Great Eccleston was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Eglestun. In various 13th-century documents it was recorded as Ecclisto, Ecleston and Great Eccleston. In 1066 when the Normans conquered England, the township of Great Eccleston—then part of the ancient hundred of Amounderness—was in the possession of Tostig Godwinson, the brother of King Harold II. Tostig died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and his lands were subsequently taken over by the Normans. Between 1069 and 1086 William the Conqueror gave Amounderness to Roger de Poitou, an Anglo-Norman baron. In the Domesday Book, the area of Great Eccleston was estimated at two carucates of land. The township was originally part of the ecclesiastical parish of St Michael's on Wyre and Great Eccleston's parishioners would have worshipped there at St Michael's Church. In 1723, a chapel of ease to St Michael's was built in a part of Great Eccleston called Copp. It was dedicated to St Anne.
At , and approximately north-west of London, Great Eccleston lies on a coastal plain called the Fylde. It is approximately north-east of the seaside resort of Blackpool, approximately south-east of Poulton-le-Fylde and about north-west of its post town, Preston. Nearby villages include Little Eccleston, Elswick and St Michael's on Wyre and Singleton. Great Eccleston has a generally temperatemaritime climate like much of the British Isles, with cool summers and mild winters. In nearby Blackpool, there is an annual average rainfall of.
Culture and community
The Great Eccleston Agricultural Show is held in the village over two days every July along with Tractor Pulling, which also sees an event held in its own right at the same show ground during the August bank holiday. Horse, steam and agricultural shows have been held in Great Eccleston since the mid-19th century. Like many similar rural events, the Great Eccleston Show waned in popularity and ceased to take place in the 1950s; it was reinstated in 1972. Up to 40,000 people were expected to attend the 2011 show. Displays typically feature livestock, horticulture, country crafts, local produce and agricultural vehicles. A farmers' market is held in Great Eccleston every month. A weekly general market takes place each week. The village is home to three public houses: the Farmers Arms, in Halsalls Square, and the Black Bull Hotel and White Bull, both on High Street. In business between 1975 and 1998 was the Blinking Owl, an 85-seat restaurant located in a converted farm on Brock Road. The two-tier dining room was in what was formerly the barn. It served nightly dinners and lunch on Sundays. Owners Keith and Barbara Baxendale took the restaurant's name from a pub in Yorkshire.
