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| {{Infobox town
| | #REDIRECT [[Atherton]] |
| |name=Atherton
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| |county=Lancaster
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| |latitude=53.523
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| |longitude=-2.495
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| |population=22,000
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| |census year=2011<ref name=WiganCore>{{citation |title=Wigan Core Strategy 2013|publisher=Wigan Council|url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Council/Strategies-Plans-and-Policies/Planning/Adopted-Core-Strategy.pdf|accessdate=12 February 2014|date=30 September 2013}}</ref>
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| |LG district=Wigan
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| |constituency=Bolton West, Leigh
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| |post town=Manchester
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| |postcode=M46
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| |dialling code=01942
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| |os grid ref=SD672030
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| |picture=Market Street, Atherton.jpg
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| |picture caption=Market Street
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| }}
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| '''Atherton''' is a town in the [[West Derby Hundred]] of [[Lancashire]], five miles east of [[Wigan]] and two miles north of [[Leigh, Lancashire|Leigh]].
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| Atherton was associated with coal mining and nail manufacture from the 14th century, encouraged by outcropping coal seams. At the beginning of the 20th century the town was described as "the centre of a district of collieries, cotton mills and iron-works, which cover the surface of the country with their inartistic buildings and surroundings, and are linked together by the equally unlovely dwellings of the people".<ref name=vch/> Atherton's last deep coal mine closed in 1966, and the last working cotton mills closed in 1999. Today almost 20% of those employed in the area work in the wholesale and retail trades, although there is still some significant manufacturing industry in the town.
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| Evidence has been discovered of a Roman road passing through the area, on the ancient route between Coccium (Wigan) and Mamucium (Manchester). Following the Anglo-Saxon invasion, Atherton, which is built on and around seven brooks, became part of the manor of [[Warrington]] until the Norman conquest, when it became a township or vill in the ancient parish of Leigh.<ref name="GENUKI Parish map">{{citation |title=Atherton map|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Atherton/ParishMap.shtml |publisher=genuki.org.uk |accessdate=31 August 2009}}</ref>
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| ==History==
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| ===Toponymy===
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| Atherton was recorded as Aderton in 1212 and 1242, and Atherton in 1259.<ref name=vch>{{citation |last1= Farrer |first1=William |last2=Brownbill |first2= J. (editors) |title=Atherton |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41363 |work=A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 |publisher=[[Victoria County History]] |pages=435–439 |year=1907 |accessdate=28 August 2009}}</ref>
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| Opinions differ as to the derivation of the name. One is the farmstead or village of a man named Aethelhere, an Old English personal name and the suffix ''tun'', meaning an enclosure, farmstead or manor estate;<ref>{{Harvnb|Mills|1998|p=10}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Mills|1998|p=406}}</ref> another is ''adre'', Saxon for little brook with the suffix ''tun''.<ref name="Lunn1971, p.1">{{Harvnb|Lunn|1971|p=1}}</ref> Either is possible as Atherton is bounded by brooks to the west and south, and crossed by several others. The western boundary is [[Hindsford]] Brook, originally named Goderic Brook after a Saxon saint.<ref name="Lunn1971, p.2">{{Harvnb|Lunn|1971|p=2}}</ref>
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| The Chow – recorded as Chew, Cholle and Chowl – family were tenants of the Athertons living at the valley by Chanters Brook. This part of the township became known as Chow's Bent but the meaning of Bent has been lost, perhaps a bend or slope. It was referred to in the 14th century as Chollebynt or Shollebent.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=15|ps=none}} Chowbent, or Bent, was the name given to the built-up part of Atherton from the mid-17th century for at least 300 years.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=10|ps=none}} As the population grew, the town was called Atherton, although the names ''Chowbent'' or ''Bent'' are used by locals.
