124-545: The North Euston Hotel is a hotel in Fleetwood , Lancashire , England. It was built between 1840 and 1841, to a design by Decimus Burton . During the second half of the 19th century, the building was used by the War Department as a School of Musketry; by the end of the century, it had reverted to its original purpose. The hotel has been designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage . Fleetwood
248-403: A Roman road running from Ribchester to Kirkham (12 miles (19 km) southeast of Fleetwood) which then makes a sharp turn to the northwest. Together, these suggest that Fleetwood may well have been the location of this Roman port. No direct evidence of the port has been found, but in 2007, an Iron Age settlement was discovered at Bourne Hill, just south of present-day Fleetwood, suggesting
372-532: A 3 nmi (6 km) territorial waters limit, measured narrowly, around each party's coastlines: this applied to Iceland as (at the time) part of Denmark and had a term of 50 years. The Icelandic fisheries grew in importance for the British fishing industry around the end of the 19th century. The reduction in fishing activity brought about by the hostilities of the First World War effectively ended
496-525: A Danish gunboat tried to arrest her for allegedly fishing illegally inside the limits. The trawler refused to stop and was fired upon first with blank shells and then with live ammunition. Eventually, the trawler was caught, but before the skipper, Charles Henry Johnson, left his ship to go aboard the Danish gunboat, he ordered the mate to make a dash for it after he went on to the Danish ship. The Caspian set off at full speed. The gunboat fired several shots at
620-459: A children's play area and picnic area, cenotaph memorial, duck pond, football pitches (on the site of the old boating lake) and tennis courts. Fleetwood Pier , also known as 'Victoria Pier', was a feature of the town from its construction in 1910 until it was destroyed by fire in September 2008. Built at the end of the 'golden age' of pier building, it was the last pleasure pier to be built in
744-574: A crewman on the German trawler Erlangen suffered a head injury as an Icelandic patrol ship cut the trawler's trawling wire, which struck the crewman. On 18 January 1973, the nets of 18 trawlers were cut. That forced the British seamen to leave the Icelandic fishery zone unless they had the protection of the Royal Navy . The next day large, fast tugboats were sent to their defence, the first being
868-670: A result, British fishing communities were devastated, with thousands of jobs lost. The UK declared a similar 200-nautical-mile zone around its own waters. Since 1982, a 200-nautical-mile (370-kilometre) exclusive economic zone has been the international standard under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea . There was one confirmed death during the Cod Wars: an Icelandic engineer, who was accidentally killed in 1973 while repairing damage on
992-474: A retail centre, and housing has been built at the north end of the marina. In July 2007, a new "Masterplan" for revitalising the waterfront and town centre was submitted to the Wyre Borough Council. In 1996, Fleetwood could be seen in "A High Profile", an episode of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates . Several buildings along The Esplanade were used, one of Fleetwood's churches and others. Since
1116-572: A satisfactory conclusion could be reached to the dispute. Even the cabinet members who were pro-Western (proponents of NATO and the US Defence Agreement) were forced to resort to the threats, as that was Iceland's chief leverage, and it would have been political suicide not to use it. Thus, NATO engaged in formal and informal mediations to bring an end to the dispute. Following the United Nations Conference on
1240-587: A series of confrontations over 20 years: 1958–1961, 1972–73 and 1975–76. British fishing boats were escorted to the fishing grounds by the Royal Navy while the Icelandic Coast Guard attempted to chase them away and use long hawsers to cut nets from the British boats; ships from both sides suffered damage from ramming attacks. Each confrontation concluded with an agreement favourable for Iceland. Iceland made threats it would withdraw from NATO , which would have forfeited NATO's access to most of
1364-537: A single PBY-6A Catalina flying boat. The deployment of the Royal Navy to contested waters led to protests in Iceland. Demonstrations against the British embassy were met with taunts by the British ambassador, Andrew Gilchrist , as he played bagpipe music and military marches on his gramophone . Many incidents followed. The Icelanders were, however, at a disadvantage in patrolling the contested waters because of
SECTION 10
#17327871736091488-521: A staple in the diet of inhabitants of the British Isles, Iceland and other Nordic countries , which are surrounded by some of the world's richest fisheries. Danish and Norse raiders came to Britain in the ninth century bringing one fish species in particular, the North Sea cod , into the national diet. Other whitefish like halibut , hake and pollock also became popular. By the end of
1612-607: A supply vessel were inside the newly declared zones. The deployment was expensive; in February 1960, Lord Carrington , the First Lord of the Admiralty , responsible for the Royal Navy , stated that the ships near Iceland had expended half a million pounds sterling worth of oil since the new year and that a total of 53 British warships had taken part in the operations. Against that, Iceland could deploy seven patrol vessels and
1736-680: A total of forty-four buildings listed in the National Heritage List for England , all at Grade II. Fleetwood Weekly News covers the town and the North Fylde Area. The newspaper was founded in 1984 as a successor to the Fleetwood Chronicle , which had ceased publication several weeks earlier. The Chronicle itself, founded in 1843, was the oldest newspaper in the Fylde. Daily newspaper coverage
1860-480: A total of fifty councillors), nine of Fleetwood's councillors belong to Labour two to Conservatives. Prior to 1974, Fleetwood had been a municipal borough since 1933, and from 1894 to 1933, an urban district . The town is divided into five wards , Mount, Pharos, Warren, Park and Rossall. A Fleetwood parish council (known as Fleetwood Town Council) was established following a referendum in June 2009. The boundaries of
1984-683: A transport terminus obsolete. Burton designed two lighthouses for the town: The Upper Lighthouse, usually referred to as the Pharos (after the Pharos of Alexandria in Egypt, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ), can be seen for 13 miles (21 km) and Beach Lighthouse is visible for 9 miles (14 km). Both opened in 1840. A third lighthouse, Wyre Light , built in 1839–40 by blind engineer Alexander Mitchell , offshore on
