St Chad's Church, Poulton-Le-Fylde, Lancashire. Archaeological Watching Brief.

Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by Cassidy Ashton, acting on behalf of St Chad’s Church, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire (NGR SD 34785 39447) to undertake an archaeological watching brief at the church during groundworks for a single storey extension for a kitchen, disabled wc and storage facility (planning
application reference 02/04/0434). The work was carried out to fulfil a planning condition on advice from the Lancashire County Archaeology Service (LCAS), and was undertaken during January, February and April 2005.
The first mention of the church at Poulton-le-Fylde is from 1094, although the present day church is largely an eighteenth century re-build of earlier church buildings. The
settlement of Poulton-le-Fylde is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Polton. However, it is likely that a settlement existed prior to this, as St Chad, to whom the
church is dedicated, was a Mercian saint. Roman coins have been found in the graveyard and further afield within Poulton-le-Fylde, indicating that there was activity
during this period within the area. Groundworks in the churchyard could therefore impact upon earlier structures or features.