Kirkham is sometimes thought of as a bit of a backwater, an insular place where people know little and care even less for the world beyond this part of rural Lancashire. Not fair, not true.
Kirkham is the oldest town on the
Fylde, long pre-dating Lytham, Blackpool, Poulton, Cleveleys and Fleetwood, and
was most certainly a key place of strategic importance in Roman times. The
Roman fort on Carr Hill, the highest point on the low-lying Fylde, to the East
of the town centre, was an important staging post on a spur of road, a Roman
M55 if you like, leading from Ribchester to a port somewhere around Stalmine.
In more recent history, Kirkham
was the de facto capital of the area, with its huge Parish covering much of
what we now call the Fylde, and the enduring presence of a preeminent Parish
church and an ancient grammar school stand as evidence of the town's historic
importance. The flax mills gave the town a period of relative prosperity, and
agriculture has always flourished thanks to the mild, relatively sunny climate
and fertile soils. However, social and economic change has left Kirkham as a
more humble and anonymous town, yet one which has strong appeal as a small
community within easy reach of centres of employment in Lancashire and beyond.
Kirkham, along with its neighbour
Wesham, has much to be proud of: the aforementioned Parish Church and Grammar
School; five vibrant primary schools each of distinct character; a much-loved
and successful special school; a large, genuinely comprehensive school which
serves young people from a wide catchment area; a prison whose inmates do good
works in and for the community; a resilient high street with a number of small
independent businesses well used by locals; manufacturing industry providing
jobs in food, pharmaceuticals and light engineering; a football team rapidly
ascending the leagues as it prepares to move to a state-of-the-art stadium; a
holiday park attracting visitors from far and wide; a small railway station
from which you can catch a direct train to London; a motorway near enough to be
convenient but far enough to be hidden; and a variety of residential areas,
reflecting a community which is diverse but well-integrated.
And then there's our twin towns.
For a community which is reputed to be insular (I once overheard a conversation
about a couple from Kirkham who had "moved away" but then came back
because they couldn't settle…...the move was to Wesham!), Kirkham boasts a
flourishing friendship with two towns in the most beautiful parts of France
(
Ancenis) and Germany (
Bad Brückenau). This three-way reciprocal twinning
arrangement is not unique, but certainly unusual, and has given the people of
three small towns the opportunity to get to know each other, sharing what
unites them and enjoying what makes them different.
Kirkham first twinned with
Ancenis back in 1973, thanks to a Lancashire businessman, Gordon Himsworth, who
had met and married a young woman from Ancenis when she was studying in Manchester.
They still live in Ancenis. Twinning was fashionable in those early days of the
European Community, and Ancenis and Kirkham were a good match: similar sized
market towns in rural areas, with an economy dependent on agriculture and mixed
light industry. The initial twinning was of Rotary Clubs, but that limited
relationship led to a full and formal agreement between the two towns, backed
by the civic authorities of both towns.
Ancenis subsequently twinned with
Bad Brückenau, and in 1995 Kirkham formally twinned with Bad Brückenau,
completing a triangular relationship between three towns of similar size and
approximately equal geographical separation.
Ancenis is an attractive town on
the River Loire, with an iconic bridge which forms a crossing point between the
historic provinces of Brittany and Anjou. Ancenis is in Brittany, although does
not have the distinctive celtic atmosphere of the ports on the Breton
peninsula.
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| Ancenis - the famous bridge |
In many ways, it feels like an archetypal French town, and as such
it is a perfect place to absorb the culture, gastronomy and way of life which
makes our nearest neighbours such an enviable place to visit or live. It is a
fast and easy half-day’s drive from the Channel ports of St Malo or Caen.
Bad Brückenau is also a very
attractive town, set in gently forested hills of North Bavaria, in the province
of Franken, with an economy based on its fame as a spa town, to which Germans
have traditionally flocked to take the waters.
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| Bad Bruckenau - the main street |
It is a neat, clean and
well-ordered place, with the influence of Bavarian culture very apparent in,
for example, the willingness of even younger people to dress in national
costume as a sort of "Sunday best". Like Ancenis, it seems somehow
archetypal of its country, meaning that people from Kirkham visiting either town
have a real insight into the lives of our European friends.
Both towns have a wonderful
musical tradition, with thriving bands of amateur musicians who provide
spontaneous and enjoyable musical accompaniment at our get-togethers, which are
always convivial and involve much good food and drink.
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| A typical twinning meal - this one was in France, but the people are from all three towns |
Perhaps the best thing about
Kirkham's twinning is that on all three sides, it is used by ordinary
townsfolk, who in the main have no linguistic expertise, but who just enjoy
meeting others in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We meet every year in
one of the towns, on a three-year cycle.
Our recent meet-ups have been as vibrant and successful as ever, most recently when 85 visitors, a coachload from each of the two towns visited Kirkham in August 2017.
You will see more information and
photos on our website at
www.kirkhamtwinning.org and we are
also on Twitter as
@Kirkancenau.
