The County of Lancashire (8)
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The
Townships of Lancashire
Including Lancashire cities, boroughs,
towns and major villages
Note
that some of the towns listed below are now in the Greater Manchester
Metropolitan County and others in Merseyside and therefore (technically)
no longer in Lancashire.
Alphabetical
order - continued:
Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall
is the largest town in Rossendale with a population of about
23,000, and as far back as 1323 was a part of the Royal Forest
of Rossendale.
Following its rapid industrial expansion throughout the 18th
and 19th centuries with the growth of the textile and footwear
industries, in 1891 the town was granted Borough status, along
with Haslingden.
Nowadays Rawtenstall is somewhat of a dormitory area for neighbouring
Bury (now in Greater Manchester),
lying as it does at the end of the M66 Motorway, as well as
being connected to Bury by the regular steam and diesel train
service run by the East Lancashire
Light Railway (ELR). The town's original British Railways
station had previously closed in 1972 and the line remained
derelict for many years until it was reopened in 1991 by the
ELR.
Rawtenstall also has one of the best dry Ski Slopes in England
at Ski Rossendale,
as well being home to the last Temperance Bar in England.
Rochdale
See
Main Entry.
Salford
See
Main Entry.
Skelmersdale
Skelmersdale
is an old coal mining village, a township to the east of Ormskirk,
which lies beneath of Ashurst Beacon, where the District Council
have created Beacon Country Park. It became a so-called 'New
Town' in the 1960s.
Its name possibly derives from Old Scandinavian meaning "the
valley of a man named Skjalmar or Skjaldmarr" , although
some have it that the meaning lies in three words - "skel"
meaning "hills", "mers" from "mere"
(water as in Martin Mere) and "dale" meaning "valley".
In 55 BC the town was a restover stop for Roman soldiers travelling
from Wigan to Crosby on the River Mersey. Recently, a quantity
of Roman coins were unearthed by children in 1949 at nearby
Ottershead Farm.
Skelmersdale is mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as
being under the rule of Uctred, and part of the West Derby Hundred.
During the 19th century Industrial Revolution the area was significantly
developed as Coal Mines sprang up around the area and Skelmersdale
had its own railway line to Ormskirk, Rainford and St Helens.
The modern township boasts a recent Shopping Concourse development.
There is also the Tawd Valley park which leads to the Ribble
Estuary and joins the River Douglas - it offers around two miles
of beautiful landscape that is rich in native wildlife. Beacon
Country Park also lies within the district, with its beautiful
scenery, an 18 hole golf course and golf driving range, a Visitor
Centre and first class swimming pool.
Southport
See
Main Entry.
St
Helens
The
town of St Helens derives its name from the early chapel dedicated
to that saint which was situated at the crossroads to Warrington,
Widnes, Prescot and Wigan. The first known reference to the
chapel was found in a document of 1552, though the original
structure probably dated back to the 14th century
The modern church of St Helen was only completed in 1926, on
or near the site of the early chapel.
St Helens was only a small village until the Industrial Revolution
in the 19th century. Coal had been mined in the region since
the 16th century, and had been traditionally transported by
packhorse into neighbouring Cheshire and to Liverpool. With
the construction of the Sankey Canal Navigation in 1762, the
town became an ideally placed to transport coal nationwide.
Many new industries emerged, not least of which, Pilkington
Brothers, became famous nationwide for the manufacture of glass,
a trade which is still closely associated with the town today.
By 1868 the town became large enough to be granted the status
of Municipal Borough, and in 1884 it sent its first Member to
Parliament.
During the 20th century all of the towns coal mines disappeared,
with the loss of most of its traditional skills.
In 1974, with Local Government reorganisation, boundaries were
changed and St Helens became a Metropolitan Borough including
parts of Newton-le-Willows, Haydock, Rainhill (site of the famous
Railway Trials) and Billinge. Today all these communities comprise
the modern borough of St. Helens which has a population of about
178,500 people.
Warton
There
are two places in Lancashire called Warton:
1).
Warton is a small village near Carnforth which is dominated
by Warton Crag. Located near Morecambe bay, the Kendal Canal,
and Carnforth Railway Station, 6½ miles NE of Lancaster.
