Decimus Burton by Sir Thomas Lawrence
If Peter Hesketh Fleetwood was the Steve Jobs of the Town of Fleetwood then Decimus Burton was the Jony Ive, the brilliant thinker behind the town’s layout and early design. His work revolutionised London’s Green spaces, having designed Hyde Park amongst others, and this approach to space was certainly considered in designing Fleetwood.
Much like creating a focal point with Wellington Arch in Hyde Park, in Fleetwood, everything was to revolve around the wheel of the Mount Park with roads as spokes shooting off it.
Though the spokes were laid out early on in the town’s design, the building started on Dock Street. As this was to be a transport hub linking London and Scotland, the first building to be constructed was the customs house in 1836 which is now the town’s museum, with Burton’s house the railway station, and the docks all built within 5 years.
The walk starts at the empty plot that was the site of Decimus Burton’s Fleetwood House. It was demolished in 2009 and sat empty since. As it wasn’t demolished that long ago we know it is almost the mirror image of the buildings on the other side of the derelict nightclub. And this will be where we make our first sketch.
The original train station ended here near Burton’s house.
Behind us are the docks that helped form the entrance to the town as you arrived on the ferry, and we are going to follow them and the estuary around northeastwards towards the sea for 450 metres till we reach Fleetwood Museum.
This is our second stop and chance to stop and sketch again
As mentioned earlier the museum was the first building to be completed here to help support the port as it developed. They were used for collecting taxes and documenting people who may have travelled from overseas.
It was originally surrounded by gardens and in 1933 was used for Fleetwood Town Hall.
Opposite the Museum where the road widens is the site of the old Fleetwood railway station that served the town until the Beeching cuts in the 1960s which stopped the railway at the docks to pick up fish and then with road transport taking off the train was closed at the ICI and then at Poulton Station.
Unfortunately, we can’t catch the train today but the tram still stops at this end of the town and that is the way we are heading now.
As we make our way along the next block of Buildings of Queens Terrace were also designed by Decimus Burton. These are more difficult to sketch but I encourage you to try.
At the Ferry buildings, we will use the crossing into the Euston Park, and from here we will sketch our third building from next to the Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood Statue
The North Euston Hotel marks the end of the journey in England if you come from London you would use the Euston Station and end here at the North Euston before taking the Ferry further north to Scotland.
