William Sutton (Southport)

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William Sutton (known as The Mad Duke or The Old Duke) was a local forward thinking man from North Meols (North of Southport) who, in 1792, took advantage of the fashionable new trend of sea bathing by building a bathing house at South Hawes (2 miles south of Churchtown) and, realizing the importance of the newly created canal systems, gambled with the idea of a hotel by the seaside just 4 miles away from the newly constructed Leeds and Liverpool Canal to and from which he arranged transport for potential guests.

Born in 1752, he was originally the landlord of the Black Bull Inn in Churchtown (now the Hesketh Arms) and known as a good natured, jovial gentleman who entertained his regulars by playing the fiddle.

He constructed his "Original Hotel" at the southern end of what is now the mile long Lord Street Southport (pop 93'000). Becoming a source of local disbelief and amusement, the folk of Churchtown and Meols referred to William Sutton as "The Mad Duke" and the hotel as "Duke's Folly".

Hawes (Meols) is the local word for sand dunes and the location of the hotel was thus in the southern hawes of - well nowhere at that time. Later, Lord Street grew with the hotel at the southern end

Upon obtaining some success with the venture, Mr Sutton, it is told, threw a party to which a certain solicitor named Dr Miles Barton from Ormskirk (8 mls inland) was invited. After good fare and enough drink, the solicitor stood up to make a toast, christened the hamlet South ... but having forgotten where he was and looking at his glass of port, added ...Port. South Hawes would have been the correct name at that time but South Port it was to be and this latter name appeared in written records in 1798.

Nowadays, the 93'000 people large town still pays tribute to its founder, who died in 1840, and a plaque set in a corner stone on the corner of Duke Street/Lord Street West remembers him. It is understood that William Duke Sutton actually finished up in Lancaster Jail for debtors - "on the fiddle or just fiddling?"