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| ===Early history===
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| Evidence of a Roman road and Bronze Age settlement have been found in the area.<ref name="WAS">{{citation |title=Newsletter 66|url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/News_Letters/news066.htm|publisher=wiganarchsoc.co.uk |accessdate=30 November 2009}}</ref> The Roman road between Manchester and Wigan is shown on the 1849 6" [[Ordnance Survey|OS map]] crossing Miller's Lane at 90 degrees about halfway down.<ref name="Wigan Archaeological Society">{{citation |title=Newsletter 71|url=http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/News_Letters/news071.htm|publisher=wiganarchsoc.co.uk |accessdate=7 September 2009}}</ref> The site of Gadbury Brickworks at Gibfield Colliery has been excavated, and evidence of Roman and possibly earlier settlements found.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146411154|title=Dig unearths ancient settlement and Roman road |publisher=megalithic.co.uk |accessdate=10 October 2009}}</ref>
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| ===Manor===
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| The manor was held by the Atherton family from the de Botelers, whose chief manor was at [[Warrington]].<ref name=vch/> William and Nicholas Atherton fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=9|ps=none}} The manor house was situated towards the south of the township. Christopher Saxton's map shows a mediæval deer park in the time of Elizabeth I.<ref name=vch/><ref>{{citation |publisher= ancestry.com |title=Christopher Saxton's 1579 map |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_files/ENG/LAN/saxton_lancs_1579.htm |accessdate=16 September 2009 }}</ref> "Mad" Richard Atherton, the last direct male descendant of the Athertons is remembered for two events; his expulsion of the congregation from the first Atherton Chapel in 1721,{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=99|ps=none}} and building [[Atherton Hall, Leigh|Atherton Hall]] on a grand scale, to designs by architect William Wakefield. Work on the hall started in 1723 and was not finished until 1743.{{sfn|Pollard|Pevsner|Sharples|2006|p=140|ps=none}} The carriage drive from the hall led over Lion's Bridge down an avenue to gates which faced the parish church in Leigh where the Athertons had a chapel.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=111|ps=none}} Richard Vernon Atherton was the last of the Atherton male line. He married Elizabeth Farington and had a daughter named Elizabeth.
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| The Atherton family's association with the township ended with Richard Atherton's death in 1726. His daughter, Elizabeth, married Robert Gwillym and their son, Robert Vernon Atherton, married Henrietta Maria Legh. They had five children; the sons died young, and their eldest daughter Henrietta Maria Atherton married Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford<ref>{{Harvnb|Lunn|1971|p=128}}</ref> whose father was ennobled by Pitt the Younger in 1797, taking the title of Baron Lilford. He left his estates to his son, Thomas Atherton Powys. The Atherton estate was inherited by Lord Lilford, who preferred to live at his family seat, [[Lilford Hall]] in Northamptonshire. Lord Lilford could not afford the upkeep of another house and Atherton Hall was put up for sale but, after failing to sell, it was demolished in 1824. Some outbuildings were left standing and are private property still known as Atherton Hall.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=160|ps=none}} This area became a public park.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=195|ps=none}}
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| ===Two battles===
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| The area was divided in its allegiance during the Civil War. In 1642, men of Chowbent were on their way to Leigh Church when word came that James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby's Royalist troops were marching through Leigh, probably en route for Manchester. The men of Chowbent armed themselves and drove the Earl's men back to Lowton Common, killing some, wounding others and taking prisoner about 200 men: "... we are all upon our guard, and the Naylors of Chowbent, instead of making Nayles, have busied themselves making Bills and Battle Axes." (Civil War tracts of Lancashire, Chetham Society Series, vol II).{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=27|ps=none}}
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| In 1715, during the Jacobite rising the supporters of the Old Pretender were marching on [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]]. General Charles Wills wrote to Minister Wood of Atherton Chapel asking him to raise a force to be at [[Cuerden Green]] the following day, 12 November.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wright|1921|p=28}}</ref> Minister Wood led a force of Chowbent men who were given the job of guarding the bridge over the [[River Ribble]] at [[Walton-le-Dale]] and a ford at [[Penwortham]], which they defended successfully. The Highlanders were routed, and for his efforts Parson James Wood was given a £100 annuity by Parliament and the title "The General" by his congregation.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=31|ps=none}}
