Butler Green

Butler Green
Butler Green
 Butler Green shown within Greater Manchester
OS grid referenceSD 90450 03767
   – London  
Washbrook Primitive Methodist Church in the 1900s
 
Metropolitan boroughOldham
Metropolitan county Greater Manchester
RegionNorth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town OLDHAM
Postcode district OL9
Dialling code 0161
Police Greater Manchester
Fire Greater Manchester
Ambulance North West
EU Parliament North West England
UK ParliamentOldham West and Royton
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester

Coordinates: 53°31′50″N 2°08′44″W / 53.530468°N 2.1455350°W

Butler Green is a locality in the town of Chadderton in Greater Manchester.

It is located in the south east of the town, contiguous with Coalshaw Green, Whitegate, Nimble Nook, Block Lane and Hollinwood.[1]

Since 1870 it has been a part of the ecclesiastical parish of Christ Church, Chadderton, the parish church being on Block Lane.[2]

Hollinwood Rugby League Club are based at Butler Green on Melrose Fields, the site of the former Melrose Mill.[3]

History

The now demolished Gem Mill, Butler Green

Originating as a hamlet consisting of a number of homesteads and other property, Butler Green lay on the network of ancient roads that linked the various hamlets and villages of Chadderton to the manor houses at Foxdenton and Chadderton Hall.[4]

Butler Green along with the neighbouring hamlet of Old Lane, became a hive of industrial activity in the late 18th century with the construction in 1792 of the Werneth Branch Canal at the back of Washbrook (Washbrook is an area which got its name because of the brooks which flowed from the higher ground of nearby Werneth).

The two hamlets were separated by Washbrook.[4]

The canal was a privately built extension of the Hollinwood Branch Canal to facilitate the transportation of coal from the Werneth Collieries to Manchester and other industrial centres. The New Engine Pit at Old Lane dates to 1803. By 1875 these collieries were no longer producing coal and the canal fell into disuse.[5]

The construction of the Oldham Loop Line railway which opened in 1880 saw the line of the canal become obscured by the building of the railway embankment at Washbrook.[5]

A "Primitive Methodist" Society had begun meeting in Butler Green in 1862 in a disused loom house in the wake of what was known as the "cotton famine revival." In 1869 they erected their first building at the corner of Butler Green and Coalshaw Green Road with its three clock faces looking out from its tower across the road junction.[6]

In common with other areas of Chadderton, the late 19th century saw Butler Green expand into a cotton mill district with the construction of Butler Green Mill (1863), Melrose Mill (1869), Gem Mill (1901) and others.[7] These mills have now been demolished and replaced with housing developments.

Butler Green was quite a substantial village until redevelopment took place in the 1970s. A cluster of shops stood at the crossroads whilst Washbrook Methodist Church, with its public clock, formed the focal point for the community.[8]

There are three long standing public houses remaining in the Washbrook area. The Washbrook Tavern, formerly called the Britannia Hotel, which was first licensed in 1868, The Owd Tatts, originally called The Commercial Inn, which dates from the 1850s and the Colliers Arms which dates from around 1803 and the opening of New Engine Colliery.[4]

Butler Green once had its own police station. Located at the junction of Thompson Lane and Butler Green the building is now used as a hostel.[9] In the postwar period and on into the 1960s shops on Butler Green included Patch the chemist at no. 8, Monaghan the draper's at 10-12, Spence Bros. butcher's at 13, Whittam the baker at 20, Stafford's fish, fruit, flowers and veg at 22, not forgetting the Clock Corner Restaurant and Dyson's undertaker's.[10]

A new parade of shops, including the area's sub post office, was built at Butler Green in 1974. [11]

South Chadderton Methodist Church

The present church at Butler Green came into existence in January 1966, with the amalgamation of 4 churches, (Cowhill, Eaves Lane, Washbrook and Turf Lane) with members from Edward Street (Werneth) joining following the closure of their church in 1967. The amalgamation came about primarily because of ageing and declining congregations, lack of finance and poor maintenance of the buildings.

Washbrook Church came into being in the autumn and winter of 1861-62 as a result of the outreach by evangelists from the Primitive Methodist church in Bourne Street, Hollinwood.

Accommodation in the form of the Loom House, situated adjacent to the railway bridge on Washbrook, was acquired. This building became too small for the increasing congregation and Sunday school.

A site was acquired at the junction of Washbrook, Coalshaw Green Road and Butler Green and by 1869 a chapel and schoolroom were erected.

The Washbrook church that many people would recognise, complete with clock tower, was opened on the 11th March 1893.

The churches that formed the new South Chadderton Methodist church from January 1966 to December 1969, held their meetings in the premises that had been the Washbrook church until the present day church was opened in 1970.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "The parish of Prestwich with Oldham - Chadderton | A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5 (pp. 115-121)". British-history.ac.uk. 2003-06-22. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  2. ↑ http://www.achurchnearyou.com retrieved 29.7.14
  3. ↑ "Home - Hollinwood Rugby League". Freewebs.com. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chadderton Pubs And Their Licencees 1750 - 1999, Magee Rob (1986) ISBN 978 185216 134 7
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Cutler Hill to Hollinwood, Hollinwood Branch of the Ashton Canal, Greater Manchester". Hollinwoodcanal.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  6. ↑ pp2-11, "The Story of Primitive Methodism in Washbrook, 1862 - 1915", 1916.
  7. ↑ "List of mills in Chadderton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  8. ↑ P.125 Lawson, Michael; Johnson, Mark (1997), Images of England: Chadderton, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-0714-7
  9. ↑ P.118 Lawson, Michael; Johnson, Mark (1997), Images of England: Chadderton, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-0714-7
  10. ↑ Washbrook Methodist Church Centenary leaflet 1962
  11. ↑ P.120 Lawson, Michael; Johnson, Mark (1997), Images of England: Chadderton, Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-0714-7
  12. ↑ "South Chadderton Methodist Church - History Of Our Church". Southchad.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  13. ↑ http://www.southchad.org.uk/Washbrook.html

External links

Christ Church parish church, Block Lane: http://www.christchurchchadderton.co.uk

South Chadderton Methodist Church: http://www.southchad.webspace.virginmedia.com/

Washbrook Primitive Methodist Church, Butler Green: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Chadderton/ButlerGreenWashbrookPrimitiveMethodist.shtml

Hollinwood Rugby League Club: http://www.freewebs.com/hollinwoodarlfc/

Neighbouring localities.
Nimble Nook Cowhill Block Lane
Whitegate Top of Hollinwood
   Butler Green  
New Moston Coalshaw Green Hollinwood