Editing Lytham St Annes (section)

===St Annes===
[[File:St annes.jpg|thumb|St Annes Square, 2006]]
St Annes-on-the-Sea (also known as St Annes-on-Sea or St Annes) was a 19th-century planned town. [[St Anne's Church, St Anne's-on-the-Sea|St Anne's Church]] was built as a [[chapel of ease]] in 1873, in which year [[St Annes-on-the-Sea railway station]] also opened. An official founding ceremony for the town was held on 31 March 1875, when the cornerstone of the St Anne's Hotel was laid.<ref>{{cite news |title=St. Anne's-on-the-Sea: Laying the foundation stone |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=9 October 2023 |work=Blackpool Herald |date=2 April 1875 |page=3 |archive-date=22 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922095439/https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |url-status=live }}</ref> The town was developed from 1875 after Thomas Fair, agent to the Clifton Estate, sold leases to the [[St Anne's on the Sea Land and Building Company]]. Plans for the town were laid out by the Bury firm of architects [[Maxwell and Tuke]] who later went on to construct [[Blackpool Tower]].<ref name="Shakeshaft">P.Shakeshaft, ''St Anne's on the Sea: A History'', (Carnegie: Lancaster,2008), 141–164</ref> There was an open-air seawater swimming pool from 1916 until the mid-1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Open-air baths, St Annes on Sea |url=https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/view-item?i=231444 |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Red Rose Collections from Lancashire County Council |language=en-GB |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826035413/https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/view-item?i=231444 |url-status=live }}</ref>

St Annes is the original home of [[Premium Bonds]] and their prize-selecting computer ''[[ERNIE]]'', which were on a site between Shepherd Road and Heyhouses Lane. Premium Bonds operated from there for more than 40 years before moving to [[Blackpool]]. The shopping area declined towards the end of the 20th century and was redeveloped in an attempt to attract more retailers and shoppers. As part of this project, a restaurant quarter was established, centred around Wood Street. The work included a £2m restoration of Ashton Gardens, a park near the town centre, in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=18 March 2009 |title=St Annes Carnival cancelled this year |url=http://www.lythamstannesexpress.co.uk/news/local/st-annes-carnival-cancelled-this-year-1-812756 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310161220/http://www.lythamstannesexpress.co.uk/news/local/st-annes-carnival-cancelled-this-year-1-812756 |archive-date=10 March 2016 |website=Lytham St Annes Express |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

{{multiple image
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| image1 = George Formby - Blue Plaque, Inner Promenade, Lytham St Annes.jpg
| caption1 = [[Blue plaque]] at [[George Formby]]'s house "Beryldene", Inner Promenade
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| caption2 = George Formby's house 
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}}The beach to the north of [[St Anne's Pier]] was an internationally renowned [[Land yacht|sand yachting]] venue for many years, but this activity has been suspended since 2002 when a visitor to the beach died after being hit by a sand yacht. St Annes Beach hosts a number of [[kite flying]] events each year. In 2006 kite enthusiasts raised concerns about the future of these activities following a decision by Fylde Borough Council in 2006 to ban the flying of kites with two or more lines anywhere in the Fylde. Following representations from kite-fliers and completion of a risk assessment, the council rescinded the ban on condition that kite fliers remain at least 50m from the [[sand dune]]s.

A memorial statue of a lifeboatman looking out to sea was placed on the promenade at St Anne's after the [[Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster|Mexico Disaster]] of 1886. The original lifeboat station was established in 1881<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/north/stations/LythamStAnnesLancashire/history |title=Lytham St Annes History |access-date=5 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925035324/http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/north/stations/LythamStAnnesLancashire/history |archive-date=25 September 2006  }}</ref> but closed in 1925 due to silting of the channel (a secondary channel of the [[River Ribble|Ribble]] that ran past the pier). A lifeboat continued to operate from Lytham, but the main channel of the river also became silted up, so the lifeboat was moved to a new all-weather [[RNLI]] base a few hundred yards south of St Annes pier which opened in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legendol.freeserve.co.uk/lythrnli.html |title=Rnli Lytham St Annes Station |access-date=5 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205080621/http://www.legendol.freeserve.co.uk/lythrnli.html |archive-date=5 February 2007  }}</ref> [[St Annes-on-the-Sea Carnegie Library]] is just outside the town centre in an Edwardian, [[Andrew Carnegie|Carnegie]]-funded building.<ref>Urban District of St Anne's on the Sea, Proceedings of the Urban District Council 1903–04, St Anne's on the Sea, pp. 91–92</ref>

[[File:St Annes on the Sea rail station, 2009.jpg|thumb|right|St Annes railway station]]
[[File:St Annes on Sea town flag.svg|thumb|Flag since 2012]]
There is some confusion, even among residents of the town, about whether the correct name is "St Annes" or "St Anne's". The apostrophe has been dropped from the name by many residents and has long been absent in many formal uses, such as the ''[[Lytham St Annes Express]]'' newspaper,<ref name="LSA001">{{cite web|title=Lytham St Annes Express|publisher=[[Blackpool Gazette]]|url=http://www.lythamstannesexpress.co.uk/|access-date=23 September 2007|archive-date=18 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018033731/http://www.lythamstannesexpress.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> St Annes Parish Church,<ref name="SAPC001">{{cite web|title=St Annes Parish Church, St Annes|publisher=St Annes Parish Church|url=http://www.stannesparishchurch.org/|access-date=23 September 2007|archive-date=28 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928152814/http://www.stannesparishchurch.org/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Lytham St Annes High School]], although the spelling St. Anne's is still sometimes used.<ref name="LSAHTC001">{{cite web|title=Lytham St. Annes High Technology College|publisher=[[Lytham St. Annes High Technology College]]|url=http://www.lythamhigh.lancs.sch.uk/home.htm|access-date=23 September 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929161145/http://www.lythamhigh.lancs.sch.uk/home.htm|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> The area takes its name from St Annes Parish Church.<ref name=":0" />

In October 2008, a bronze statue by sculptor [[Graham Ibbeson]] of comedian [[Les Dawson]], who lived in the town, was unveiled by Dawson's widow and daughter in the ornamental gardens next to St Annes Pier.<ref name="BBC7685723">{{cite news|title=Dawson statue unveiled by family|work=[[bbc.co.uk]]|date=23 October 2008|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7685723.stm|access-date=13 November 2008|archive-date=9 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109031512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7685723.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Entertainer [[George Formby]] also lived in the town,<ref name="memories7">{{cite news|url=http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/memories/memories7.htm|title=Gerry George's Memories|last=George|first=Gerry|publisher=whirligig-tv|access-date=28 December 2008|archive-date=5 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705102806/http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/memories/memories7.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> and there is a plaque outside the house where he lived from 1953 until his death in 1961.<ref name=bbcformby>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-19286496|title=George Formby's last house at St Annes gets blue plaque|date=17 August 2012|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 February 2022|archive-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208101611/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-19286496|url-status=live}}</ref>