Ceremonies will mark 100 years since Lytham and St Annes came together

The official union to form the borough of Lytham St Annes only lasted a little more than 50 years and ended almost another 50 years ago, but marketing of the area as a joint entity through the peak tourism years of 50s and 60s – and the united title still being used by Royal Mail – means the joint name lives on.

Both towns are are now proud of their own identity as part of the Fylde borough, which came into being in 1974, and St Annes has a Town Council while a consultation has been ongoing on whether Lytham should follow suit.

The union by Act of Parliament came into effect on May 1, 1922.

While the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Robert Horne was standing in the Houses of Parliament and cutting a shilling off UK income tax rates and four old pence off a pound of tea, in St Annes a crowd of many hundreds assembled to watch and hear the reading of the Charter granted by King George V in front of J H Taylors (as the now former store was named then) by the Town Clerk Mr Bradley.

In recognition of the cententary, St Annes town crier John Spencer Barnes will be performing a ‘cry’ in Lytham Square at noon on May 1 before moving to St Annes to make a further proclamation at 12.30 pm on the exact spot that the Charter was read 100 years ago. The bells of St Annes Parish Church will then be rung.

Invited guests including Fylde MP Mark Menzies, current and former Fylde and St Annes Town Councillors along with civic society members from both towns will be in attendance.

After the proclamation, they will attend a small reception in Fylde’s Town Hall - previously the home of Lytham St Annes Council – to hear a few words from both the Fylde and St Annes mayors, a short history presentation and to look at artefacts, newspaper cuttings, pictures and programmes from 1922.

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