2108-450: Is Lofthouse's of Fleetwood Ltd., manufacturers of Fisherman's Friend —a menthol lozenge popular worldwide and especially in Japan . In July 2007, a new "Masterplan" for revitalizing the town around a "vibrant waterfront and a revitalised town centre" was submitted to the Wyre Borough Council. Some of the funding would come from an EU cash grant. The Masterplan was funded by Wyre Council,
2232-483: Is a charity festival featuring local bands that was set up by Daz Rice of Kiss of the Gypsy and is a legacy for his three-year-old son Yuto Rice who died in 2012 after battling a heart condition. Cod Wars The Cod Wars ( Icelandic : Þorskastríðin ; also known as Landhelgisstríðin , lit. ' The Coastal Wars ' ; German : Kabeljaukriege ) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between
2356-458: Is built of ashlar with slate roofs. It has a curved plan, with a front façade that stretches approximately 300 yards (270 m). The north and south wings have two regular storeys with a mansard roof, and dormers providing accommodation on the third floor. The central portion has three full storeys. The north wing, which faces along the Esplanade, curves almost a full 90 degrees, while
2480-568: Is in decline. While Wyre Borough in general has a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the United Kingdom, Fleetwood's is considerably higher. Using figures indicating benefit claimants as a percentage of total population (usually considered to be about half the 'actual' unemployment rate) the figures for August 2007 are: Average household income in August 2007 was as follows: The town's largest and most prominent single employer
2604-541: Is in the northwest corner of the Fylde coastal plain, 8 miles (13 km) north of Blackpool , on the western side of the mouth of the River Wyre. The town is on a peninsula, almost 2 miles (3 km) wide, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea , to the north by Morecambe Bay and to the east by the River Wyre estuary. Access to Fleetwood is thus restricted, and for many years there were only two roads into and out of
SECTION 20
#17327871736092728-595: Is provided by ITV Granada , the ITV franchise holder for the North West region. BBC North West is the regional BBC station serving Fleetwood. Fylde Folk Festival is held each year at the Marine Hall and other venues in the town. It is a festival of traditional and contemporary folk music , song and dance. The festival has been held continuously since 1971. The opening concert was staged each year onboard Jacinta ,
2852-713: Is provided by the Blackpool Gazette . Both papers are published by Johnston Press , as is the Lancashire Evening Post , a daily newspaper covering the county of Lancashire . Fleetwood falls within the coverage area of BBC Radio Lancashire . Commercial radio stations serving the area include Greatest Hits Radio , Hits Radio Lancashire and Greatest Hits Lancashire based in Preston and Smooth North West and Heart North West broadcasting from Greater Manchester . Independent television service
2976-580: The Beeching cuts, and the passenger terminus was moved to Wyre Dock railway station . That, in turn, was closed in 1970, as the branch line from Poulton was taken out of service. Additional light industry developed along the former railway route. The rise of package holidays abroad led to fewer visitors to British resort towns. As Blackpool expanded its attractions, fewer day visitors came to Fleetwood, and as transport became more efficient, more overnight visitors became day visitors. The Hillhouse plant
3100-524: The Blackpool North and Fleetwood parliamentary constituency . During that time the seat was held by Labour 's Joan Humble . Prior to 1997, Fleetwood was part of the constituencies of Fylde North and Wyre , whose boundaries more closely matched those of Wyre Borough, and which consistently returned a Conservative member. In the 2015 general election a majority vote saw Fleetwood become a Labour town once again, represented by Cat Smith . Fleetwood
3224-452: The Church of England , which intended to set up a boarding school as a North of England equivalent of Marlborough School . Under the auspices of Rev. St. Vincent Beechey , the vicar of Fleetwood, it was to become Rossall School . Virtually bankrupt, Hesketh-Fleetwood retired to Brighton , giving up his parliamentary obligations in 1847. Meanwhile, Kemp's influence expanded. He had set up
3348-586: The GIUK gap , a critical anti-submarine warfare chokepoint during the Cold War . In a NATO-brokered agreement in 1976, the United Kingdom accepted Iceland's establishment of a 12-nautical-mile (22 km) exclusive zone around its shores and a 200-nautical-mile (370-kilometre) Icelandic fishery zone where other nations' fishing fleets needed Iceland's permission. The agreement brought to an end more than 500 years of unrestricted British fishing in these waters and, as
3472-484: The Irish Sea fishing grounds first fished in the 1840s, to the haddock grounds of the North Atlantic Ocean . At this time, all the fishing vessels out of Fleetwood were sail-powered fishing smacks, few being over 40 tons deadweight . The Fleetwood Docks Act of 1864 enabled the construction of a dock and embankment for both fishing and general cargo. Work on what was to become Wyre Dock began in 1869 but
3596-460: The Isle of Man , Ardrossan and Belfast . 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) of stone quays were built along the river front, and the railway line was extended to the steamer pier opposite Queen's Terrace, where the imposing new railway station was built in 1883. The port was still mainly a cargo terminal at this time, but the fishing industry began to grow as vessels expanded their catchment area from
3720-677: The Local Government Act 1972 , effective 1 April 1974, Fleetwood has been part of the Borough of Wyre , together with the neighbouring communities of Thornton Cleveleys and Poulton-le-Fylde , the Over Wyre villages and Garstang . The administrative headquarters is in Poulton-le-Fylde. The borough is a constituent part of Lancashire County Council . Although Wyre Council has a Conservative majority (thirty out of
3844-597: The North Atlantic . In 1893, the Danish government , which then governed Iceland and the Faroe Islands , claimed a fishing limit of 50 nmi (93 km) around their shores. British trawler owners disputed the claim and continued to send their ships to the waters near Iceland. The British government did not recognise the Danish claim on the grounds that setting such a precedent would lead to similar claims by
North Euston Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue
