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Timeline showing the History of Westhoughton
1. Timeline showing the History of Westhoughton.
produced by Westhoughton Local History Group 2017
and featuring paintings by local artist Tom Newton MBE.
This publication has been dedicated to the President of WLHG,
Pam Clarke who died Jan 2017.
2. 1240 Westhoughton Manor
acquired by the Abbey of
Cockersand, near Cockerham.
Land donated by Hulton’s at
Hulton, Pendlebury’s at Snydale,
Rylands at Daisy Hill and William
at Brinsop in exchange for the
monk’s prayers.
1540 - First record of
coal being mined in
Westhoughton.
1200 1600
1509 – Chapel built
on Westhoughton
Moor, site of present St.
Bartholomew’s, by
Abbot of Cockersand.
Ruins of Cockersand Abbey, Cumbria
Early coal mining .
The monks administered the estate
from Brinsop. In the records of Abbey
rents current local names appeared –
Rigby, Rycrofte, Cooper, Lathwaite,
Pendlebury, Hart, Holden, Rylands,
Leigh, Woodward , Anderton.
2
3. Corn Mill at Mill Lane off Hindley
Road, Daisy Hill became Charnley’s
pickle works.
In the 1700’s the corn mill was waterpowered. The miller was a Mr
Haddock whose descendants Alice Makant and Margaret Haddock
gave the money to build Daisy Hill Parish Church.
Old Corn Mill with Pond (Daisy Hill)
1451 Westhoughton
corn mill worked by
Robert Platt.
1545 – James Browne, a cloth merchant, of
London bought the Manor of WH from King
Henry V111 for £1035.He resided at Brinsop
Hall Farm.
1550 - Rev William Leigh of
Lee Hall was born. He
became tutor to HRH Prince
of Wales, Prince Henry son of
James 1.
Henry VIII became head of church in England
in 1534 and confiscated all monastic
properties so that Westhoughton became
Crown property until 1545.
1400 1600
3
4. Located at the junction of Wigan
Road and Church Street, the Red
Lion was originally a staging post
offering accommodation and
stabling. The oldest part of the inn
was formerly a farm house
mentioned in the will of Adam
Pendlebury, a farmer and weaver, in
1608.
The Red Lion was closed in 2012 and
demolished in 2016.
The Red Lion
1600
4
5. The earliest recorded reference to this house is dated 1592. It was
then part of a farm of the Laythwaite family who farmed the Brinsop
area as tenants of Cockersand Abbey from the 1400’s when the first
house was built. It was modernised in 1689 by Oliver Peake who
replaced the wattle and clay with pink brick.
It was again modernised in the 1980’s but the datestone was
retained the on the gate.
Dogholes Farm stands on the A6/Chorley Road near the Georgian
House Hotel.
Doghole farm
Crow’s Nest Farm dates from about1600’s and was
owned by the Battersby’s.
At the age of twenty-one Ann Battersby was sentenced to ten years’
transportation for persistent thieving, and in 1844 she sailed for Van
Diemen’s Land in the Angelina.
In Hobart Town, William Lyall and Ann Battersby met and married. By
1851 they had two children. As soon as they were free to leave Van
Diemen’s Land they crossed Bass Strait to Victoria where the gold-
rush was just beginning. After three years in the town of Geelong
they moved on to the gold-diggings at Creswick. This was the place
where William and Ann stayed for the rest of their lives and brought
up seven children. In Creswick they were respected and respectable
citizens. No one had any idea that they had ever been convicts."
1600
5
6. 15th Dec 1642 - Civil war, between Charles I and
Parliamentarians. “Battle of Westhoughton Common” – resulted in a
Royalist victory at Warcock Hill.
1600 1700
In the 17th Century, the west
coast of Lancashireand the
Fylde were mainly agricultural
and conservative in loyalty and
religion with a strong Roman
Catholic landed gentry. The east
and southeast of the county was
more industrial, commercial and
strongly Puritan, especially
around Manchester and Bolton.
Map copied from Lois Basnett’s account of the battle.