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| ===Industrial history===
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| Atherton, along with neighbouring [[Shakerley]], was associated with coal mining and nail manufacture. Alexander Naylor was taxed on his goods in 1332, showing the industry was present for at least 600 years. Encouraged by the proximity of outcrops of coal, iron was brought from Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Spain. Several types of nails were made, including lath nails, slate nails, thatching nails and sparrowbills. The nail smithies manufactured ploughs and scythes; their products were taken by pack horse to be sold in Manchester, [[Denbigh]], [[Clitheroe]] and [[Kendal]].{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=19|ps=none}} The nail industry developed into the manufacture of nuts and bolts. Thomas Blakemore was the first in 1843 and by 1853 there were eight manufacturers of nuts and bolts including James Prestwich and Robert Parker.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=171|ps=none}} Some nut and bolt manufacturers also made spindles and flyers for spinning machinery.<ref name=vch/> Collier Brook Bolt Works on Bag Lane dating from 1856 survives and is a Grade II listed building.<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1068454 |desc=Collier Brook Bolt House|access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2}}</ref>
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| Coal had been mined for several hundred years in numerous shallow shafts and adits, but took on greater importance when in 1776 Robert Vernon Atherton leased the coal rights to Thomas Guest from Leigh and John Fletcher from [[Bolton]].{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=117|ps=none}} In 1845 the era of deep mining commenced with the sinking of Fletcher's Lover's Lane pit at [[Howe Bridge]]. The Crombouke Day-Eye, a drift mine accessing the shallow Brassy and Crombouke mines, opened in 1870 and closed in 1907. (A coal seam was referred to as a "mine" in this part of Lancashire.) By the early 1870s Fletcher, Burrows and Company's Howe Bridge Colliery, the biggest of the three Howe Bridge pits, was sunk to the Black & White, or Seven Foot mine. The pit closed in 1959.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=187|ps=none}}{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=38|ps=none}} Gibfield Colliery, situated alongside the Bolton and Leigh Railway, was working in 1829, and coal was mined from the Trencherbone mine.{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=33|ps=none}} Forty years later a 1,169-foot shaft was sunk to Arley Mine. The pit closed in 1963. In September 1913 the first pit head baths in the country were opened at Gibfield. Chanters Colliery was in [[Hindsford]], where 1,120-foot shafts were sunk to the Trencherbone mine in 1854.{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=328|ps=none}} In the late 1890s shafts were deepened to 1,800 ft to reach the Arley mine. Atherton had its share of mining disasters — on 11 February 1850 five men died in a gas explosion caused by a lighted candle at Gibfield,<ref>{{citation|title=Gibfield Colliery Disaster |url=http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1850_54.pdf |format=PDF |page=1 |publisher=cmhrc.co.uk |accessdate=17 October 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613010419/http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1850_54.pdf |archivedate=13 June 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> and 27 men died at Lovers Lane Colliery after a firedamp explosion caused by blown-out shot on 28 March 1872.<ref>{{citation |title=Lovers Lane Disaster Disaster|url= http://www.dmm.org.uk/names/d1870-79.htm| publisher=dmm.org.uk |accessdate=17 October 2009}}</ref> On 6 March 1957 eight men died at Chanters Colliery after an explosion of gas.<ref>{{citation|title=Chanters Colliery Disaster |url=http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1952_57.pdf |page=14 |publisher=cmhrc.co.uk |accessdate=17 October 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613010347/http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1952_57.pdf |archivedate=13 June 2010 |df= }}</ref>
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| Chanters closed in 1966 bringing the era of deep coal mining in the town to an end.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=205|ps=none}}
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| In 1908, the Lancashire and Cheshire Coal Owners Association opened Howe Bridge Mines Rescue Station.<ref>{{citation |title=Howe Bridge Mines Rescue |url=http://www.colsal.org.uk/sites/lancashireminesrescue/HOWEBRIDGEMRS.asp |publisher=colsal.org.uk |accessdate=14 September 2009 }}</ref>
