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The history of Lytham manorial court has been published by the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society. Written by local historian Peter Shakeshaft it spans the period from 1504, the year of the earliest surviving court record, to 1946 when the last manorial court was held at the County & Commercial Hotel, Lytham. This article was presented to James Hilton, the lord of the Manor at Lytham and Marianne Blaauboer, from Heritage Trust of the North West.

A manorial court was the lowest court in England and governed those areas over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, it applied to those who resided or held lands within the manor.

Lytham manorial court, which embraced present-day Lytham St Anne’s, like many other manorial courts, was a court of two parts. The court baron regulated matters relating to the manor, and was used to confirm the preservation of the rights of the manorial lord against the tenantry, and the rights of the tenantry against the lord; it was also the means of maintaining a record of changes in tenancy. The court leet dealt with civil matters such as punishing wrongdoers, hearing pleas, and making byelaws.