Charles I
Battle site
Commercial
Fields
6
7. Information about the actual battle is scarce. A contemporary account says that on the 15th
December 1642-Parliamentary forces under Captains Bradshaw & Venables marched from
Manchester as far as Houghton Common, where “in a close of ground upon the side of Houghton
Common they met the enemy with about a thousand horse and foot”. Local legend sited the
battlefield on Warcock Hill and Commercial Fields.
The “Enemy” were detachments of Lord Derby’s force
from the Royalist garrison at Wigan. The Stanley papers
include an excerpt from Lord Derby’s diary with a mention
of the battle; and a soldier, giving evidence on oath later said
that Lord Derby was present at the battle.
The Parliamentarians were routed because they were
outnumbered about 5 to 1 and they were forced to surrender.
Besides Captains Bradshaw and Venables, Captain Risley Browne was taken. He was the Browne
of Brinsop. His Lieutenant was Peter Rylands of Daisy Hill, later Parliamentary Sequestrator for this
area.
In 1644 Prince Rupert led the Royalist forces into Bolton and sacked the town in a massacre. It is
alleged that they mustered at Warcock Hill and/or Snydale. This murderous act led to the
beheading of Lord Derby in 1651 outside the Man and Scythe inn in Bradshawgate.
7
8. 1726 – unenclosed lands
called Higher Moor, Chappel
Common, Chequerbent
Common, Leigh Common,
Robinson Common, Green
Common, Daizy Hill, Hart
Common to be allocated.
1726 - Enclosure of
Westhoughton Commons.
William Worthington of
Snydale became Lord of
the Manor by marriage to
the Pendlebury heiress.
1744 – William
Worthington bankrupt.
The manor of Snydale
Bought by Starkie of
Huntroyd family .
1753 - Turnpike Act. Road
users paid for maintenance of
road. Part of the A6 from Irlam
of the Heights to Duxbury was
turnpiked. Also Bolton Road,
Park Road, Market Street and
Wigan Road.
1784/5 - John Wesley preached at
Wingates in April of both years at Barnaby’s
Farm, located on the A6.
John Wesley was one of the founders of
Methodism, so called because of his
methodical approach to organising the
teaching religion in groups, classes. He
preached outdoors and travelled thousands of
miles in a year delivering many sermons.
1700 1800
8
9. Services were held in the Methody Row cottages, located on
Chorley Road, Wingates, opposite Barnaby’s farm ,before the
Methodist Church was built.
John Wesley stood on
this stone when
preaching at Wingates in
1884. The stone was
subsequently moved to
the Trinity Weslyan
Church in Church Street.
Currently the stone is
located outside the
Westhoughton Methodist
Church, Wigan road.
1880
9
10. 1812 – Burning of Westhoughton
Mill by Luddites.
Westhoughton Mill (Cotton Mill) is shown, on
the 1847 map, opposite the White Lion.
A sketch of
Westhoughton Mill.
None of the Luddites who
attacked the Mill were
residents of Westhoughton,
but came from Chowbent.
In fact many of the Mill
workers lost their jobs after
the fire.
1812
10
11. 1. Cottage weavers from
Chowbent breaking into the
factory.
2. The factory on fire.
3.Luddites rounded up by
the Scots Greys and taken
to Lancaster Castle.
In 1804 a mill was built on land opposite Mill Street by Richard Johnson
Lockett who lived at Westhoughton Hall, Daisy Hill. This was one of the very
first weaving mills to have a large steam engine which ran 170 pairs of looms.
The factory employed a large number of local people and produced cotton
cloth much cheaper and faster than skilled cottage weavers, who could see
their livelihoods no longer being required.
1812
11
12. 4.Trial at Lancaster Castle
5.Four men sentenced
to be hanged. One of
them was Abraham
Charleson aged 15!
6.Nine men,
sentenced to
transportation
to Australia,
taken to
Portsmouth.
1812
On 21st April 1812, a group of discontented rebels
assembled at Chowbent and marched to the Mill intending
to smash the looms, but couldn’t gain entry.
However a small boy Abraham Charleson was able to climb
through a small window and open the door for the
Luddites to enter the Mill and smash the looms and set
the mill on fire.