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| [[File:EnaMill.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Ena Mill in 2000]]
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| The cotton mills grew out of a cottage spinning and weaving industry that was widespread across the district. As industrialisation gathered pace, local weavers felt threatened by the advent of powered looms, and in April 1812 a mob smashed the machines and burnt down a new factory, Westhoughton Mill, in neighbouring [[Westhoughton]]. For this, the Luddites, three men and a boy of 14, were tried at [[Lancaster Castle|Lancaster Assizes]] and hanged.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=152|ps=none}} Fustian was woven and after 1827 silk<ref name=vch/> also was brought from Manchester.{{sfn|Holcroft|1998|p=10|ps=none}} In 1938 James Burton had built cotton mills on both sides of the Hindsford Brook including Lodge Mill. Dan Lane Spinning and Doubling Mills were built in the 1840s and lasted until the 1950s. Howe Bridge Spinning Mills, the largest complex in Atherton was started in 1868 and the last mill built in 1919. It closed as a textile factory in early 1999.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=180|ps=none}} Mills built in the 20th century were Laburnum Mills in 1905 (closed 1980), and Ena Mill in 1908 which closed in 1999. The Ena Mill, now converted for other uses, is a Grade-II listed building.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=199|ps=none}}<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1253159 |desc=Ena Mill|access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>
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| [[File:Atherton Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1548868.jpg|thumb|250px|Atherton Town Hall]]
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| ==Geography==
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| Atherton, which includes Hindsford to the south-east, [[Howe Bridge]] in the south-west, and Hag Fold in the north, is generally low lying. The soil is clay in much of the township.<ref name=vch/> The southwest of the town is 100 ft above sea level, rising to 250 ft in the north.<ref name=vch/> Atherton is built around seven brooks: the Shakerley Brook forms the western boundary with Tyldesley; Chanters Brook flows through the area known as "The Valley"; Knight's Brook (Bag Lane); Colliers Brook; Small Brook is the boundary with Westleigh; Westhoughton Brook forms the boundary with Daisy Hill; and Red Waters Brook.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=2|ps=none}} The underlying rocks are the coal measures of the Manchester Coalfield.
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| The town is situated on the old high road, now the A579 from Bolton to Leigh. The A577 runs from the town to Tyldesley in one direction and to Wigan in the other.
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| ==Economy==
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| Atherton has a small pedestrian shopping centre. Most shops front on to Market Street and date from late Victorian times, the majority operated by small independent retailers, although there is a supermarket that brings customers into the town centre. Older, low cost, mostly terraced housing, surrounds the centre of town.<ref>{{citation |title=AthertonTownCentreRegeneration, Current position |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/Environment/BuiltEnvironment/AthertonTownCentreRegeneration.htm |publisher=wigan.gov.uk |accessdate=10 October 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20091119192635/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/Services/Environment/BuiltEnvironment/AthertonTownCentreRegeneration.htm| archivedate= 19 November 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref> Bolts and fastenings are still manufactured in Atherton by Smith Bullough, one of a few remaining bolt and nut manufacturers in the UK.<ref name="Smith Bullough">{{citation |url=http://www.smithbullough.com/about_us.html
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| |title=Smith Bullough |publisher=smithbullough.com |accessdate=9 November 2009| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20091203042045/http://www.smithbullough.com/about_us.html| archivedate= 3 December 2009 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>
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| As of 2009, a business park is planned for the former Gibfield Colliery site.<ref>{{citation|title=Showcasing our area |url=http://www.andyburnham.org/showcase.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310164052/http://www.andyburnham.org/showcase.asp |dead-url=yes |archive-date=10 March 2008 |publisher=andyburnham.org |accessdate=10 October 2009 |df= }}</ref>
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| ==Landmarks==
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| [[File:HoweBridge.jpg|thumb|250px|Howe Bridge model village. The tall building in the centre is the miners' bath house.]]
