The building of St Annes Church was commissioned by Lady Clifton in the early 1870s and named in memory of her aunt who was called Anne. It was built as a chapel of ease to the then parish church of St Cuthbert in Lytham to benefit the farm labourers and fishermen of the hamlet of Heyhouses, who had difficulty in getting to church on a Sunday morning. It was several miles walk …………and the path took them past the Trawlboat Inn, which was situated on the corner of Heyhouses Lane and Northhouses Lane (the building is still there opposite the Shell garage.)

The church was consecrated in 1873. In those days the lychgate, which now is such a beloved feature of the main entrance from the town, was at the gate by the traffic lights leading towards Lytham.