Shard House, Hambleton, Poulton-le-Fylde

[georgie]

Would anyone have an old picture of Shard House or Shard Toll Bridge, Hambleton, Poulton-le-Fylde which they could email to me.

Thanks

georgie 

[LancsLass]

Hi Georgie...Put Shard Bridge into Google and it will come up with Wikepedia..click on Notes: Poulton le Fylde..Super picture of the original bridge...


LL.

[georgie]

Hi LancsLass,

Thanks for your response.

Yes, I came across that when I googled the other day, but I wanted an older picture if poss when it was the old toll bridge back in the early 1900's.   Really a picture of Shard House is preferable so I can see what it looked like.   Don't know if it has been demolished or taken over for something else 

kind regards

georgie

[Aulus]

Have you seen this: http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/allpurpose/shardbridge.pdf

The front cover photograph on that is interesting as it shows old and new bridges side by side (something I'd not seen before finding that).

Any picture of the toll bridge will be the same bridge as in the 1900s - it lasted for nearly 130 years.

I well remember the old bridge.  As we approached it in the car, a cry would go up "Shard Bridge Toll!" and (usually) mother or grandmother would rummage around in their purses for the change needed to pay the toll.  I remember they used to have a ticket machine like bus conductors used to have.

Needless to say, as road traffic increased in the 70s and 80s, the bridge became something of a bottleneck, and the new bridge was a great relief. 

Interestingly the next bridge over the Wyre, Cartford Bridge, is still a toll bridge.  Before the new Shard Bridge was built, you had to go all the way to St Michael's to cross the Wyre for free!

I see you're not the only person interested in Shard House: someone called Pat Lloyd is seeking information on the Ancestry website: http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.britisles.england.lan.general/12246/mb.ashx?pnt=1

The Francis Frith website has a photograph of the old bridge taken from Shard House in 1955: http://www.francisfrith.com/hambleton,lancashire/photos/the-river-from-shard-house-c1955_H452004/

There's nothing on the Lancashire Lantern site though.

By the way, Shard House was still standing in 2004 as there's a (withdrawn) planning application on Wyre Borough Council's website to convert two bedrooms into B&B accommodation.

[georgie]

Hi Aulus,

Thanks very much for the link showing the old and new Shard bridge.   Like the picture and the toll charges are interesting.   It's also of interest that Shard House may well still exist, in fact Shard House could be one of the properties shown in the picture I suppose.

I remember my dad mentioning about the toll bridge, he still had to pay even though it was a distant relative who owned it.

Thanks again.

kind regards

georgie