3968-563: The Northwest Development Agency and English Heritage . The plan has three main areas for development: The town's most prominent feature is the Mount, a 7-acre (2.8 ha) park facing the sea-front, laid out by Decimus Burton, and built on a large sand dune originally known as Tup's Hill. It is surmounted by a pavilion built in 1904 incorporating a clock added in 1919. The 13 hectares of Fleetwood Memorial Park
4092-517: The Soviet Union , seeking influence in Iceland, stepped in to purchase Icelandic fish. The United States , fearing greater Soviet influence in Iceland, also did so and persuaded Spain and Italy to do likewise. Soviet and American involvement resulted in weakening the punitive effects of the British landing ban. Some scholars refer to the dispute of 1952 to 1956 as one of the Cod Wars, as
4216-556: The Statesman . The British considered that to be insufficient and formed a special group to defend the trawlers. On 23 January 1973, the volcano Eldfell on Heimaey erupted, forcing the Coast Guard to divert its attention to rescuing the inhabitants of the small island. On 17 May 1973, the British trawlers left the Icelandic waters, only to return two days later when they were escorted by British frigates. The naval deployment
4340-550: The United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany ) and Iceland about fishing rights in the North Atlantic . Each of the disputes ended with an Icelandic victory. Fishing boats from Britain had been sailing to waters near Iceland in search of catch since the 14th century. Agreements struck during the 15th century started a centuries-long series of intermittent disputes between the two countries. Demand for seafood and consequent competition for fish stocks grew rapidly in
4464-581: The War Department used it as a School of Musketry; later, with additional buildings, it was converted into Euston Barracks. In 1898, the North Euston reverted to its original use. On 26 April 1950, English Heritage designated the hotel a Grade II listed building . The Grade II designation—the lowest of the three grades—is for buildings that are "nationally important and of special interest". The hotel overlooks Euston Gardens, which sits between North Albert Street and The Esplanade. The hotel
4588-399: The 12 nmi (22 km) limit, was shelled and captured by the Icelandic gunboat V/s Þór ( "Thor" ) after a 100 nmi (185 km) pursuit. C. S. Forester was shelled with non-explosive ammunition after repeated warnings. The trawler was hit by at least two rounds, which damaged the engine room and a water tank. She was later boarded and towed to Iceland. Skipper Richard Taylor
4712-518: The 13 nmi (24 km) limit, which the British government refused to recognise, the British press began to enquire why the Danish action against British interests was allowed to continue without intervention by the Royal Navy . The British made a show of naval force ( gunboat diplomacy ) in 1896 and 1897. In April 1899, the steam trawler Caspian was fishing off the Faroe Islands when
4836-490: The 14th century, fishing boats from the east coast of England, then as now home to most of the English fishing fleet, were sailing to Icelandic waters in search of these catches; their landings grew so abundant as to cause political friction between England and Denmark , who ruled Iceland at the time. The Danish King Eric banned all Icelandic trade with England in 1414 and complained to his English counterpart, Henry V , about
4960-473: The 1830s, when the principal landowner Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood , High Sheriff and MP, conceived an ambitious plan to re-develop the town to make it a busy seaport and railway spur. He commissioned the Victorian architect Decimus Burton to design a number of substantial civic buildings, including two lighthouses. Hesketh-Fleetwood's transport terminus schemes failed to materialise. The town expanded greatly in
5084-549: The 1840s, there was no railway over the Lake District hills and passengers would be able to disembark at Fleetwood before taking a boat to Scotland. A hotel was a vital part of this plan, and since rail passengers would be embarking at London Euston , Hesketh-Fleetwood decided to name it the North Euston Hotel. Burton designed the hotel as a focal point in the town. Construction started in 1840, and it opened
North Euston Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-549: The 1920s, the salt works, by then owned by the United Alkali Company (after 1926, part of ICI ), was considerably expanded, and became an ammonia -processing plant. ICI built an adjacent chemical processing plant, known as ICI Hillhouse . ICI became the town's third-largest employer, after the fishing and tourism industries. The first fully automated telephone exchange in Britain was put into operation to serve
5332-484: The 1960s in the lower-lying parts of the town. The soil is broadly sandy, but there is considerable marshland to the south and east, by the river. The town itself encompasses an area of just under 4 square miles (10 km ). In common with the rest of the coastal areas of the UK, Fleetwood has a maritime climate . Prevailing winds and weather patterns are northwesterly, leading to a slightly higher average precipitation than
5456-496: The 1971 figures, at a time when the overall population of the Borough of Wyre rose by 11%. At the 2001 census, Wyre Borough is 98.8% White in ethnic makeup. The remainder is split between South Asian (0.4%), Mixed race (0.4%) Black (0.1%) and Other (0.3%). In June 2020 a meeting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement was planned. However, after an online backlash from Wyre Alliance councillors and locals
5580-401: The 19th century. The modern disputes began in 1952 after Iceland expanded its territorial waters from 3 to 4 nautical miles (7 kilometres). The United Kingdom responded by banning Icelandic ships landing their fish in British ports. In 1958, Iceland expanded its territorial waters to 12 nmi (22 km) and banned foreign fishing fleets. Britain refused to accept this decision, which led to
5704-598: The 4 nmi (7.4 km) limit recognised by the British government. The captain of Þór , Eiríkur Kristófersson, said that he would not do so and ordered his men to approach the trawler with the gun manned. In response, the Russell threatened to sink the Icelandic boat if it fired a shot at the Hackness . More British ships then arrived, and the Þór retreated. Icelandic officials threatened to withdraw Iceland's membership of NATO and to expel US forces from Iceland unless
5828-650: The 50 nmi limit. The agreement, resolving the dispute, was approved by the Althing on 13 November 1973. The agreement was based on the premise that British trawlers would limit their annual catch to no more than 130,000 tons . The Icelanders were reportedly prepared to settle for 156,000 tons in July 1972 but had increased their demands by spring of 1973 and coffered 117,000 tons (the British demanded 145,000 tons in spring 1973). The agreement expired in November 1975, and