12
13. Luddites also attacked
Westhoughton Old Hall,
located at Daisy Hill,
because it was the home
of the factory owner – Mr
Lockett.
The old cotton mill on the
Factory Nook was not
destroyed completely by
the fire in 1812 but was
rebuilt and subsequently
demolished in 1900.
1812
13
14. The 19th century industries in Westhoughton were predominantly
coal mining and cotton /silk manufacturing.
Coal Mines in Westhoughton.
Brinsop Hall Colliery
Scott Lane Colliery
Stott’s Pit
Snydale Hall Colliery
Chequerbent Collieries
School Pit Colliery
Hulton Collieries
Eatock Colliery
Brookside Colliery
Hewlett Collieries
Textile factories in Westhoughton.
Albion Mill
Victoria Mill
Chadwick’s Silk Mill
Perseverance Mill
Hosiery Factory
Kemps Silk Mill
Soper and sons Silk Mill
Rose Hill doubling Mill
Green Vale Calico works and
doubling Mill
Scot Lane Colliery Blackrod & Fourgates
Hewlett No. 1. Pit, Hart Common - 1933
Eatock Pit - Daisy Hill
1884 - 1936
1826 - Silk weaving
introduced to
Westhoughton.
1850
14
16. 1819 - Peterloo
massacre in Manchester.
1801 - William Hulton of
Hulton Park was the High
Sheriff of the County.
1800
William Hulton was the son of William Hulton and Jane (née Brooke). He was
educated at Brasenose College, Oxford. In 1808 he married his cousin Maria
Ford with whom he had 13 children, 10 of whom survived to maturity.
In 1811 he was appointed High Sheriff of Lancashire. In this capacity he
ordered the arrest of 12 men, Luddites, for arson at Westhoughton Mill in
Westhoughton town centre. Four of the offenders were hanged
outside,Lancaster Castle, including a boy aged 15. Hulton gained a reputation
as being tough on crime and political dissent and in 1819 was made chairman
of the Lancashire and Cheshire Magistrates, a body set up for dealing with the
civil unrest endemic in the area.
In 1819 he summoned the local Yeomanry to deal with a large crowd in St
Peter's Square in Manchester which had gathered to hear the political agitator
Henry Hunt. Several men from Wingates were reported to have walked to this
meeting. The Yeomanry, on horseback with sabres drawn, forced its way
through the crowd to break up the rally and allow Hunt to be arrested. Fifteen
people died from sabre and musket wounds or trampling and the event
became known as the Peterloo Massacre. Hulton was vilified by the local
population and was obliged to decline a safe parliamentary seat offered to
him in 1820.
Death: He died on the 30th of March 1864 at Leamington Priors,
Warwickshire & was buried on the 5th of April 1864 at Deane, Lancashire
William Hulton 16
17. The Peterloo Massacre occurred in 1819 in Manchester at
the site of where the Central Library is now located. The
term Peterloo refers to a combination of the words
Petersfield and the battle of Waterloo.
On the 16th August 1819 a large crowd of 60 to 80
thousands of poor and starving workers gathered in St
Peter’s field to hear a speech by the radical Henry Hunt.
The protests were about the inadequate representation in
parliament of masses of factory workers.
William Hulton, a leading magistrate, gave the orders for
the cavalry to arrest Henry Hunt but this resulted in 15
deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Library Wing at
Hulton Hall
The Hulton’s family home, Hulton Hall, was
located in Hulton Park on the A6 between
Chequerbent and Four Lane Ends.
1819
17
18. 1828 and 1831
1828 - First public railway in Lancashire – the Bolton and
Leigh Railway. Primarily constructed, by William Hulton, to
transport coal from the Hulton owned mines at Chequerbent
to Bolton and south to Leigh and the canal system and
ultimately the Manchester to Liverpool railway.
William Hulton was the chairman of the company, George
Stephenson the engineer and Mr Hargreaves of Hart Common
in charge of working the line.
1831 - Bolton and Leigh
Railway opened 18th June and
the first station built was at
Chequerbent.
