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 (4.8 km) from Leigh, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Warrington and 9 miles (14 km) 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 ancestral 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 enacted 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] Environment
To the south of Lowton is Highfield Moss, part of which has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The 52.6 acres (21.3 ha) site was designated in 1986 for its biological interest. The interest is predominantly mire communities of which it is the best example in Greater Manchester.[6]
[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 Independent 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
- Bolton Evening News
[edit] Notable 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.
- Jim Pennington ex Manchester City player 4 years and Grimsby County.
- Geoff Pullar Lancashire cricketer, had a chip shop here in the 1970s
- Dave (Danny) Leatherbarrow former St. Helens rugby league player still resides in the village to this day.
[edit] Geographic description
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Lowton’s location, on the borough border of Warrington (Cheshire), Wigan (Greater Manchester) and St Helens (Merseyside), has caused some confusion in its geographic description.
This is exacerbated by the villages Warrington postcode, but membership of Wigan Borough. It is also traditionally Lancashire, but has in the past, been part of a Merseyside Parliamentary Constituency. It is therefore variously described as: Leigh, Warrington, Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Wigan and even Merseyside.
[edit] References
- Worsley, Bert (1993). Pictoral History of Old Lowton. H.Worsley. ISBN 0951110225.
- ^ a b British History Online. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ Lowton History - History and Photographs of Lowton and district (1). Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ Lowton History - Hoskinsson. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ Lowton History - Transport. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ Lowton History - History and Photographs of Lowton and district (2). Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ Highfield Moss citation sheet. Natural England. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