5952-585: The Allen family by the time of Henry VIII . The Allens were prominent Roman Catholics , and Henry VIII repossessed the land. Cardinal William Allen was born at the manor house in 1532. It was ultimately sold to Thomas Fleetwood, comptroller of the Royal Mint , whose son Edmund, expanded the house into Rossall Hall. The land remained in the Fleetwood family for 300 years. By the 1830s, the house and estate
6076-433: The British presence. In October 1949, Iceland initiated the two-year abrogation process of the agreement made between Denmark and the United Kingdom in 1901. The fishery limits to the north of Iceland were extended to 4 nmi (7 km). However, since the British trawling fleet did not use those grounds, the northern extension was not a source of significant contention between the two states. Initially planning to extend
6200-428: The Cod Wars, the Royal Navy was never sent into Icelandic waters. The British trawling industry, however, implemented costly sanctions on Iceland by imposing a landing ban on Icelandic fish in British ports. The landing ban was a major blow to the Icelandic fishing industry (the UK was Iceland's largest export market for fish) and caused consternation among Icelandic statesmen. The two sides decided to refer one part of
6324-600: The Cold War to fulfill its primary NATO duty, guarding the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap . After a series of talks within NATO, British warships were recalled on 3 October. Trawlermen played Rule Britannia! over their radios, as they had done when the Royal Navy entered the waters. They also played " The Party's Over ". An agreement was signed on 8 November to limit British fishing activities to certain areas inside
SECTION 50
#17327871736096448-628: The Fleetwood Estates Company to manage the land, and the North Lancashire Steam Navigation Company in 1843 to manage the expanding steamer trade. However, by the late 1850s, the combination of the new western railway route and the rise of neighbouring Blackpool as a prominent seaside resort signalled a decline in the town's fortunes. From the 1860s Fleetwood expanded its port activities. Steamers began pleasure and commercial services to
6572-657: The Fleetwood Salt Co. Ltd, using salt mined in Preesall , across the river. By the early 1890s, the construction and expansion of rival cargo ports in the North West and the building of the Manchester Ship Canal heralded the decline of Fleetwood's prominence as a cargo port. However, at the same time this was more than offset by a period of rapid expansion of the fishing industry, signalled by
6696-460: The ICJ ruling. The UK and Iceland tried to negotiate a solution but were unable to reach agreement. The Icelandic government declared, on 19 March 1952, its intention to extend its fishery limits on 15 May 1952. Iceland and the United Kingdom were involved in a dispute from May 1952 to November 1956 over Iceland's unilateral extension of its fishery limits from 3 to 4 nmi (6 to 7 km). Unlike in
6820-421: The Icelandic extension to the ICJ in early 1953: the controversial Faxa Bay delimitation. In May 1953, businessman George Dawson signed an agreement with the Icelandic trawler owners to buy fish landed in Britain. Seven landings were made but the merchants who bought from Dawson were blacklisted and he was unable to distribute the fish effectively himself. Cold War politics proved favourable for Iceland, as
6944-457: The Icelandic fishery zone from 4 to 12 nautical miles (7.4 to 22.2 km) at midnight on 1 September 1958. All members of NATO opposed the unilateral Icelandic extension. The British declared that their trawlers would fish under protection from their warships in three areas: out of the Westfjords , north of Horn and southeast of Iceland. In all, twenty British trawlers, four warships and
7068-452: The Icelandic patrol boat Ægir after a collision with the British frigate Apollo . Recent studies of the Cod Wars have focused on the underlying economic, legal and strategic drivers for Iceland and the United Kingdom, as well as the domestic and international factors that contributed to the escalation of the dispute. Lessons drawn from the Cod Wars have been applied to international relations theory . Seafood has for centuries been
7192-410: The Icelandic prime minister argued that the Icelandic cause was a part of a broader battle against colonialism and imperialism. On 1 September 1972, the enforcement of the law that expanded the Icelandic fishery limits to 50 nmi (93 km) began. Numerous British and West German trawlers continued fishing within the new zone on the first day. The Icelandic leftist coalition then governing ignored
7316-514: The Icelandic vessel, died by electrocution from his welding equipment after sea water flooded the compartment in which he was making hull repairs. On 16 September 1973, Joseph Luns , Secretary-General of NATO, arrived in Reykjavík to talk with Icelandic ministers, who had been pressed to leave NATO, as it had been of no help to Iceland in the conflict. Britain and Iceland were both NATO members. The Royal Navy made use of bases in Iceland during
7440-447: The Law of the Sea between 1960 and 1961 , the UK and Iceland came to a settlement in late February 1961, which stipulated 12 nmi (22 km) Icelandic fishery limits but that Britain would have fishing rights in allocated zones and under certain seasons in the outer 6 nmi (11 km) for three years. The Icelandic Althing approved the agreement on 11 March 1961. The deal was very similar to one that Iceland had offered in
7564-460: The United Kingdom built in the middle of the street. It now forms a traffic roundabout. The North Euston Hotel, opened in 1841, is still the largest hotel in Fleetwood. Queen's Terrace was completed in 1844 and is regarded as an outstanding example of classical architecture. Now mostly used for offices and private flats, at various times it has been used as a school, hospital, railway offices and wartime consulates for European nations. The town contains
SECTION 60
#17327871736097688-573: The United Kingdom, other than a 1957 pier built in Deal, Kent , to replace a structure damaged in the Second World War . At 164 yards (150 m) in length, it was one of the shortest piers in the country. At various times, it was an amusement complex, bar and dance hall . In 1952 the pier was badly damaged in a fire which started in the cinema, and it did not reopen until 1958. The pier was closed again in 2006, and plans were drawn up to convert
7812-461: The area around the old railway station was developed into a container port facility, with P & O operating a container service to Larne in Northern Ireland . In 1975, this became a Roll-on/roll-off service. This development led indirectly to some renewal of the then largely derelict Dock Street area, and improved road access to the town to support the container traffic. Twice-daily container service continued until 2004 when Stena Line bought
7936-406: The area was populated in pre-Roman times. There is evidence that the eastern side of the River Wyre was occupied during the Danish invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the land on which Fleetwood now stands was part of the Hundred of Amounderness . A manor house at present-day Rossall , in the southwest of the town, was in the possession of
8060-416: The commercial centre of the town. Fleetwood is the only town in Britain with trams running the full length of its main street, sharing road-space with cars. The docks were expanded in 1908 with the construction of the Fish Dock, accessible through Wyre Dock and still used today for the inshore fleet. Plans for a pier were first made in the 1890s but building did not start until 1909 and it was opened in 1910. It
8184-409: The copper-roofed St Nicholas , on Poulton Road, designed by Laurence King and completed in 1962. Numerous other buildings designed by Decimus Burton remain in the town. Prominent are the Pharos and Lower Lighthouses , opened in 1840 and still in operation. Ships sailing down the Wyre channel line up the two lights, one above the other, to guide them. The Pharos is the only functioning lighthouse in
8308-413: The country as a whole, although the absence of high ground in the immediate vicinity moderates this. As with most coastal areas, frost and snow are uncommon. Temperatures are close to the national average. At the 2011 Census , Fleetwood had a population of 25,939. This is a decline of 3.3% over the previous census figure (2001) of 26,840. The 2001 population registered a further decline of about 6% from
8432-399: The country, out of the 50 nmi zone. The Icelandic Coast Guard started to use net cutters to cut the trawling lines of non-Icelandic vessels fishing within the new exclusion zone. On 5 September 1972, at 10:25, ICGV Ægir , under Guðmundur Kjærnested 's command, encountered an unmarked trawler fishing northeast of Hornbanki . The master of the black-hulled trawler refused to divulge
8556-399: The depletion of fishing stocks off the island. Restrictions on British fishing passed by Parliament were generally ignored and unenforced, leading to violence and the Anglo-Hanseatic War (1469–1474) . Diplomats resolved these disputes through agreements that allowed British ships to fish Icelandic waters with seven-year licences, a provision that was struck from the Treaty of Utrecht when it
8680-473: The dispute for a time. While data is incomplete for the prewar period, one historian argues that the Icelandic fishing grounds were 'very important' to the British fishing industry as a whole. Data from 1919 to 1938 showed a significant increase in the British total catches in Icelandic waters. The British catches in Iceland were more than twice the combined catches of all other grounds of the British distant water fleet. Icelanders grew increasingly dismayed at
8804-463: The entry of the Royal Navy into the contested waters, at any given time, four frigates and an assortment of tugboats would generally protect the British trawling fleet. Over the course of this Cod War, a total of 32 British frigates had entered the contested waters. On 19 July 1974, more than nine months after the signing of the agreement, one of the largest wet fish stern trawlers in the British fleet, C. S. Forester , which had been fishing inside
8928-433: The fire. Fleetwood has two prominent retail locations. Affinity Lancashire (formally Freeport Fleetwood) opened in 1995. It is a waterfront outlet shopping village , on the site of the former Wyre Dock, with 45 shops in a marina setting. Freeport was re-branded and re-launched in 2006 at a cost of £8.6m. Fleetwood Market on Victoria Street is one of the largest covered markets in the North West, with over 250 stalls. It
9052-413: The first International Conference on the Law of the Sea , which was attended by 86 states. Several countries sought to extend the limits of their territorial waters to 12 nmi (22 km), but the conference did not reach any firm conclusions. Icelandic victory The First Cod War lasted from 1 September 1958 to 11 March 1961. It began as soon as a new Icelandic law came into force and expanded
9176-468: The first half of the 20th century with the growth of the fishing industry, and passenger ferries to the Isle of Man , to become a deep-sea fishing port. Decline of the fishing industry began in the 1960s, hastened by the Cod Wars with Iceland , though fish processing is still a major economic activity in Fleetwood. The town's most significant employer today is Lofthouse of Fleetwood , manufacturer of
9300-530: The fishing industry cost Fleetwood some 8,000 jobs, employment in fishing-related industries falling from 9,000 to less than 1,000, mostly in the fish-processing sector. The closure of the ICI Hillhouse works cost the region a further 4,500 jobs. Industrial and commercial development has been at a standstill for fifteen years and only a single commercial employer based in the town has more than 200 employees. The stock of both commercial and residential property
9424-415: The following year. A regatta was held in celebration of the hotel's opening in August 1841. The hotel's first manager was a Corsican man called Xenon Vantini. By the 1850s, a direct rail route to Scotland had been built, ending Hesketh-Fleetwood's hopes of Fleetwood becoming a major transport hub. The town's tourist industry was failing and the North Euston was sold to the government. Between 1861 and 1867,
9548-695: The former was reconnoitring for icebergs off the Westfjords, near the edge of the Greenland ice sheet . The Icelandic Coast Guard reported that Scylla had been "shadowing and harassing" the Icelandic patrol boat. The British Ministry of Defense claimed that the gunboat intentionally rammed the British frigate. On 29 August the Icelandic Coast Guard suffered the only confirmed fatality of the conflict, when ICGV Ægir collided with HMS Apollo . Halldór Hallfreðsson, an engineer on board
9672-464: The gathering was cancelled. Fleetwood's economy still revolves around the traditional areas of fishing, tourism, port activity and light industry, but since the early 1970s the town has continued to struggle economically. A government report in 2006 stated that three of the town's five wards fall into the 5% to 10% most deprived wards in England. The same government report noted that the demise of
