Page:History of the Fylde of Lancashire (IA historyoffyldeof00portiala).pdf/375



CHAPTER XII.

THE PARISH OF KIRKHAM.

KIRKHAM.

The township of Kirkham was probably the earliest inhabited locality in the Fylde district; and although it is impossible to assert that the very site of the present town was a spot fixed upon by the Romans for erecting their habitations, still as the road formed by those people passed over it, and many remnants of their domestic utensils, funereal urns, and other relics have been discovered in the surrounding soil, there is strong presumptive evidence that an ancient settlement was at least close at hand. Amongst the traces of the old warriors disinterred in this neighbourhood may be mentioned a large quantity of stones prepared for building purposes, and numerous fragments of urns, ploughed up about half a mile from Kirkham. The Mill Hill Field has also disclosed frequent witnesses to the former presence of the Romans, notably abundant specimens of their pottery and coinage, but perhaps the greatest curiosity found in the vicinity is the boss or umbo of a shield, wrought in brass, which was removed from a brook in the field specified during the year 1792. In form the shield is some-*what oval, having its central portion semi-globular, whilst the outer rim is flat. The entire diameter is about eight inches, of which the embossment supplies five. The horizontal and encircling part is perforated in four separate places, apparently for the passage of thongs or rivets. The highest surface of the boss holds the representation of a human figure seated, with an eagle to the left, the sides being adorned with an athlete