Westleigh, Greater Manchester facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Westleigh
Geography
Status	Township
History
Created	Middle Ages
Abolished	1875
Succeeded by	Leigh Urban District,

Westleigh is a part of Leigh, a town in Greater Manchester, England. It was once one of three old areas, called townships. These were Westleigh, Bedford, and Pennington. In 1875, these three townships joined together. They formed the borough of Leigh, which is a type of local government area.

History of Westleigh

What's in a Name?

The name Westleigh comes from an old language called Old English. It means "west of Leigh." This tells us where Westleigh is located compared to Leigh. The name Leigh itself comes from the word leah. This word first meant "a wood," then "a clearing in a wood," and finally "a meadow."

People wrote the name Westleigh in different ways long ago. It was called Westeley in 1237 and Westlegh in 1238. In 1292, it was written as Westlay in Legh.

The Manor of Westleigh

The early story of Westleigh is linked to a church. This church was called 'the church of Westley in Leigh'. It was dedicated to St Peter and stood between Westleigh and Pennington. This church was the main church for a large area. After the Reformation, it was dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Today, it is the parish church in Leigh.

The first known owners of the land, or 'Lords of the Manor', were the Westleigh family. After them, the Urmston family owned the manor for many centuries. When the Urmston family had no more sons, their daughters married into other families. These families, the Heatons, Shuttleworths, and Bradshaws, later sold the manor. It was bought by the Atherton and Hilton families.

Eventually, the Marsh family took over the manor. They earned their money from making silk and other textiles. The Marsh family was very generous to Westleigh. They gave money to build the first swimming baths and the Marsh Gymnasium. They also left gifts to the Parish Church. Westleigh Old Hall, a large house, was given to Leigh Corporation. The house was later taken down, and its grounds became the Marsh playing fields.

Westleigh's Industries

Westleigh had drift mines, which are tunnels dug into hillsides to get coal, as early as the 1100s. By 1851, Leigh had 17 coal pits, mostly in Westleigh. Each pit employed fewer than 10 coal miners. The coal industry grew very quickly after 1870. This was when deeper mines started to be built.

In 1872, a company called Ackers and Whitley began to build the Bickershaw Colliery. This large coal mine was in nearby Pennington. It was accessed from Plank Lane in Westleigh. By 1970, this mine employed 1,489 men. In that year, they dug up 1,716,479 tons of coal.

In 1896, the Wigan Coal and Iron Company owned several pits in Westleigh. These included Priestners, which had 387 underground workers and 70 surface workers. They also owned Snapes and the Sovereign pit. The Sovereign pit had 180 underground workers and 68 on the surface. The Parsonage Colliery was dug by the Wigan Coal and Iron Company between 1913 and 1920. Its shafts went down more than 1,000 yards (about 914 meters).

The cotton industry also became very important. It replaced the old way of weaving cloth by hand at home. The Kirkhall Lane Mills (also called Westleigh New Mill) were built in 1836. Victoria Mills, off Kirkhall Lane, were built by James and John Hayes between 1856 and 1887. Firs Mills were built by Tunnicliffe and Hampson.

How Westleigh Was Governed

Westleigh was a township within the old church area of Leigh. It was part of the hundred of West Derby in Lancashire. A hundred was a historical division of a county.

After a law called the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, Westleigh became part of the Leigh Poor Law Union. This group was set up in 1837. It was in charge of helping the poor across the whole old parish of Leigh and part of Winwick. There were places called workhouses in Pennington, Culcheth, Tyldesley, and Lowton. These were replaced by a larger workhouse in Atherleigh in the 1850s.

In 1863, Westleigh adopted new laws for local government. In 1875, Westleigh's local government was dissolved. It joined the Leigh Local Board. This board later became an urban district council in 1894. It then became part of the Municipal Borough of Leigh. In 1901, the population of Westleigh was 16,177 people.

Westleigh's Geography

Westleigh is in the northwest part of Leigh. It covers about 1,882.5 acres (about 7.6 square kilometers). The land gently rises and falls. It is about 75 feet (23 meters) above sea level in the south. It goes up to 150 feet (46 meters) in the north and northwest.

The Westleigh Brook flows through the township from north to south. It joins with the Hey or Pennington Brook, which comes from the west. The ground in the north has coal measures, which are layers of rock containing coal. These are under Permian rocks, which appear from Westleigh village to Westleigh Heath. In the southeast, the ground is made of pebble beds from the new red sandstone series. There are also several small 'flashes'. These are small lakes that formed in the 1900s. They appeared when the ground sank due to coal mining and then filled with water.

Getting Around Westleigh

The Wigan and Leigh branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs across the southern part of Westleigh. It goes from west to east. The main road from Hindley to Atherton (A577) crosses the north of Westleigh. A smaller road branches off it, going south towards Leigh.

The Bolton and Leigh Railway line reached Westleigh in March 1830. This railway was extended across the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It went to Kenyon Junction, where it connected with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Leigh Station, on the Bolton and Leigh Railway at Westleigh, opened for passengers in June 1831. Today, the path of this old railway line is now the A579 road. Another railway line, the Manchester–Southport line, crossed the northern part of Westleigh.

Places of Worship

The first stone for St. Paul's Westleigh was laid in June 1846. This church was a smaller church connected to Leigh Parish Church. It was officially opened in October 1847. The church is built in a decorated style. The land and stone for the church were given by Lord Lilford. In 1881, Westleigh St Paul's became its own church district within the parish of Leigh.

Westleigh St Peter was founded in 1881 and is on Firs Lane. It is a very important historical building, listed as Grade II*. It was designed by architects Paley and Austin. It is built with brick and has red sandstone decorations.

As more Roman Catholic people moved to the area, new churches were built. Our Lady of the Rosary was built on Plank Lane in 1879. Twelve Apostles was also built in 1879. Sacred Heart was built later, in 1929.

Images for kids

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  A locomotive at Bickershaw Colliery, a coal mine in the area.