9796-466: The greatest possible catch quota for British fishermen in the contested waters and (2) to prevent a de facto recognition of a unilateral extension of a fishery jurisdiction, which would set a precedent for other extensions. All Western European states and the Warsaw Pact opposed Iceland's unilateral extension. African states declared support for Iceland's extension after a meeting in 1971 where
9920-512: The launch in 1891 of the first steam powered trawler , the Lark . All the other major fishing ports in Britain, Hull , Grimsby and Aberdeen , were on the east coast, so there was a competitive advantage for a west-coast port with good rail links. By the start of the 20th century, Fleetwood's position as one of the three major fishing ports in England was cemented. James Marr brought a fleet of steam trawlers to Fleetwood and actively started to change
10044-429: The limits: (1) to conserve fish stocks and (2) to increase its share of total catches. The reasons that Iceland pursued 50 nmi fishery limits, rather than the 200 nmi limits that they had also considered, were that the most fruitful fishing grounds were within the 50 nmi and that patrolling a 200 nmi limit would have been more difficult. The British contested the Icelandic extension with two goals in mind: (1) to achieve
10168-566: The lozenge Fisherman's Friend which is exported around the world. Ptolemy 's Geographia in the 2nd century AD records a tribe known as the Setantii living in what is believed to be present-day West Lancashire, and a seaport built by the Romans called PORTVS SETANTIORVM ('the port of the Setantii') abutting Moricambe Aestuarium (presumably Morecambe Bay ). There is also evidence of
10292-599: The museum themselves. The museum also operates the Jacinta , the town's "heritage trawler", stationed in the Wyre Dock Marina and open for public viewing throughout the year. Built in 1972, it was moved to Hull in 1982, before being handed over to the Jacinta Charitable Trust in 1995 when restoration work began on the trawler. Unfortunately Jacinta was too badly off for Economical Repair &
10416-558: The nations around the North Sea , which would damage the British fishing industry. In 1896, the United Kingdom made an agreement with Denmark for British vessels to use any Icelandic port for shelter if they stowed their gear and trawl nets. In return, British vessels were not to fish in Faxa Bay east of a line from Ílunýpa, a promontory near Keflavík to Þormóðssker ( 43.43° N, 22.30° W ). With many British trawlers being charged and fined by Danish gunboats for fishing illegally within
10540-533: The northeast corner of North Wharf, was the first screw pile lighthouse to be built in Great Britain . Fleetwood is the only town in the United Kingdom to possess three lighthouses and the two within the town itself remain fully operational. Wyre Light has now fallen into a state of disrepair. Fleetwood Market , still a prominent permanent market, was established in 1840. By 1838, Hesketh-Fleetwood had run into serious financial difficulties, with costs for
10664-550: The object of the dispute and its costs and risks were all similar to those in the other three Cod Wars. Just as the other Cod Wars, the dispute ended with Iceland achieving its aims, as the Icelandic 4 nmi (7 km) fishery limits were recognized by the United Kingdom, following a decision by the Organisation of European Economic Co-operation in 1956. Two years later, in 1958, the United Nations convened
10788-458: The parish are coterminous with the boundary of the five borough council wards of Fleetwood and the town council has thirteen councillors. In the 2010 General Election , Fleetwood was joined with Lancaster and some Over Wyre locations to form the new Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency . Conservative member Eric Ollerenshaw was elected in a tight race. From 1997 to 2010, Fleetwood was included with Thornton and parts of Blackpool, as part of
10912-577: The port by selectively fishing for hake , which until then had been treated as a much less desirable catch. Many of the houses in the old area of town around the Mount and Lord Street were built in the 1890s. In keeping with the thriving economy, these terraced houses were large for their era. An electric tramway link to Blackpool was constructed in the 1890s and remains operational to this day. The trams were routed along East Street and West Street (now Lord Street and North Albert Street) rather than Dock Street, and commercial trade followed, making those streets
11036-522: The prominent architect Decimus Burton , whose work in St Leonard's-on-Sea he had admired, to lay out what would be the first planned town of the Victorian era . The plans were complete by 1835, and construction of the first buildings and the railway line began in 1836. Burton's plan was to use the largest of the sand-dunes on the north-facing shore as the focus of a half-wheel street layout. This
11160-402: The rail corridor on the eastern side of the town, and a number of unrelated industries also moved to the area to take advantage of the availability of labour. By the 1960s, however, Fleetwood had begun to decline economically. The last ferry to the Isle of Man sailed in 1961, although the sailings have been revived periodically since. The main railway station was closed in 1966 as a result of
11284-480: The railway in particular ultimately exceeding £300,000. He had numerous financial arguments with Frederick Kemp, who borrowed against the estate revenues to finance the expansion of the town, and was suspected of taking financial advantage of Sir Peter. Hesketh-Fleetwood became short of cash and was forced to mortgage his properties. Depressed, he gradually withdrew from the project, and by 1844 he had been obliged to sell much of his estate. He leased Rossall Hall itself to
11408-540: The remainder of the Fylde, the land is extremely flat, the highest point being the Mount, the large sand dune in the northern part of the town, from which the original street plan radiated. Parts of Fleetwood, especially to the north and west, are barely above sea level at high tide, and a large retaining sea wall runs along much of the western edge of the town. Nevertheless, Fleetwood was flooded in 1927 and again in 1977. The latter flood, although much smaller, affected more properties as there had been considerable development in
11532-580: The rest of its fishery limits by the end of the two-year abrogation period, Iceland chose to postpone its extension to wait for the outcome of the UK–Norway fisheries case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was decided in December 1951. Icelanders were satisfied with the ICJ ruling, as they believed that Iceland's preferred extensions were similar to those afforded to Norway in