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| There are several historic listed buildings in and around Atherton, some, but not all, in the area referred to as Chowbent. They include the 17th-century Alder House,<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1068470 |desc=Alder House|access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> Chowbent Chapel,<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1068472 |desc=Chowbent Unitarian Chapel|access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> St John the Baptist's Church (1879),<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1068475 |desc=Church of St John the Baptist|access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and Chanters Farmhouse,<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1309438 |desc=Chanters Farmhouse |access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> all of which are listed buildings. The name "Chanters" derives from a chantry granted by the Bishop of Lichfield in 1360 to Sir William de Atherton. The name is also given to a bridge over the Hindsford Brook and a former colliery.{{sfn|Bond|Ackers|Ward|1979|p=22|ps=none}}
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| A pseudo-Egyptian obelisk near the south-east corner of the parish church, similar to one in Leigh, was probably built for Robert Vernon Atherton in 1781. It was restored in 1867 twelve years before the church was finished. It is a Grade II listed structure.<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1309446 |desc=Obelisk adjacent to south-east corner of Church of St. John the Baptist, Market Place |access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>
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| Between 1873 and 1875, mineowners Fletcher Burrows built a small model village at Howe Bridge, comprising cottages, shops, a village club, and a bath house for their employees. This Victorian village on either side of Leigh Road,<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1253226 |desc= 94-118, Leigh Road |access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE |num= 1068474 |desc= 147-191, Leigh Road |access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> together with St Michael and All Angel's Church,<ref>{{NHLE |num= 1268288 |desc= Church of St Michael and All Angels |access-date= 14 December 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> is a conservation area.<ref>{{citation|title=Howe Bridge Conservation Area |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/27F6B860-A37C-4A85-A8FD-F2C0E8A60194/0/HoweBridgefirstdraft721kb.pdf |publisher=Wigan MBC |accessdate=16 September 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929210425/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/27F6B860-A37C-4A85-A8FD-F2C0E8A60194/0/HoweBridgefirstdraft721kb.pdf |archivedate=29 September 2011 |df= }}</ref> The Ena Mill, one of Atherton's large spinning mills, complete with chimney, survives as a reminder of the textile industry.
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| Atherton's war memorial is a cenotaph at the intersection of Leigh Road and Hamilton Street was designed by architect Arthur John Hope and constructed of [[Darley Dale]] stone. It was unveiled in January 1922 by Private J. Roylance, a soldier blinded in action during the First World War.<ref name=" Atherton Cenotaph designed by A J Hope ">{{citation
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| |title=Atherton Cenotaph designed by A J Hope
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| |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/October2007/athertoncenotaph.htm
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| |publisher=wigan.gov.uk
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| |accessdate=4 April 2010
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| |deadurl=yes
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| |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223075737/http://www.wigan.gov.uk/News/Archive/October2007/athertoncenotaph.htm
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| |archivedate=23 February 2012
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| |df=dmy
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| }}</ref>
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| ==Transport==
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| The Bolton to Leigh road was turnpiked in about 1770 and a toll gate was installed on the Atherton boundary on Bolton Road.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=119|ps=none}} Shakerley Lane toll road emerged near Green Hall on Bolton Road, and was built to get coal from the [[Shakerley]] pits to the turnpike road.
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| In 1825, the Bolton and Leigh Railway received Royal Assent and the single track railway was opened in 1828 bringing the railway to the western side of the township where it was close to the coal mines at Howe Bridge and Gibfield. Railway stations opened at Atherton Bag Lane and<ref>{{citation |title=Bag Lane Station |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/a/atherton/index.shtml |publisher=Subterranea Britannica |accessdate=15 September 2009 }}</ref> further south at Atherleigh{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=8|ps=none}} The line was connected to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway by the Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway in 1831 and connected to the Tyldesley–Wigan line in 1883 when a station was opened at Chowbent renamed Howe Bridge in 1901.{{sfn|Sweeney|1996|p=8|ps=none}} The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's line from Manchester to Southport passes to the north of Atherton and Atherton Station which was opened in 1887–88 remains open.<ref>{{Cite PastScape |num=499048 |desc=Monument no. 499048 |access-date=17 September 2012 |mode=cs2 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>
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| [[File:Atherton railway station in 1989.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Atherton railway station]]
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| In 1900, a Bill authorising the South Lancashire Tramways Company to construct over 62 miles of tramway in southern Lancashire was given Royal Assent.<ref name="Lancashire United">{{citation |title=History |url=http://www.lancashireunited.org.uk/history.htm |publisher=lancashireunited.org.uk |accessdate=1 July 2009}}</ref>
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| However, by November 1900 the South Lancashire Electric Traction and Power Company had acquired the shares. The first section of tramway opened on 20 October 1902 between [[Lowton]] and Four Lanes Ends via Leigh and Atherton. The company got into financial difficulty and in turn became Lancashire United Tramways later Lancashire United Transport (LUT). LUT had headquarters and a large depot in Howe Bridge. On 16 December 1933, the last tram ran from Leigh to Four Lane Ends. The following day trolley buses took over.<ref>{{citation |title=LUT | url=http://www.lancashireunited.org.uk/history.htm |publisher=lancashireunited.org.uk |accessdate=31 August 2009}}</ref>
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| There are public transport links by rail from Atherton and Hag Fold stations to Wigan and Manchester, and by bus to [[Bolton]], Leigh, Wigan, Manchester, the Trafford Centre and Middlebrook Retail and Leisure Complex.
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| ==Education==
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| The first school in Atherton was Chowbent Grammar School founded before 1654,<ref name=vch/> followed by Chowbent Chapel School in 1734. Lane Top National School opened in 1840 and Chowbent Unitarian School and Hindsford St Anne's in 1860. Howe Bridge School opened in 1869 and St Philip's a year later. An undenominational school in Lee Street opened in 1871 followed by St George's and Sacred Heart School in Hindsford in 1873. In the 1890s, the technical school originally opened as a school for science and art, followed by St Richard's in 1891 and Flapper Fold Higher Grade School in 1893. Green Hall Special School opened in 1957, and a new infant school was opened on Lodge Lane for Sacred Heart. Meadowbank Primary School can also be found on Flapper Fold Lane, marking the boundary between Atherton and Hag Fold. Hesketh Fletcher Senior School opened in 1967{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=Appendix 24|ps=none}} and closed on 31 August 2011. Atherton Community School opened in 2012.
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| ==Religion==
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| [[File:St John's, Atherton 02.jpg|thumb|250px|The tower of Atherton Parish Church]]
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| Three chapels or churches have been built on the site of the Church of St John the Baptist. A chapel was built in 1645 by John Atherton. It is sometimes referred to as the Old Bent Chapel.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=37|ps=none}} It remained unconsecrated and was used by the Presbyterians.<ref name=vch/> In 1721 Richard Atherton expelled the dissenters and the chapel was consecrated in 1723 by the [[Bishop of Sodor and Man]]. A new chapel on the site was consecrated by the [[Bishop of Chester]] in 1814. The present church dedicated to St John the Baptist was consecrated in 1879.<ref name=vch/> The church, designed by Austin and Paley, is built in [[Runcorn]] stone. It is 60 ft wide, 127 ft long, and the 24-foot square tower rises to 120 ft. The fabric of the church has suffered from mining subsidence.