The 1909 Ordnance Survey
map shows the original
mineral (coal) railway line
passing over the A6
Manchester Road and the
reconstructed line passing
below the A6.
18
19. Lancashire Witch – first train
to run on Bolton – Leigh line,
built by George Stephenson
A train carrying coal from Atherton towards
Chequerbent where the line was relatively steep and
required an engine at the front and back.
Chequerbent, Crossing Keeper’s
house for the Bolton-Leigh Railway
which was built in 1828
1850 19
20. 1848 - Westhoughton Railway
Station opened by the Liverpool
and Bury Railway Company.
1850 -The tithe map for Westhoughton
drawn up showing field names, owners and
occupiers. This allows “tenths” /taxes to be
paid in cash rather than tenths of produce.
1830 1850
Westhoughton Railway Station 20
21. 21
Day trippers waiting for the train
to Southport – about 1950’s.
Westhoughton Station booking office
Westhoughton
Station showing
railway lines
passing under A6
bridge to Bolton.
Waiting Room
22. 1851- John
Chadwick owned
Peel Mills, a silk
mill at Peel Street.
1858 - Westhoughton Friendly Cooperative
Society Ltd registered in April. Founded by
workmen who migrated from Rochdale to work at
Westhoughton Old Mill. First grocery shop opened
on Good Friday.
1880
1850
“Pillworks” Old Silk Mill in Church
Street
Some shops and works
In 1915, James Wrigglesworth,
re-opened the mill as a
pharmaceutical manufacturing
business and employed several
hundred local people, making
medicated sweets, ointments,
creams, toothpaste, tonics and
cough mixtures.
22
23. Daisy Hill Station
1857- Green Vale works,
Leigh Road, started by John
Seddon, printing and dyeing
calico cotton.
23
24. Westhoughton United Industrial Co-op
1871
Co-operative store menswear department
about 1960, at the beginning of King Street.
The Co-op sign shows the
location of the supermarket,
in 1976, which was formerly
the grocery shop.
The United Industrial Co-op owned the following shops
and businesses located on or just off
Market Street.
Grocery, Drapery, Shoe Shop,
Confectioners and café
Coal yard and Garage
Furniture Shop
Fruit and Veg
Gent’s outfitters
Butchery
Bakery.
Market Street1959
showing on the right
hand side of the road,
after the wooden
gates, R Bullough(iron
monger) then co-op
drapery, grocery and
shoe shop.
24
25. The distribution of Friendly Co-op (F)
and United Industrial Co-op (U)
shops and businesses throughout
Westhoughton is shown on the
sketch to the left.
It is clear that many residents relied
on Co-op shops for their shopping.
The head office of the United Industrial Co-
op was 34 Market Street, in between Library
Street and King Street.
25
26. Westhoughton Old Chapel (1731 - 1868) replaced the original
chapel built by Abbot of Cockersand. The Parish church of St Bartholomew
was built on the site of the Old
Chapel in 1871 using money donated
by John Seddon of the Morton’s. John
Seddon was a great benefactor of
Westhoughton churches and also
provided employment by building the
Albion and Victoria cotton mills and
Green Vale bleachworks.
Westhoughton Churches 26
The Old
Parsonage was
located off
Market Street.
27. Westhoughton Churches
1859 –
St John’s
church
Wingates
opened.
1853 – United Reformed
Church/Bethel opened
for public worship.
“John O’ Greens Chapel” in Park Road (before the Bethel was built)
The Bethel
27
28. Westhoughton Churches
1870 – Trinity Wesleyan
Chapel located
on Wesley Street behind the
Trinity Methodist.
1903 - Trinity
Methodist Church,
demolished in 1967 ,
formerly located on
Church Street , opposite
the railway station.
1881 - St James’s, Daisy Hill Parish Church
28
29. 1873 – Sacred Heart Catholic Church
opened. Situated on Lord Street.
29
Original Sacred Heart Church was located at Wingates.
32. 1873
1873- Wingates Band formed by
members of the Bible Class of
Wingates Independent Methodist
Chapel.
1895
1907 - Wingates Band pictured after achieving the “Double –
double” ie British Open and British National Champions in
1906 and 1907.