11656-399: The route and increased the service to three times a day. In December 2010, Stena Line announced that the service would be withdrawn at the end of 2010, with the loss of 140 jobs. Since the 1970s, there have been several attempts to enhance Fleetwood's economic profile, In 1995, the now-deserted Wyre Dock was developed into a marina. The derelict dock landing area was developed into Freeport,
11780-463: The size of the area and the limited number of patrol ships. According to one historian, "only the flagship Þór ( Thor ) could effectively arrest and, if necessary, tow a trawler to harbour". On 4 September, ICGV Ægir , an Icelandic patrol vessel built in 1929, attempted to take a British trawler off the Westfjords, but was thwarted when HMS Russell intervened, and the two vessels collided. On 6 October, V/s María Júlía fired three shots at
11904-461: The south wing is shorter, curving roughly 45 degrees. At the front of the building there is a porte-cochère (porch) supported by fluted Roman Doric columns . Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire , England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde . It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census . Fleetwood acquired its modern character in
12028-473: The structure into a flats complex. However, the pier was again heavily damaged by fire in the early hours of 9 September 2008. On 26 September 2008, Wyre Borough Council announced that the pier would be completely demolished, and two weeks later confirmed that the pier would not be rebuilt. The pier site remains undeveloped many years later, as plans for flats or apartments have come to nothing. The site remains an eyesore and remains fenced off, many years after
12152-451: The third "Cod War" began. The Second Cod War threatened Iceland's membership in NATO and the US military presence in Iceland. It was the closest that Iceland has come to canceling its bilateral Defence Agreement with the US. Icelandic NATO membership and hosting of US military had considerable importance to Cold War strategy because of Iceland's location in the middle of the GIUK gap . After
12276-563: The time, Icelandic prime minister Ólafur Jóhannesson demanded that the US send jets to bomb the British frigates. There were major protests in Reykjavík on 24 May 1973. All the windows of the British embassy in Reykjavík were broken. On 26 May, ICGV Ægir ordered the Grimsby trawler Everton to stop, but the captain of the fishing vessel refused to submit. The incident was followed by a protracted pursuit during which Ægir fired first blank warning shots, later live rounds in order to disable
12400-491: The town (three since 1979). A large sandbank, the North Wharf, extends some 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (3.6 km) north into Morecambe Bay, and is exposed at low tide. The river channel forms the eastern boundary of the bank. Together with the larger Bernard Wharf on the other side of the river, this makes navigation of the river difficult. Conversely, the port is highly sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds. Like
12524-402: The town in 1982 and now only inshore fishing boats use the port, although trawlers registered in other places can still be seen taking advantage of the fish market. Fish is still a big industry in the town, though the jobs are mainly in processing rather than fishing. A pair of bronze figures on the promenade by the pier depicts the idea of families welcoming back the fishermen from sea. In 1973,
12648-496: The town on 15 July 1922. The town was hit by a huge flood in October 1927, which put 90% of the area of the town under water. Only the higher areas around the Mount escaped. Additional housing was built in the 1920s and 1930s in the less-developed central areas of the town, and a further development boom occurred in the 1960s, in the lower lying western portion of the town (Larkholme). Many industries related to fishing grew up along
12772-407: The town's heritage trawler, however due to the vessels general poor state of repair, this is no longer the case. Another annual music festival, originating in 2005, is Fleetwoodstock, named after the famous New York Woodstock Festival and held in the autumn. The usual venue is the Marine Hall. The now annual Yuto Fest, which was first held in 2011, also takes place at the Marine Hall. Yuto Fest
12896-533: The town's museum in 1992. The museum tells the story of the fishing industry in the town. In January 2006, the museum was threatened with closure by owners Lancashire County Council (LCC). However, volunteers helped re-launch the museum in April 2007, setting up the Fleetwood Museum Trust to run the museum in partnership with LCC for twelve months with the intention of the trust eventually running
13020-560: The town. The crown jewel was the North Euston Hotel , built in 1841, a fine semi-circular building overlooking the bay and the river's estuary. The hotel was built to serve overnight guests making the railway journey from Euston , and was close to the point of departure for the steamers to Scotland. This journey was made by Queen Victoria in 1847, but by the mid-1850s the completion of the western railway link between London and Scotland over Shap Fell rendered Fleetwood's role as
13144-420: The transfer point between the railway and the steamers to Scotland, and set about encouraging a railway link from Preston . With a new career in parliament to prepare for, he engaged Frederick Kemp as his agent. He originally considered naming the new town Wyreton or New Liverpool , but after changing his name to Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood in 1831, he settled on the name Fleetwood . After some delays, he recruited
13268-407: The trawler Kingston Emerald , forcing the trawler to escape to sea. On 12 November, V/s Þór encountered the trawler Hackness , which had not stowed its nets legally. Hackness did not stop until Þór had fired two blanks and one live shell off its bow. Once again, HMS Russell came to the rescue, and its shipmaster ordered the Icelandic captain to leave the trawler alone, as it was not within
13392-424: The trawler's name and number and, after being warned to follow the Coast Guard's orders, played Rule, Britannia! over the radio. At 10:40, the net cutter was deployed into the water for the first time, and Ægir sailed along the trawler's port side. The fishermen tossed a thick nylon rope into the water as the patrol ship closed in, attempting to disable its propeller. After passing the trawler, Ægir veered to
13516-457: The trawler's starboard side. The net cutter, 160 fathoms (290 m ) behind the patrol vessel, sliced one of the trawling wires. As ICGV Ægir came about to circle the unidentified trawler, its angry crew threw coal as well as waste and a large fire axe at the Coast Guard vessel. A considerable amount of swearing and shouting came through the radio, which resulted in the trawler being identified as Peter Scott (H103) . On 25 November 1972,
