Stalmine, ENG - Postcode - FY6 0LE

Description of Stalmine, England

Located in the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England, in the region of the Fylde known as Over Wyre, the village of Stalmine is a component of the civil parish of Stalmine-with-Staynall. The highest point of the settlement is 75 feet above sea level, and it can be seen from the A588, the main route between Hambleton and Lancaster. Stalmin (1205) and Stalemynne (present day) are two alternate spellings of the village's name (in 1278).  At the time of the 2011 Census, there were 1,087 residents of the village. In 1066, the village was a part of Preston Fee, which was owned by Tostig Godwinson. In 1165, Robert de Stalmine became the earliest known owner. In the early 1200s, the Stalmine church was recorded for the first time, and in the 1230s, a cemetery was dedicated there. In 1806, after undergoing extensive reconstruction, the chapel was given its current name of St. James. A Presbyterian church was established in Stalmine in 1689, and its location was noted to be "quite near to the chapel" in 1717.

History of Stalmine

Stalmine stands out from its neighbors since it is practically an island on the salt flats. Brine is injected daily in the thousands of litres from beneath the fertile farmland to supply the ICI operations in Thornton. Staynall, Coldrow, and Wardleys are three small towns scattered across three miles of riverfront and saltmarshes. Fleetwood is where the Wyre River meets the sea.

The area surrounding the village totals 2,312 acres and is rich in natural beauty. Located 75 feet above sea level, it is compacted around an old church and appears to have changed little in layout throughout the centuries. Before Blackpool and Fleetwood were formed, in 1710, Staynall was where people lived.

Once a bustling port, Wardleys is today a cutting-edge yachting hub with a horseshoe harbor that can accommodate even the largest of yachts. There was formerly a thriving blacksmithing community in the Coldrow neighborhood. As they headed back down river from Wardleys, where they had unloaded supplies of tallow and flax, Russian ships stocked up with rock salt at the Heads (which gets its name from the Saxon 'haywood,' meaning an enclosed place).

Interestingly, the moss is traversed by Kate's Pad, a wooden path made from split oak timbers put over birchwood scrub. The pollen analysis shows that it was developed long before the Roman Empire. Those who work the land have dug out trees that were fifty feet in height.

Saint Oswald was previously honored at St. James Parish Church, where complete registers exist beginning in 1583. References to the deaths of numerous people during the plague years of 1623 and 1624 are among the many heartbreaking and intriguing passages in these diaries. Staynall's Four Lane Ends were home to an old cross known as the Combelaw Cross, while Stalmine's Lawrence Cross stood on a hill. In the churchyard, you may also find the 1690 sundial that was once part of a historic preaching cross.

Wardleys and Staynall gained a reputation for smuggling after the opening of a Customs House at Poulton le Fylde in 1708. It was rumored that rolls of French cloth were secreted in Wardleys at number 4 on a small road near the quayside, later dubbed Velvet Street. At High Gate, rum was stashed in an abandoned barn and kegs were dumped on the riverbank.

The name "Stalming Scoole" was first recorded in 1674, although it predated similar names in Coldrow and Moss Side. Previously a tavern with a cockpit, the area that is currently the Stalmine post office was originally the bar. The schoolmaster took his students to cockfights (known as "Mains") year-round.

Because of Fleetwood's rapid growth during the 1830s, the importance of Wardleys as a port began to dwindle. The popularity of Wardleys grew, however, when waggonettes began bringing tourists from Blackpool.

The population grew in size after WWII ended. The local elementary school has been expanded, and a new, excellent secondary school, St. Aidan's, has opened in the town of Preesall. Even though they are centuries old, the Seven Stars and Wardley's Hotel are in with the current social scene. The community has a couple of stores and a café.

Although Stalmine's expansion is planned for 80 acres around the school, gradual subsidence to the west of the hamlet will limit its eventual size. The effluent from five metropolitan districts and the discharges of the ICI have polluted the once-pristine Wyre, where the Prince Regent once strolled with Mrs. FitzHerbert. Flukes and samphire are not suitable for human consumption.

And thus, 'far from the madding mob,' in the community of Stalmine, this is the price that modernity has exacted.