The village incorporates Bolton-le-Sands, and is distinguished
by having had George Washington's ancestors living in North
Warton and they are said to have assisted in building the tower
of the Parish Church. Thus, every Independence Day on 4th July,
the American flag is raised on the church tower in commemoration.
The Washington family coat of arms can inside the wall of the
tower and is believed to have influenced the design of the Stars
and Stripes. In 1835 the parish of Warton contained the townships
of Warton, Silverdale, Yealand Conyers, Yealand Redmayne, Priest
Hutton, Borwick, and Carnforth.
2).
The other village of Warton is located near Preston not far
from the River Ribble Estuary on the main A584 Freckleton to
Lytham Road which passes through its centre. Warton was originally
recorded as 'Wartun' in the Domesday Book of 1086 from the Old
English words 'weard' and 'tun' meaning 'a farmstead or township.
Contemporary Warton is somewhat dominated by what was known
as Warton Aerodrome, which had been established by the US Air
Force in September 1942 as AAF Station 582 - it was de-activitated
in September 1945. During those 3 years some 14,000 aircraft
passed through the airfield, including almost 3000 B24 Liberators
and over 4000 P51 Mustangs. Part of the Warton runway extends
into the neighbouring borough of Freckleton. The former British
Aerospace (BAE Systems), based on this site is a significant
employer of many local residents and the village has become
much sought after as a place to live and is a major dormitory
for the nearby conurbation of Preston.
Widnes
in
Early times, Widnes was described as 'half marsh and half moor',
lying as it does on the northern banks of the River Mersey.
The scene changed very little for many centuries. Earliest records
show that in around 1180 AD, a church was built at Farnworth,
dominating the village high street. For many years the ferry
across the Mersey at a place that became known as the Runcorn
Gap, was an important crossing place for travellers, where,
at low tide, it is sometimes possible to ford, or wade across
the river at this point. Soon, a riverside inn, known as the
Boathouse was established, although nowadays it is better known
as the 'Snig Pie House', due to the local eel pies, which are
considered a local delicacy.
By the 18th Century, a few dwellings grew up on the rocky promontory,
known as Woodend, and the area began attracting day trippers
from Liverpool in search of a quiet day out in the picturesque
countryside.
Small cottage industries emerged, especially at Appleton, where
fine wires were manufactured for the local watchmakers. In 1845
Widnes Dock was completed, (now known as Spike Island). Arriving
here by rail, salt from neighbouring Cheshire salt would be
offloaded for the glass-makers of St Helens in exchange for
Lancashire Coal for Northwich.
Winsford
Winsford
is located in the heart of rural Cheshire, 17 miles from Chester,
28 miles from Manchester, and 30 miles from Liverpool. The M6
motorway is six miles to the east. Winsford station is on the
West Coast Main Line, 162 miles from London.
The township was created a civil parish in 1936, formed from
parts of Clive, Darnhall, Marton, Over, Stanthorne and Wharton
civil parishes. Winsford Urban District, along with Northwich
and Runcorn is now part of the Borough of Vale Royal.
Its origins are uncertain but two possible explanations exist:
first, it could be a derivative of "Wainsford",
a local ford used by farmers in transporting hay carts (or wains)
across the River Weaver; second, and more likely, perhaps someone
called Wynn lived by the ford on the river, and it became known
as "Wynn's Ford", and later Winsford. The River
Weaver had long been an important ford crossing of a Roman road
linking Over with Middlewich.
The discovery of brine in 1700 and the proximity of the River
Weaver, which was made navigable, brought new industrial prosperity
to the town as it became a major salt mining town. The Weaver
was canalised in 1798 from Frodsham to Winsford Town Bridge
to allow for salt transhipment to Northwich and thence on to
Liverpool for worldwide export. The Mine at Winsford has existed
since 1844 although mining stopped periodically due to over-production.
Contemporary Winsford has a population or approximately 33,000
and is located in the heart of Cheshire in the borough of Vale
Royal, which forms part of the Mersey Forest. Salt production
had seriously declined by the early 20th century and the district
saw a steady contraction of its industry. The town's more recent
redevelopment leaves little evidence of its former industrial
past, and in many ways has rebuilt itself as a virtual new town,
though the Salt Union manages the only working salt mine still
in operation in Great Britain today.
Wigan
See
Main Entry.
....
End of Topic].
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