Lowton

Lowton
Lowton  Lowton shown within Greater Manchester
Population	11,012
OS grid reference	SJ622973
Metropolitan borough	Wigan
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Dialling code	01942 / 01925
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Leigh
List of places UK England Greater Manchester

Lowton is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is around 2 miles (3.2 km) from Leigh, 7 miles (11 km) south of Wigan and 11.0 miles (17.7 km) west of Manchester city centre. The settlement lies across the A580 East Lancashire Road.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Lowton's early history is marked by its presence of Byrom Manor, the ancestral home of Byroms, the family that included poet John Byrom, who invented a system of shorthand.

Lowton was associated with coal mining and other manufacturing during the time of the industrial revolution given its proximity to several nearby collieries and factories.

History

Lowton has an unclear toponymy: it is from Old English tun "farm, village" with an uncertain first element (The first element is from lhe old English for high point IE Wornoth Low near Stockport is the highest hill in the area, and Lowton is the highest point locally.) A record of the name as Liewetune in 1176 suggests Old English hleowe "lee", although this is not a certain etymology.

Byrom Hall, ancestral home of the Byrom family

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 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]

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]}

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]

Lowton had a toffee factory,^[5] along with other sites of heavy industry. Many of these factories have now closed and have been replaced with light industry.

Governance

Between 1894 and 1974, Lowton was part of the Golborne Urban District, in the administrative county of Lancashire.

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.

Political representation

Lowton comes under the constituency of Leigh and is represented in parliament by the Labour MP Andy Burnham.

Transport

Situated on the A580 East Lancashire Road, the village has direct access to the cities of Manchester to the east and Liverpool to the west. 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. Public transport in Lowton is co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and is served by buses to Manchester, Wigan, Leigh and Newton-le-Willows. Buses: X34 Lowton/Leigh-Manchester (First Manchester).

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]

Education

• Lowton High School
• 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

Religion

In 1635 the Puritan clergyman, Richard Mather, and his family left for New England as a result of religious intolerance.

Lowton's churches include two Anglican churches of St Mary's and St Lukes, the Roman Catholic of St Catherine of Siena (closed 2011), Lowton Independent Methodist (a member of the Independent Methodist Connexion) and Lowton Community Church ^[7] Lane Head Methodist church closed in 2010.

The churches in Lowton organise some joint activities including ecumenical services. Their charity work has included the Lowton Churches Romania Appeal, formed after the collapse of the Communist regime in Romania in 1990. It supported an orphanage in Lugoj but its remit has since expanded to include several projects in Romania.

Sport and organisations

Lowton is the location for Golborne Sports and Social Club which participates in local Football, Hockey, Bowls and Cricket leagues. Other nearby sports teams include Golborne Parkside RLFC, Leigh RUFC and Leigh United FC.

Media

Lowton falls inside the circulation areas of these newspapers and websites:

• Wigan Evening Post
• Wigan Reporter
• Leigh Reporter
• Leigh Journal
• Manchester Evening News

Notable people

• Richard Mather who became an American Congregational clergyman.
• John Byrom was an English poet who at times lived in Byrom Hall, Slag Lane.
• Katie White, singer with pop group The Ting Tings, lived in Slag Lane,^[8] Lowton,^[9]
• Widnes RLFC hooker Jon Clarke grew up in Lowton.
• Clayton Blackmore, former Wales and Manchester United footballer, used to live in Lowton.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Nixon, Alan (2004). A Piece of Lowton History. www.lulu.com/lowton. 
• Worsley, Bert (1993). Pictoral History of Old Lowton. H.Worsley. ISBN 0-9511102-2-5. 

External links

• A Piece of Lowton History
• Community info
• Links to many Lowton interest websites
• 1st Lowton St Marys Scout Group