32
34. 1894 -
Westhoughton Urban
District formed.
1904
Westhoughton Town
Hall was designed by
Bradshaw and Gas, built
from red Ruabon terra
cotta bricks,
completed and opened
in 1904.
Above the clock face is
an octagonal bell turret.
Above that is a copper
dome on top of which is
a copper goblet
surmounted by the
cross of St George.
1880 1910
The White Lion is the oldest building in Market Street
dating from about 1758. In 1812, straw from the Inn’s
stables was used by Luddites as fuel for the fire which
burned down the Westhoughton Mill.
34
35. A Market Street Scene in late 18 hundreds.
The Town Hall covered in snow
35
36. 1910 – 21st Dec Explosion in the no. 3 pit (Pretoria) of the
Hulton Colliery company.
344 lives lost.
Pretoria pit site
Memorial to Pretoria
victims in St Bartholomew’s
cemetry.
Pretoria Pit
36
37. Hulton Bank Pits No.2 & 3
(Pretoria Pit)
Explosion at Pretoria
37
38. 1915 – James
Wrigglesworth
opened “the Pill
works” in the old silk
mill in Church Street.
1910 - Hall Lee Bank
Park opened – donated
by Sir William Rothwell
Hulton.
1915 - Empire cinema
opened -
On Empire day 24th May.
1920 - Market site
established – covered and
fenced in 1924.
1910 1930
38
39. 1914 - Snydale water
tower opened by
Westhoughton Urban
District Council.
39
41. The War Memorial is located on the corner of
Market Street and Church Street and was
erected in 1919.
It was erected “in thankful remembrance
and in gratitude to the 169 men who lost
their lives in the Great War”
The cenotaph is surrounded by a semi-circular
wall in which are incorporated the names of
the 109 men from Westhoughton who “gave
their lives for freedom” in the second world
war.
On Remembrance Sunday each November, townspeople attend a Service of Remembrance
At the cenotaph and numerous wreaths are laid.
41
42. 1924 – Trams from
Westhoughton to Bolton
started running.
Trams often became stuck in
snow over Snydale hill.
1946- Last tram to
leave Westhoughton
– Sunday Nov 5th .
Westhoughton Tram ‘E’ at Wheatsheaf - 1937
1924 1946
Westhoughton
Tram Service
42
44. 1936 - Stotts pit closed 14th Nov – the last
working pit in Westhoughton
Stott’s Pit was located between James Street and the railway. The
last pit in Westhoughton to close in 1936 because of flooding.
44
46. 1950 – Major problem-
Westhoughton needed
new sewage system but
couldn’t afford one!
1951Westhoughton
included in
Lancashire County
Development plan.
Salford City Council wanted to
build overspill/council houses
at Westhoughton but
withdrew in 1957.
1958 Westhoughton UDC
resolves to participate in the
housing of Manchester’s
overspill population.
1950 1960
46
48. 1962
Westhoughton
Town map
submitted to the
Minister for
Housing.
July1963 Manchester
Corporation submitted a
compulsory purchase order for
most of Westhoughton to the
Minister for Housing and Local
Government
August 1963
Westhoughton UDC
resolves to withdraw
from the overspill
scheme.
1960
Oct 1963 - Public
Inquiry into Town
Map and
Compulsory
purchase order
opened
Feb 1965 Town map and
CPO approved by the
Minister of Housing and
Local Government.
Oct 1966 – Minister of
Housing and Local
Government withdraws
support for the
scheme.
1966
48
49. 1969 - M61
motorway opened to
traffic 28thNov .
1962 - Plans were drawn up
for a new town increasing
population from 17,000 to
71,000.
1962 - New Central park
opened.
1974 – 18th Feb last
meeting of Westhoughton
Urban District Council.
1974 – Urban District of
Westhoughton became part of
Bolton Metropolitan Borough.
1960 1980
49
50. Anti-Overspill photos
Jumble Sale at Westhoughton Market in aid of
Anti Overspill fund – Sept 1963.
Anti – Overspill
demonstration at
Bolton.
