A Bevy (albeit a small one) of Over Wyre Postcards

It’s time, we reckon, for some old photographs of t’other bank of t’ Wyre (where the night ghasts live). First up, St. Mary’s in Hambleton before it was rebuilt in 1973.


As early as 1567 an Episcopal Chapel existed on the site, but there might even have been a chapel of ease to Kirkham there at a much earlier date. Inside St. Mary’s, apparently (and I say “apparently” because I’ve never actually been inside to find out) hang reproductions of two mediaeval documents recording the ‘granting of the manor of Hambleton by Henry the Third to Geoffrey the Crossbowman in 1228’ and the manor being ‘passed to Geoffrey’s son, Robert of Shireburn’ in 1244.
The churchyard (similar to a number of other churches Over Wyre) is surrounded by a ditch, suggesting that it was erected on a pagan site.
At the top of the hill to the rear of St. Mary’s runs an ancient, sunken track. Although used as a drove road during the mediaeval period, it predates the Romans having been originally constructed as a sunken way by the ancient Celts. Just for the record, this sunken track seems to be part of the Romano-Brtitish Nateby to Bourne via Stanah route.
Next up, we have the somewhat unusual sundial above the porch of St. John the Baptist, Pilling. (We might have written about this before. I can’t remember now, but it’s worth re-mentioning all the same.)


The sundial was placed there in memory of Reverend George Holden, a former vicar. Holden’s claim to fame was that he invented the ‘Tide Tables’ still in use today.
Another famous vicar of St. John’s (possibly infamous) was Reverend Potter, a pugilistic, drunken enthusiast of wreck salvage who, following the death of his first wife, remarried a young girl from the village the father of whose illegitimate child had never been revealed. (We’re not saying anything).
St. John’s itself was built in 1721 to replace the older chapel at Newers Wood (part of which constitutes the rear wall) but is nowadays redundant.
From churches to pubs (a natural progression if ever there was one) and the Seven Stars, one of the two watering holes in Stalmine that were around in mediaeval times (although, obviously, the photograph isn’t as old as all that).


The fact that two pubs stood in such close proximity to each other in such a small village suggests that an unofficial market was held between them. (Either that or the locals had a bit of a drink problem.) The other hostelry (the Pack Horse Inn) stood on the ground currently occupied by the post office, the counter of the latter being originally the Pack Horse’s bar.
St. Oswald’s (behind the trees in the photograph) was rebuilt in 1860, it’s ancient ceiling, decorated with signs of the zodiac, being destroyed in the process. One item that did survive was the cross near the porch, its base being typical of a Sixth-to-Eleventh Century keeill cross.
And finally for this week, because we don’t want to tire everyone out, a rather excellent old image of the Shard Hotel (originally the Shard House).


As you’ve probably gathered, the building itself predates the bridge, having been built in 1766 on the site of the old ferryman’s cottage.
At one time a small gravestone stood in the car park (to be honest it might still be there, we’re not sure…it was the last time we looked), giving rise to much speculation amongst the visitors. The grave actually belonged to a faithful dog that drowned whilst saving the life of its owner who’d accidentally fallen into the river.