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| The New Bent or Chowbent Chapel, the earliest Nonconformist chapel in Atherton, was built in 1721 and opened in 1722.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=37|ps=none}} The chapel was built by the Presbyterian congregation after it was expelled from the first chapel.<ref name=vch/>
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| A mission occupying a barn in Hindsford was replaced in 1901 by St Anne's Church designed by Austin and Paley.<ref name=vch/> It has since been converted to residential use. St Michael and All Angels at Howe Bridge was built in 1877.<ref name=vch/> There are chapels of the Wesleyan, Baptist, Independent Methodist, and Primitive Methodist denominations; a Congregational Church at Howe Bridge was opened in 1904.<ref name=vch/> Roman Catholics celebrated mass in a loft behind the Star and Garter public house on Tyldesley Square until Sacred Heart Church opened in Hindsford in 1869. The site was given by Lord Lilford and building materials were donated by John Holland, manager of Yew Tree Colliery in Tyldesley. It served the growing Catholic population in Hindsford and Tyldesley.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=180|ps=none}} Sacred Heart closed in 2004, and its parish together with St Richard's in Mayfield Street which opened in 1928, Holy Family in [[Boothstown]], St Ambrose Barlow in Astley, St Gabriel's, Higher Folds in Leigh were united as a single community with St Margaret Clitherow as its patron.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.leighpastoralarea.co.uk/index.php/information |title=The Catholic Church in the Leigh Area |publisher=Leigh Pastoral Area |accessdate=28 April 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213040807/http://www.leighpastoralarea.co.uk/index.php/information |archivedate=13 December 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.sacredheartrchindsford.co.uk/history.html |title=History |publisher=sacredheartrchindsford.co.uk |accessdate=28 April 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815042815/http://sacredheartrchindsford.co.uk/history.html |archivedate=15 August 2013 |df= }}</ref>
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| ==Sport==
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| Swimming baths opened in Mayfield Street in 1902 and a swimming club was formed. The baths closed in 2005 and the Atherton & Leigh Amateur Swimming Club moved to the new Leigh Sports Village facility in 2008.<ref name="Atherton Swimming Club FC">{{citation |url=http://www.athertonsc.org.uk/web/new_web/home_page.htm |title=Atherton Swimming Club |publisher=athertonsc.org.uk |accessdate=28 September 2009}}</ref>
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| Atherton has two semi-pro football teams, the oldest of which is Atherton Collieries A.F.C., formed in 1916, who play in the Northern Premier League.<ref name="Atherton Collieries FC">{{citation|url=http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/atherton_collieries.html|title=Atherton Collieries |publisher=pyramidpassion.co.uk |accessdate=28 September 2009}}</ref>
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| Others are Atherton Laburnum Rovers F.C., members of the North West Counties Football League<ref name="Laburnum Rovers FC">{{citation|url=http://www.athertonlr.co.uk/details.htm|title=AthertonLR|publisher=athertonlr.co.uk|accessdate=28 September 2009|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080522093733/http://www.athertonlr.co.uk/details.htm |archivedate = 22 May 2008}}</ref>
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| and Atherton Town FC.<ref name="Atherton Town FC">{{citation |url=http://www.athertontownfc.co.uk/|title=Atherton Town |publisher=athertontownfc.co.uk |accessdate=28 September 2009}}</ref>
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| Atherton Cricket Club was formed in 1872 and has played in the Bolton and District Cricket Association since 1921.<ref name="Atherton Cricket Club">{{citation|url=http://atherton.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp?|title=Atherton Cricket Club|publisher=atherton.play-cricket.com/|accessdate=2 January 2012|archiveurl = https://archive.is/20130223194247/http://atherton.play-cricket.com/home/home.asp |archivedate=23 February 2013 }}</ref>
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| ==Culture==
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| Atherton Botanical Garden Club, which is today a social club, was formed in 1850, and organised lectures, study groups and rambles on [[Chat Moss]] for its members.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=176|ps=none}} A public library was opened in 1905 with an Andrew Carnegie grant.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=199|ps=none}} Bent Chapel already had a library in the Chowbent School, and donated 4,000 books to the new town library.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=93|ps=none}} Central Park, a {{convert|10|acre|adj=on}} public park, was created in 1912. Other parks were later provided in Lodge Lane, Hindsford and Devonshire Place. The council also acquired the grounds belonging to Howe Bridge Welfare in 1963.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=200|ps=none}} In the early and mid-20th century Atherton had three cinemas, the Gem in Bullough Street, the Savoy and the Palace on Market Street.{{sfn|Lunn|1971|p=198|ps=none}} An amateur photographic society was formed in 1938.<ref name="ADAPS">{{citation |url=http://www.adaps.org.uk/|title=Atherton & District Amateur Photographic Society |publisher=adaps.org |accessdate=24 September 2009}}</ref> Formby Hall, demolished in 2018, used to host the ''Bent 'n' Bongs'' Beer Festival over the last weekend of every January.
