# Marton, Blackpool

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**Marton** is a historic village on the [coastal plain](/source/Coastal_plain) of [the Fylde](/source/The_Fylde) in the [Borough of Blackpool](/source/Borough_of_Blackpool) in [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), England, most of which is now forms a part of the town of [Blackpool](/source/Blackpool). Marton, consists of Great Marton, Little Marton, Marton Fold and The Peel.

## History

Great Marton and Little Marton were collectively listed in the [Domesday Book](/source/Domesday_Book) of 1086 as *Meretun*.[1] The name usually means "farmstead by a pool", derived from the [Old English](/source/Old_English) words *mere* and *tūn*.[2] Its area was estimated in that survey to be six [carucates](/source/Carucate) of arable land.[3]

By no later than the end of the 11th century, [St Chad's Church](/source/St_Chad's_Church,_Poulton-le-Fylde) had been built in the nearby town of [Poulton-le-Fylde](/source/Poulton-le-Fylde) and became the [parish church](/source/Parish_church) for the area following the [Reformation](/source/English_Reformation) in the 16th century.[4] Marton residents travelled 5 miles (8.0 km) to worship at St Chad's, a journey that was difficult in winter. Around 1625, they petitioned to become a separate parish from Poulton-le-Fylde, with [Layton](/source/Layton,_Lancashire) and Blackpool.[5] It was not until 1800 that their request was granted and the Church of St Paul was built in Great Marton. Originally a [chapel](/source/Chapel_of_ease) of Poulton-le-Fylde, the church was [consecrated](/source/Consecration) in 1804. It later became a parish church. In 1857, the church as extended to accommodate Marton's growing population, and a tower was added.[6]

Marton was formerly a [township](/source/Township_(England)) and [chapelry](/source/Chapelry) in the parish of Poulton-le-Fylde,[7] in 1866 Marton became a separate civil parish, in 1894, the hamlet of Great Marton was incorporated into Blackpool and parts of Little Marton into [St-Anne's-on-Sea](/source/St-Anne's-on-Sea),[8] on 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Blackpool and [Westby with Plumpton](/source/Westby_with_Plumpton).[9] In 1931 the parish had a population of 4476.[10]

## Governance

Marton is an [electoral ward](/source/Ward_(country_subdivision)) in the [borough constituency](/source/Borough_constituency) of [Blackpool South](/source/Blackpool_South_(UK_Parliament_constituency)). Since 1997, Blackpool South had been represented at [parliament](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) by [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) [MP](/source/Member_of_Parliament) [Gordon Marsden](/source/Gordon_Marsden).[11] Since the 2019 General Election the area's representation has passed to Conservative MP Scott Benton.[12]

## Geography

The pool referred to by Marton's name is [Marton Mere](/source/Marton_Mere). The [glacial](/source/Glacial_lake) freshwater lake was once approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide.[13][14] It was gradually drained throughout the 18th century to allow land to be reclaimed for agriculture.[15] The mere is now part of Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve, which has been designated a [Site of Special Scientific Interest](/source/Site_of_Special_Scientific_Interest).[16]

The other prominent geographical feature of the area is Marton Moss. It is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide.[17] The structure of the [moss](/source/Bog) is [peat](/source/Peat), on top of a layer of [clay](/source/Clay), in which is embedded whole (and fragments of) tree trunks. These trunks indicate that the area was once covered in dense woodland.[17]

## Landmarks

The original Church of St Paul was replaced by the current church, built 1908–09.[18] It is situated a few metres from the original site, on Whitegate Drive, and was designed by F. Freeman of [Bolton](/source/Bolton).[19] It is constructed of red and yellow sandstone, with more recent additions in brick.[19]

[Little Marton Mill](/source/Little_Marton_Mill), situated close to the [M55 motorway](/source/M55_motorway), was built in 1838 on the site of a previous mill.[20] It was a working [gristmill](/source/Gristmill), grinding corn until 1928.[20] It is the only remaining mill in Blackpool.[21]

## Education

The first school in Marton was [Baines' Free School](/source/Baines'_Free_School), built in 1717, financed by [James Baines](/source/James_Baines_(financier)) who also built schools in [Hardhorn-cum-Newton](/source/Hardhorn-cum-Newton) and [Thornton](/source/Thornton,_Lancashire).[22] The school still exists, as [Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary School](/source/Baines'_Endowed_Church_of_England_Primary_School). [St Nicholas Church of England Primary School](/source/St_Nicholas_Church_of_England_Primary_School) was founded in 1830, [Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary](/source/Our_Lady_of_the_Assumption_Roman_Catholic_Primary) was opened in 1953 and [Marton Primary School](/source/Marton_Primary_School) was founded in 1991. Marton also has two secondary schools, [Highfield Leadership Academy](/source/Highfield_Leadership_Academy) and [St George's School](/source/St_George's_School,_Blackpool).