13640-568: The trawler. Everton was hit on her bow by four 57 mm shells and water began to rush in, but managed to limp to the protection zone, where she was assisted by the frigate HMS Jupiter . Emergency repairs were carried out by a naval team from Jupiter . Prime minister Ólafur Jóhannesson said about the incident that this was "a natural and inevitable law‐enforcement action". The Icelandic lighthouse tender V/s Árvakur collided with four British vessels on 1 June, and six days later, on 7 June, ICGV Ægir collided with HMS Scylla , when
13764-404: The treaty that stipulated the involvement of the International Court of Justice . It said that it was not bound by agreements made by the previous centre-right government, with Lúdvik Jósepsson , the fisheries minister, stating that "the basis for our independence is economic independence". The next day, the brand-new patrol ship ICGV Ægir , built in 1968, chased 16 trawlers, in waters east of
13888-456: The unarmed boat but could not catch up with the trawler, which returned, heavily damaged, to Grimsby , England . On board the Danish gunboat, the skipper of the Caspian was lashed to the mast. A court held at Thorshavn convicted him on several counts including illegal fishing and attempted assault, and he was jailed for 30 days. The 'Anglo-Danish Territorial Waters Agreement' of 1901 set
14012-616: The weeks and days leading up to its unilateral extension in 1958. As part of the agreement, it was stipulated that any future disagreement between Iceland and Britain in the matter of fishery zones would be sent to the International Court of Justice , in the Hague . Icelandic victory The Second Cod War between the United Kingdom and Iceland lasted from September 1972 until the signing of a temporary agreement, in November 1973. The Icelandic government again extended its fishing limits, now to 50 nmi (93 km). It had two goals in extending
14136-464: Was Cut up for Scrap in June / July / Aug 2019 . Fleetwood's parish church, St Peter's , designed by Decimus Burton in 1841, stands at the corner of Lord Street and North Albert Street. It formerly had a spire, but this was demolished in 1904. St Mary's , the town's main Roman Catholic church, stands nearby. Built in 1867, it was designed by E. W. Pugin . A more modern church of interest is
14260-403: Was a 19th-century planned town , developed by local landowner Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood . Inspired by southern English seaside resorts like St Leonards-on-Sea , Hesketh-Fleetwood employed architect Decimus Burton to lay out his new town and design the main buildings. Hesketh-Fleetwood intended that Fleetwood would be an important stop for rail passengers travelling from London to Scotland, for in
14384-556: Was codenamed Operation Dewey. Hawker Siddeley Nimrod jets flew over the contested waters and notified British frigates and trawlers of the whereabouts of Icelandic patrol ships. Icelandic statesmen were infuriated by the entry of the Royal Navy and considered to appeal to the UN Security Council or call for Article 5 of the NATO Charter to be implemented. According to Frederick Irving , US ambassador to Iceland at
14508-449: Was developed out of the earlier Warrenhurst Park, itself an early-C20 park designed by Thomas Lumb of Blackpool. In 1917 the park was renamed "Memorial Park" in memory of those who died in the First World War . The memorial statue was added a few years later and memorial trees planted by the children who lost relatives. In the early 1900s the park was home to a boating lake and the current facilities include three crown green bowling greens,
14632-471: Was first opened in 1840, although the present stone building dates from 1892. Fleetwood Museum stands on Queen's Terrace. The building, designed by Decimus Burton, was completed in 1836 and is the oldest surviving building in Fleetwood. It was originally the Customs House, and from 1889 to 1974 it served as Fleetwood Town Hall, until local government activity was moved to Poulton. It was designated as
14756-417: Was heavily cut back and was finally closed in 1999. Most serious, however, was the collapse of the fishing industry, which was largely destroyed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Cod Wars , a dispute over fishing rights between Iceland and the UK. As Fleetwood's trawlers mainly fished the North Atlantic in search of cod, the loss of the fishing grounds hit the town hard. The last deep-sea trawler left
14880-399: Was in the ownership of Edmund's descendant Peter Hesketh , High Sheriff of Lancashire and MP for Preston . A man of somewhat liberal views for his time, Hesketh believed that the sheltered harbour and views over Morecambe Bay gave the area the makings of a busy seaport and popular resort for the less-affluent. With no rail link between London and Scotland , he envisaged Fleetwood as
15004-403: Was landscaped, and became known as the Mount . It served as the hub of Burton's half-wheel design, the main residential streets acted as the spokes, and the main commerce area of Dock Street was the rim of the wheel. The oldest surviving building in the town, once the custom house, later the town hall and latterly Fleetwood Museum , dates from 1836 and housing from as early as 1838 still exists in
15128-587: Was presented to the Icelandic Althing for ratification in 1474. This started a centuries-long series of intermittent disputes between the two countries. From the early 16th century onward, English sailors and fishermen were a major presence in the waters off Iceland. With the increases in range of fishing that were enabled by steam power in the late 19th century, boat owners and skippers felt pressure to exploit new grounds. Their large catches in Icelandic waters attracted more regular voyages across
15252-409: Was suspended for financial reasons. A second Act in 1871 gave construction authority to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, under chief engineers Sir John Hawkshaw and Harrison Hayter . Construction itself, by John Aird & Sons, was completed in 1877. Heavy industry came to the area in the late 1880s with the construction of a salt-processing works on the southeastern edge of the town by
15376-444: Was the last new seaside pier to be built in the United Kingdom. By the 1920s, the fishing industry was at its height, employing over 9,000 people. Over the next few years, the sea front along the north shore was developed in resort fashion, to encourage visitors for whom the brashness of Blackpool was too daunting. The Marine Hall entertainment complex (1935), golf course (1931) and Model Yacht Pond (1932) all date from that era. In
#608391