed life in southern seaside towns and founded the town of Fleetwood. Here he would create a holiday destination and port in the north of England where the working classes could spend time by the sea.

He hired his friend, Decimus Burton, to design the town. Building began in 1836 with a railway line opening in 1840 between Preston and Fleetwood. In the early stages of development Hesketh Fleetwood was influenced by his friends, Samuel Fielden and Benjamin Whitworth.

• Explore the rest of the story and the history of Fleetwood here.

Sadly, Sir Peter ran into money difficulties and found himself deep in debt. He had to sell off some of his northern estates. Sir Peter moved to London with his second wife and rarely visited Lancashire again. He died at his home in Piccadilly in 1866 following a lengthy illness.

Meet Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood Today

Here he is, with his model Lower Lighthouse and a rabbit at his feet! Most of Fleetwood was sand dunes and rabbit warrens prior to his pioneering work.

Erecting the Statue

Fleetwood Civic Society, Fleetwood Museum and Fleetwood Rotary Club worked together to put the statue at the heart of the town which he founded. Everyone was invited to the unveiling ceremony on Sunday 6 May 2018.

Take a look around this delightful area of Fleetwood’s historic seafront in this next video. You’ll get a good look at the statue of Sir Peter in the film –

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A day of Celebration

The sun shone and it was a glorious Bank Holiday Sunday for the unveiling of the statue in Euston Gardens.

Fleetwood Old Boys Band entertained the crowds, along with Thornton Cleveleys Brass Band. The official unveiling ceremony took place at 2.15pm. Many thanks to Julie Dalton for these excellent photos from the event.

With thanks to all of the benefactors and supporters who made it possible. After months of work it’s wonderful to acknowledge the importance of Sir Peter to the history of Fleetwood with this prestigious piece of sculpture.

More about the Statue

If you’re familiar with Fleetwood, you’ll know that the town has many memorials, statues and tributes, to all kinds of local people and events. So it’s quite ironic that, until now, there wasn’t a statue of the founding father of Fleetwood himself.

Once they’d realised that the most important person wasn’t represented in the town, local groups joined together to put it right. Fleetwood Civic Society, Fleetwood Museum and Fleetwood Rotary Club spent several years and a lot of hard work fundraising and obtaining permission to deliver this project. The statue is a bronze, created by sculptor Alan Ward from Lancaster. He’s the most local sculptor who could produce such a piece of work.

In total, £40,000 was raised to erect the bronze statue. Funding came from various kind benefactors, including a substantial contribution from Mrs Lofthouse of Fisherman’s Friend. Others came from the Haldane Trust and The Payback Time Trust along with individual bequests from local people.

Work in Progress

As of the end of July 2017, the team had secured planning permission and instructed the sculptor to start work on the maquette of the statue. A maquette is a small scale model, a three dimensional proof of the finished thing.

The maquette was on display at Fleetwood Museum for Heritage Open Days Weekend in September 2017. It was a very popular attraction. The Museum was busy all weekend, especially on the Sunday when the sculptor himself was present.