Lowton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lowton is an area in Greater Manchester, England and is a component part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. It was formerly part of the historic county of Lancashire. It is located in the North West England region, around 3 miles from Leigh, 5 miles north of Warrington and 9 miles south of Wigan. Lowton is part of the Warrington postal area. The settlement lies across the A580 East Lancashire Road.
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[edit] History
[edit] Etymology
Lowton has a doubtful etymology: it is from Old English tun "farm, village" with an uncertain first element. A record of the name as Liewetune in 1176 suggests Old English hleowe "lee", although this is not a certain etymology.
[edit] Early history
Lowton was one of the berewicks of the Royal Manor of Newton, later being one of the members of the Barony of Makerfield.[1] Byrom Manor, later to feature the ancestoral ancestral home of the poet John Byrom and was constructed during the 18th century, is recorded as early as 1212,[1] where the family prospered for centuries. Byrom Hall at one time featured a moat.[2]
[edit] Trials
The Hare and Hounds public house, built in the 17th Century, was once used as a place to hold trials of local criminals, including murders[citation needed].
[edit] Railways
In 1830 Parkside, Newton le Willows, near Lowton, was the site of the world's first fatal passenger train crash, when Liverpool MP William Huskisson was killed after being hit by George Stephenson's Rocket locomotive during the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.[3]
The former Lowton railway station was used as a resting point for the Royal Train.[4]
[edit] Recent history
In 1974 as part of the local government reorganisation encated in the Local Government Act 1972 it became part of Greater Manchester with the boundary at Newton-le-Willows marking the edge of the new county of Merseyside.
Lowton had a toffee factory[5] along with other sites of heavy industry. In common with many parts of the United Kingdom, many of these factories have now closed and been replaced with some light industry.
[edit] Transport
Situated on the A580 East Lancashire Road, the village has direct access to the cities of Liverpool to the west and Manchester to the east. From this road, the M6 motorway runs north and south, and the M60 connects with the M62 across the Pennines. The nearest railway station is Newton-le-Willows on the Chester to Manchester Line and Liverpool to Manchester Line.
[edit] Community
[edit] Schools
- Lowton Community Sports College
- Lowton Primary School
- Lowton St. Marys Primary School (Church of England)
- Lowton West Primary School
- St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School
- St. Lukes Church of England Primary School
[edit] Religion
Lowton has SIX churches:
- St Mary's (Anglican)
- St Lukes's (Anglican)
- St Catherine's (Roman Catholic)
- Lane Head (Methodist)
- Lowton Indepdent Methodist
- Lowton Christian Fellowship
The churches organise certain activities jointly, including ecumenical services. Their joint charity work included the Lowton Churches Romania Appeal, formed after the collapse of the Communist regime in Romania during 1990. It initially supported an orphanage in Lugoj but its remit has expanded to include several ongoing projects in Romania.
[edit] Media
Lowton falls inside the circulation areas of these newspapers:
- Leigh Reporter
- Leigh, Tyldesley and Atherton Journal
- Liverpool Echo
- Manchester Evening News
[edit] Famous residents
- Richard Mather who became an American Congregational clergyman.
- John Byrom was an English poet who at times lived in Byrom Hall.
- Peter Kane born in Heywood, Lancashire, was a flyweight world boxing champion in the 1930s. Although not a resident, he maintained a job as a blacksmith in Lowton even when he was at his fighting peak.
- Warrington Wolves hooker Jon Clarke grew up and schooled in Lowton before making his name with Wigan Warriors, for whom he made his debut in 1997. He left Wigan for London Broncos in 2000 but joined Warrington a year later.
[edit] References
- Worsley, Bert (1993). Pictoral History of Old Lowton. H.Worsley. ISBN 0951110225.
- Nixon, Alan (2007) A Piece of Lowton History Alan Nixon. Available direct from the Author or on line from LULU
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b British History Online. Retrieved on 9th December, 2006.
- ^ Lowton History - History and Photographs of Lowton and district (1). Retrieved on 9th December, 2006.
- ^ Lowton History - Hoskinsson. Retrieved on 9th December, 2006.
- ^ Lowton History - Transport. Retrieved on 9th December, 2006.
- ^ Lowton History - History and Photographs of Lowton and district (2). Retrieved on 9th December, 2006.
[edit] External links
- St Marys Chuch, Lowton
- A Piece of Lowton History
- Community websites:
