Manchester
& the Northwest Region of England
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Virtual Encyclopaedia of Greater Manchester
Including
Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside,
Trafford & Wigan
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The
County of Lancashire - 8
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.
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.
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.
