About North Euston Hotel, Fleetwood.

Fleetwood was developed as a port and resort by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood. Decimus Burton an architect from London, was engaged to plan the town and design the leading buildings. Among them was the North Euston Hotel.

It was so named because until 1847, Fleetwood served as a railhead for a steamer service to Ardrossan and was thus part of the quickest route from London to Glasgow. When the railway was completed across the border, the London & North Western and the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railways jointly took over the port and operated ferries to the Isle of Man and Ireland. When a dock was built in 1878 Fleetwood developed as a fishing port and became Britain's third largest. The railway closed in 1966.

The hotel was built in a great semicircle with the three storey entrance at the centre behind a porte cochere on columns. One of the wings has been pulled down but the rest survives as a hotel. Fleetwood no longer has either railway, ferries, or fishing. It is a Grade II Listed Building.

The Transport Trust Red Wheel heritage Plaque was unveiled on 6th May 2019.

There was a gathering of around 100 people present with official representatives from Fleetwood Town and Wyre District, councils. The following local organisations were also officially represented :- Fleetwood Civic Society, Fleetwood Historical Society, Fleetwood Museum Trust, Fleetwood Transport Festival, Fleetwood Day Committee, Fleetwood Rotary Club( who helped with stewarding, crowd barriers etc. The hotel proprietors and manager were also in attendance.
In his opening remarks, host Dick Gillingham, a well known local historian, referred to the early history of the hotel, which opened in 1841. The eminent neo classical architect, Decimus Burton had prepared the design for Sir Peter Hesketh - Fleetwood, the town's wealthy founder. The manager was Xenon Vantini, an Elban, who accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo. He moved from the Euston Hotel in London to take up the managers position in Fleetwood. At the time the North Euston was referred to as' The Premier hotel of the North' For the first few seasons of operation, the hotel boasted its own private steamer jetty into the River Wyre. Soon afterwards it was removed to allow increasingly large vessels to use the port. From 1841 to 1847, train to Fleetwood and onward by steamer to Ardrossan provided the first West coast route to Scotland. Fleetwood was the first resort connected to the main rail network and later was the last town to retain its Victorian main street tram route.
Tracey Parkinson representing the Transport Trust, spoke about the work of the charity in highlighting important locations linked to transport history.
Concluding, the Mayor of Wyre, Councilor Marge Anderton, a Fleetwood resident, referred to the town's illustrious Victorian origins and its current attempts to highlight history. She thanked the Transport Trust for their support in awarding a Red Wheel and hoped it would create interest amongst visitors.
Photos: Sir Peter Hesketh - Fleetwood's statue outside the North Euston Hotel.
The plaque is unveiled by Tracey Parkinson of the Transport Trust and the Mayor of Wyre Councilor Marge Anderton.

Photos of the unveiling by Simon Ray