Page:History of the Fylde of Lancashire (IA historyoffyldeof00portiala).pdf/459

 ecclesiastical parish was apportioned to the church of St. John in 1870. The Rev. William Henry Self, M.A., was the earliest incumbent and subsequently became the first vicar. The Rev. Gregory Smart, M.A., is the present vicar. The graveyard is a spacious area defined by a neat stone wall, and contains numerous elegant monuments. The vicarage house stands a very little distance to the east side of the church, and is a handsome villa residence. To the rear of the burial ground, and separated there-*from by a narrow street, are the parish schools erected in 1851 by subscription, and grants from the Council of Education and the National Society.

The want of proper illumination along the thoroughfares of Lytham during the long evenings of the autumn months, was a source of considerable inconvenience to the visitors, and induced many to vacate the place earlier than otherwise they would have done, so that the commissioners determined to erect gas works by loans on the security of the rates, and remedy the evil as soon as possible. On the 28th of October, 1850, the streets were lighted for the first time with gas. In 1851 the residents of Lytham amounted to 2,695, showing an increase of 648 persons since 1841. It was about this time that a lifeboat was stationed at Lytham, purchased by subscription, and named the "Eleanor Cecily," out of compliment to the lady of the manor. The boat-house stands on the promenade to the east, in close proximity to the old wind-*mill, and is now occupied by a new and larger craft, presented by Thomas Clayton, esq., of Wakefield, in 1863.

Throughout the succeeding ten years the area of the town continued to expand with fair rapidity. Many graceful villas were added to those already existing on the front, whilst fresh shops and lodging houses arose along the different thoroughfares, plainly evincing a determination on the part of the inhabitants to keep pace with the spreading popularity of the place by creating ample accommodation for the crowds of visitors. A corps of Volunteer Riflemen was enrolled under Captain Lennox in 1860, during the month of January. The census of 1861 furnished a total of 3,189 residents.

The advisability of connecting the two watering-places of Blackpool and Lytham by a coast railway was now freely