50
51. Overspill Photos
The inspector Mr
J.M.Metcalf and staff at the
overspill Inquiry, Carnegie
Hall.- Nov 15th 1963.
Overspill inquiry
12/11/1963
Councillors Albert Woods and Peter
James leading protestors to the Town
Hall, Bolton on Nov 1st 1963.
51
53. 1972 Master Plan
approved by
Westhoughton UDC
1988 Draft town centre plan
showing diversion of A58
1978 Housing
development map drawn
up for central region.
In 1999 and 2000 private
developers applied for planning
permission to build houses and an
industrial estate outside the
central region.
SWAN – Save Westhoughton Act Now
were a group of Westhoughton
residents who successfully opposed
these development proposals in 2000.
New road proposals ie
522 shown on Master
Plan not built.
April 1974 Local Government
reorganisation.
All planning decisions now
made by Bolton.
1972 2015
53
55. Conclusions
Westhoughton has been the scene
of several very historic events eg
battle of Westhoughton Common in
1642; the Burning of Westhoughton
Factory by Luddites in 1812; the
construction of the first public
railway in Lancashire in 1828; the
Pretoria Pit disaster in 1910 .
In the 20th century, Westhoughton
was predominantly a coal and cotton
town, but the last pit closed in 1936
and the last cotton mill in 1976.
Subsequently, it became a dormitory
town.
In the early 1960’s there was a threat of
overspill and compulsory purchase by
Manchester Corporation but this was
defeated . Subsequently the building of
private residences according to the Master
Plan prevailed.
Recently, attempts by developers to
build outside the boundaries of the
Master Plan have been successfully
defeated.
Acknowledgements
This project has been supported by a grant from Westhoughton Council.
Permission has been kindly granted by the Bolton News to use several photos in the
Timeline.
55
56. THE WESTHOUGHTON TIMELINE
This publication is, in essence, a miniaturised version of the full-scale display (measuring 55 feet by 4 feet), which is mounted on the
walls of the upper level of Westhoughton Library (BL5 3AT), and which represents an attractive and informative visual record of the
fascinating history of this medium-sized Lancashire industrial town.
Formally unveiled in April 2017, the Timeline installation is one of many successful projects implemented by Westhoughton Local
History Group, which, despite being a relatively young organisation (formed in 2005) has grown inexorably to become one of the
largest, most vibrant, and most innovative heritage societies in the region.
Without doubt, the Group’s growth and success is due in no small measure to the inspirational leadership and prolific research work
of Pamela Clarke, a founder member of the group – and ultimately it president – a lady greatly admired and respected by all who
knew her.
The Timeline was undoubtedly one of Pam’s dreams: as arguably the most prolific researcher of Westhoughton’s history the town
has ever seen, over many years Pam compiled an ever-evolving written Timeline, comprising numerous key dates in Westhoughton’s
history, from the early 13th century, to the dawn of the third millennium. With the Library being something of a second home to
Pam, she had long harboured hopes that, one day, the basic black-and-white lineage of her written Timeline would metamorphose
into a large-scale illustrated version, combining text, pictures and photographs, to give an informative and strikingly-attractive
feature in the place where she spent so much research time, and where WLHG meets on the first & third Thursday of every month,
from 10am to 12noon.
Eventually, in early 2016, plans began in earnest on layout concepts for such a project, with Pam’s chronological information
providing the basis for the designs produced by Garth Ratcliffe, the Group’s committee member responsible for staging many of its
highly successful exhibitions over the years. A most notable aspect of the designs, is that they incorporate many of the superb water-
colour images of the Westhoughton of yesteryear, produced over the years by the Group’s own talented artist, Tom Newton MBE.
Supported by a generous grant from Westhoughton Town Council, the end product is the result of work of specialist graphic
designers working within the ambit of Bolton Museums and Libraries Service, to whom the group expresses its thanks.
Sadly, Pam was destined not to see the realisation of one of her dreams, as she died in untimely fashion in January 2017, but it was
the unanimous wish of the Group’s committee that Pam’s memory should be perpetuated via the Timeline, as evidenced by the
wording of a dedicated memorial panel within its design.
56
