Upholland

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Upholland
St Thomas the Martyr Parish Church
Upholland shown within Lancashire
OS grid reference	SD518052
District	West Lancashire
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WIGAN
Postcode district	WN8
Dialling code	01695
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	West Lancashire
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°32′28″N 2°43′41″W / 53.541, -2.728

Upholland or Up Holland, as it is frequently spelled locally and on Ordnance Survey maps, is a civil parish and small town in Lancashire, England, situated approximately three miles east of Skelmersdale and one mile west of the Orrell area of Wigan. The town is located on a small hill rising above the West Lancashire Plain. There are views towards Ormskirk and to Southport in the north-west and towards Manchester and on to the High Peak of Derbyshire in the east.

Upholland railway station is on the Kirkby Branch Line.

The name Upholland differentiates it from another place locally called Downholland, 10 miles to the west (on the other side of Ormskirk). Both derive their names from the manor of Holland, a possession of the de Holland family until 1534.

One of Upholland's claims to fame is that George Lyon, reputed to be one of the last English highwaymen, is said to be buried in the churchyard of the Church of England parish church of St. Thomas the Martyr. The truth of the matter is that Lyon was little more than a common thief and receiver of stolen goods. The grave can be found under the concrete parapet opposite the White Lion pub.

A burial place of greater historical significance can be found at the south east corner of the church. Here, in a railed enclosure is the grave of Robert Daglish; a pioneer in steam locomotive engineering and design. In 1814, when George Stephenson was still working on his early locomotive Blucher, Daglish built The Yorkshire Horse, a 'rack and pinion' locomotive to haul coal waggons at a nearby colliery. This proved to be a great success. Daglish went on to construct other locomotives, and work on railway systems both in Great Britain and America.

The church was previously a Benedictine monastery, the Priory of St. Thomas the Martyr of Upholland.

A Catholic seminary, St Joseph's College, used for training Catholic priests, was once based in Upholland. The college closed down in 1987 after over 150 years of serving the northern Catholic dioceses of England. Former students include Tony Brindle, Paul Addison, James T Hull, John Barber, Bernard Boylan, and the comedian Johnny Vegas. Other celebrated students were comedians Kenny Everett and Tom O'Connor, the libel lawyer George Carman, pop musician Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout, the editor of the Jerusalem Bible and British Member of Parliament John Battle.

Actor Ian Bleasdale and Richard Ashcroft (of The Verve) also come from Upholland. The comedian Ted Ray (born Charles Olden), spent his childhood in the village, his father being the licensee of The Bull's Head public house, which used to stand in School Lane.

Upholland has its own art society known as Upholland Artists' Society that consists of a group of amateur and professional artists that live in or near Upholland. They hold regular exhibitions and paint a wide range of subjects from local scenes to contemporary abstract pieces.