Poulton-le-Fylde (/ˈpoʊltənliˌfaɪld/), commonly abbreviated to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation in the area from 12,000 years ago and several archaeological finds from Roman settlement in England have been found in the area. At the time of the Norman conquest of England Poulton was a small agricultural settlement in the hundred of Amounderness. The church of St Chad was recorded in 1094 when it was endowed to Lancaster Priory. By the post-Medieval period the town had become an important commercial centre for the region with weekly and triannual markets. Goods were imported and exported through two harbours on the River Wyre. In 1837, the town was described as the "metropolis of the Fylde", but its commercial importance waned from the mid-19th century with the development of the nearby coastal towns of Fleetwood and Blackpool.