Page:History of the Fylde of Lancashire (IA historyoffyldeof00portiala).pdf/246

 cottage houses were erected in different parts of the town, and not only were these tenanted directly they were completed, but the demand for further building was still on the increase. A public abattoir, or slaughter-house, was constructed in 1846 on the outskirts of the town, and a notice issued, prohibiting the slaying of any cattle, sheep, or swine anywhere except within its walls, under a penalty of £5 for every offence. A Wesleyan chapel was also in course of erection in North Church Street, then open warren, and finished the following year, divine service being first conducted in it on Monday, the 24th of May, by the Rev. George Osborne, of Liverpool. As the town gradually developed in size and population, the attendants at this place of worship outgrew the space provided for them, and lately, in 1875, it became necessary to enlarge the edifice. The west gable-end was taken out and the main building extended in that direction. Galleries were placed along the two sides and across the east wall; the old-fashioned pulpit was superseded by a platform situated at the centre of the west end, and extending to within six feet of the galleries at either side. The new sittings resemble the old ones in being closed pews, and not open benches. The chapel is now capable of containing double the congregation it could have held previous to the recent alterations.

In the month of February, 1847, an extraordinary high tide, rendered more formidable by strong westerly winds, did great damage on the coast from here to Rossall; the Landmark was so far undermined that its fall was hourly expected; an embankment raised on the shore from that point to Rossall suffered severely, large portions being completely washed away; and the out-buildings of a farm called "Fenny" were overthrown and destroyed, serious injury being done also to the land in the neighbourhood. The more immediate vicinities of the town escaped with comparatively little loss, the most important being that resulting from the inundation of several fields and gardens near the Cops, and the levelling of a few wooden sheds for labourers' tools and other outbuildings.

A failure in the potatoe and grain harvests of 1846 spread fearful distress and famine throughout the United Kingdom; bread riots and disturbances amongst the starving poor of Ireland were of frequent occurrence, and it was to assist in alleviating the