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| ==Notable residents==
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| There were several ministers of note of Chowbent Chapel including James Wood, the "General" (1672–1759), who distinguished himself at the Battle of Preston in 1715.{{sfn|Wright|1921|p=23|ps=none}} Thomas Walker Horsfield<ref>{{citation |title=Thomas Walker Horsfield |url=http://theweald.org/N10.asp?Nid=2181 |publisher=The Weald.org |accessdate=20 September 2009 }}</ref> (1792–1837) was a historian and topographer. Joseph Nightingale (1775–1824), born in Chowbent, was a prolific English writer and preacher who subsequently became a Unitarian.
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| Eric Laithwaite (1921–1997) was an engineer, principally known for his development of the linear induction motor and Maglev rail system.<ref>{{citation |title= Obituary – Professor Eric Laithwaite |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/publications/reporterarchive/0055/feat03.htm |publisher=Imperial College |accessdate=9 November 2009}}</ref> Chess grandmaster Nigel Short grew up in Atherton and attended St Philip's School.<ref>{{citation |title= Nigel Short |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2426 |publisher=chessbase.com|accessdate=9 November 2009}}</ref> Architect Arthur John Hope (1875–1960), a partner in Bradshaw Gass & Hope was born and lived in Atherton.<ref name=" Atherton Cenotaph designed by A J Hope "/> Edward Ormerod, mining engineer at Gib Field Colliery, invented the Ormerod detaching hook, an important mining safety device.<ref>{{citation | url=http://www.edwardormerodandco.co.uk/history.html|title= Edward Ormerod and Co Ltd|accessdate =27 February 2011}}</ref>
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| ==References==
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| ===Citations===
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| {{reflist|30em}}
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| ===Bibliography===
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| {{refbegin}}
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| *{{citation |last1=Bond |first1= |last2=Ackers |first2= |last3=Ward |first3= |title=Leigh Homesteads |publisher=Leigh Local History Society Publication No7 |year=1979}}
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| *{{citation |last=Holcroft |first=Fred |title=Silk Manufacturing in Leigh |publisher=Leigh Local History Society Publication No21 |year=1998}}
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| *{{citation |last=Lunn |first=John |title=Atherton Lancashire, A manorial social and industrial history |publisher=Atherton UDC |year=1971}}
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| *{{citation |last=Mills |first=A. D. |title=Dictionary of English Place-Names |publisher=Oxford |year=1998 |isbn=0-19-280074-4 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?entry=t40.e651&srn=1&ssid=931364015#FIRSTHIT}} {{Subscription}}
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| *{{citation |last1=Pollard |first1=Richard |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |last3=Sharples |first3=Joseph |title=Lancashire: Liverpool and the South West |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10910-8}}}
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| *{{citation |last=Sweeney |first=D. J. |title=A Lancashire Triangle Part One |publisher=Triangle Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=0-9529333-0-6}}
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| *{{citation |last=Sweeney |first=D. J. |title=A Lancashire Triangle Part Two |publisher=Triangle Publishing |year=1997 |isbn=0-9529333-2-2}}
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| *{{citation |last=Wright |first=J. J. |title=The Story of Chowbent Chapel |publisher=Chowbent Chapel |year=1921}}
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| {{refend}}
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| ==Outside links==
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| {{commons|Atherton, Greater Manchester}}
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| *[http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Atherton/index.html Atherton at lan-opc]
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| * {{Genuki|county=LAN|Atherton}}
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| *[http://www.mortfamily.net/ Mort family, Alder House]
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