## References

**Footnotes**

1. ["Great Marton, Little Marton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, Yorkshire"](http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?Edoc_Id=7583243&queryType=1&resultcount=26), *[Domesday Book](/source/Domesday_Book)*, [The National Archives](/source/The_National_Archives_(United_Kingdom)), 1086, retrieved 7 September 2010

1. [Mills (1998)](#Mills), p. 236

1. [Porter (1876)](#Porter), p. 285

1. [Storey (2001)](#Storey), p. 17

1. [Porter (1876)](#Porter), p. 287

1. [Porter (1876)](#Porter), p. 288

1. ["History of Marton, in Blackpool and Lancashire"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10682). [A Vision of Britain through Time](/source/A_Vision_of_Britain_through_Time). Retrieved 16 May 2024.

1. [Farrer & Brownbill (1912)](#Farrer), pp. 239–242

1. ["Relationships and changes Marton CP/Ch through time"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10373074). A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

1. ["Population statistics Marton CP/Ch through time"](https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10373074/cube/TOT_POP). A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

1. ["Gordon Marsden"](http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/gordon-marsden/465), *parliament.co.uk*, [Parliament of the United Kingdom](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom), retrieved 28 January 2018

1. EVANS, PAUL (2020-04-02). ["Scott Benton | Member of Parliament for Blackpool South"](https://www.scottbenton.org.uk/node/5). *Scott Benton*. Retrieved 2020-04-02.

1. [Hale, Coney & Pick (2005)](#Hale), p. 23

1. [Walsh (2010)](#Walsh), p. 2

1. [Clarke (1923)](#Clarke), pp. 25–26

1. ["Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve"](http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Services/M-R/MartonMereLocalNatureReserve/), Blackpool Council, retrieved 7 September 2010

1. [Porter (1876)](#Porter), p. 124

1. ["History of St Pauls Church Marton"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090711095954/http://www.stpaulsmarton.co.uk/history.htm), St Paul's Marton, 2009, archived from [the original](http://www.stpaulsmarton.co.uk/history.htm) on 11 July 2009, retrieved 7 September 2010

1. [Hartwell & Pevsner (2009)](#Hartwell), p. 162

1. Dunkerley, Paul, ["Little Marton Mill"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120322113912/http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=655), Engineering Timelines, archived from [the original](http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=655) on 22 March 2012, retrieved 25 June 2011

1. [Lancashire County Council & Egerton Lea Consultancy (2005)](#Egerton), p. 25

1. [Walsh (2010)](#Walsh), p. 12

**Sources**

- Clarke, Allen (1923). *The Story of Blackpool*. Blackpool & London: Palatine Books.
- [Lancashire County Council](/source/Lancashire_County_Council) and Egerton Lea Consultancy (April 2005), ["Blackpool Historic Town Assessment Report"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121001074637/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/documents/historictowns/BlackpoolComplete_LowRes.pdf), *Lancashire Historic Town Survey Programme*, Lancashire County Council Environment Directorate, archived from [the original](http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/documents/historictowns/BlackpoolComplete_LowRes.pdf) on 1 October 2012, retrieved 25 October 2010
- ["Townships — Marton"](http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53227), *A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7*, [Constable](/source/Constable_%26_Robinson), 1912, [OCLC 59626695](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59626695)
- Hale, W. G.; Coney, Audrey; Pick, Bill (2005). [*Martin Mere: Lancashire's Lost Lake*](https://archive.org/details/martinmerelancas00hale). [Liverpool University Press](/source/Liverpool_University_Press). ISBN 0-85323-749-2.
- Hartwell, Clare & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009 [1969]). *[Lancashire: North](/source/Pevsner_Architectural_Guides)*. New Haven and London: [Yale University Press](/source/Yale_University_Press). ISBN 0-300-12667-0.
- Mills, A. D. (1998). *Dictionary of English Place-Names*. [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). ISBN 0-19-280074-4.
- Porter, John (1876). *History of the Fylde of Lancashire*. W. Porter. [OCLC 12931605](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/12931605)
- Storey, Christine (2001). *Poulton-le-Fylde*. [Stroud](/source/Stroud,_Gloucestershire): [Tempus Publishing](/source/Tempus_Publishing). ISBN 0-7524-2442-4.
- Walsh, Philip (2010). *Marton: A Green and a Pleasant Land*. Real Lancashire Books. ISBN 0-9565298-0-1.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Marton, Blackpool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marton%2C_Blackpool) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marton%2C_Blackpool?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.