Newton-le-Willows
| Newton-le-Willows | |
| Lancashire | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SJ580949 |
| Location: | 53°27’0"N, 2°37’59"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 21,307 (2001) |
| Post town: | Newton le Willows |
| Postcode: | WA12 |
| Dialling code: | 01925 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | St Helens |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
St Helens North |
Newton-le-Willows is a small market town in south Lancashire, a town of two town centres, one Georgian and one Industrial (Earlestown). It was the first "railway town", developed as a centre for the transport of Lancashire coal. The industrial centre has grown beyond its origins to form the commercial focus of Newton, and though it has declined since its height, it remains the predominant town centre. Nevertheless, the original, Georgian town centre survives and thrives.
Newton stands amidst the conurbation of south Lancashire towns centred on Manchester and Liverpool. It is found about midway (about 15 miles from each) between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, 4 miles east of St Helens, 5 miles north of Warrington and 7 miles south of Wigan. It is within the West Derby Hundred.
Name
The town has been known by two names; Newton-le-Willows and Newton in Makerfield. The latter name was once most common but now barely heard, and comes from the town’s belonging to the Fee of Makerfield.
History
The place was mentioned in the Domesday Book and remained an agricultural village, albeit with borough status, until the arrival of the railways in 1830. There was some industry, as there are five cotton spinners recorded in an 1825 directory. However, it was the coming of the railways that transformed a small village into the world's first "railway town", although places such as Crewe, Derby and Swindon soon overtook Newton in size and importance. The town also developed into a major coal mining area, being on the South Lancashire Coalfield.
Newton was part of the Fee of Makerfield. It was erected into a parliamentary borough from 1558 until 1832, one of the earliest in Lancashire. From this date until 1894, the town came under the control of a Court Leet and Improvement Commissioners. The developing industrial town was then created into an urban district under the name “Newton in Makerfield”, which was changed in 1939 to Newton-le-Willows.
The fields between Newton and Winwick, Cheshire were the site of one of the last battles of the Second English Civil War,[1][2] It is also one of many places claimed as the site of the Battle of Brunanburh in 937.
Popular local hostelry the Kirkfields Hotel has also been mentioned as a contender for the title of the Most Haunted Public House in Britain.
Railway town
Newton's history since the 19th century has been very closely linked with the railway industry. The Vulcan Foundry was opened in 1831 and later developed into one of the world's foremost locomotive manufacturers. Vulcan Village, the southernmost suburb of Newton was developed to house workers from the foundry and has in recent years become a conservation area.
The western area of the town, Earlestown was developed also with the coming of the railways. Earlestown was also built as a factory village, but for the Viaduct Foundry, which later became the London and North Western Railway's principal waggon works. Since Victorian times, Earlestown has been the fastest growing area of the town and thus Newton-le-Willows' town centre is situated in Earlestown.
Between Earlestown and the Vulcan Village is the largely residential suburb of Wargrave.
William Huskisson, Member of Parliament for Liverpool and an early supporter of railways, was killed at Parkside near Newton when he was run down by Stephenson's Rocket locomotive on the opening day of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. There is a memorial at the spot where the accident happened. A modern bridge in the town centre is named in memory of Huskisson.
Newton has two historic railway stations. Newton-le-Willows railway station is situated in the old original part of town and like Earlestown railway station, was opened in 1830. They are two of the oldest railway stations in existence. Earlestown was an important junction where the original Manchester and Liverpool line was joined by the 1837 line running south to Birmingham. The town has also had three other railway stations, situated at Parkside, where the first fatal railway accident happened, at the Vulcan Village and one serving the old racecourse, closed when Haydock Park Racecourse was opened.
Two other local railway related landmarks are Newton Viaduct, and the Sankey Viaduct which is locally known as "the Nine Arches".
Other industries
The town also had other industries, namely sugar refining, chemicals, glass, biscuit manufacturing machinery and coal mining. Parkside Colliery, opened in the 1960s with an expected lifespan of 100 years but closed in 1992. The colliery hit the national headlines due to demonstrations against its closure. The closure of Parkside marked an end to Lancashire's centuries old coal industry. The town is the home of the head office of Nicholls Foods, the makers of Vimto soft drinks.
Churches
Newton-le-Willows was once part of the ancient parish of Winwick. Today it has four Church of England parishes.
- Church of England:
- St Peter's (Newton)
- St John's (Earlestown)
- Emmanuel (Wargrave)
- All Saints (northern parts)
- Baptist: Earlestown Baptist Church
- Methodist: Newton Le Willows Methodist Church
- Roman Catholic:
- St Patrick's
- St Mary and St John
- St David
Sporting town
Newton-le-Willows racecourse closed down in the 1890s and was replaced by Haydock Park Racecourse. The Old Newton Cup is the world's oldest continually competed for trophy, with a history dating back over 300 years.
Football has always been an important sport within the town, and there has been a couple of spells that Earlestown Football Club has been quite successful. The team competed in the Lancashire Combination league which at the time (1950s/1960s) was the equivalent of today's Northern Conference. Earlestown enjoyed a local rivalry with a number of teams which would go on to national prominence, especially Wigan Athletic. Earlestown was a very ambitious club who hit the headlines when they signed Wilf Mannion as player manager. Crowds of one or two thousand were not unknown for local derbies. However, falling gates and the cost of a professional squad forced the club into bankruptcy in the mid 1960s. In its earlier history, Earlestown FC created a few pieces of history, including being defeated by Everton in the Liverpool Cup which was the Toffee's first cup final victory. A year later, Earlestown won the final beating an Everton side that would help form the football league just three years later. Earlestown also played Everton in the first ever match at Anfield stadium.[3] A number of smaller teams operate in the town, the most prominent being Vulcan Newton FC who have previously been in the Lancashire Combination and North West Counties League.
This area is a hotbed for Rugby League with St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan and Leigh being neighbouring towns, however the town never had a rugby league team until recently, when in 2002, Newton Storm ARLFC was formed. Storm has become one of the fastest growing amateur rugby league clubs in Lancashire. Rugby Union was historically the most popular code in this town, with two teams, Newton-le-Willows RUFC and Vulcan RUFC being prominent teams in the South Lancashire and Cheshire leagues. The most prominent players in the past have been former England and British Lions international Fran Cotton, and Wigan Warriors player Steve Hampson.
Cricket is now the major sport in the town. Newton CC play in the Premier Division of the Liverpool Competition, a major north west league with teams stretching from the Fylde coast to Denbighshire competing in it. Vulcan C.C. also represent the town on a more localised level. Newton has produced a number of players who have progressed onto Lancashire County Cricket Club.
Two town centres
The old centre of Newton is on the A49 road (formerly the Warrington-Wigan Turnpike Road) and has a number of Georgian buildings, and is an attractive residential area. The High Street area has a village appearance with small local shops serving the local area. There used to be a street market outside the parish church, which in the 1890s was moved to Earlestown. The old town hall was demolished some years ago after serving as a civic hall.
With the Industrial Revolution, the area of Earlestown developed about a mile west of the original Newton centre. As this part of the town grew, amenities were moved to Earlestown from Newton. As the market was moved to Earlestown and a new town hall was built to house the old Newton council, the new town centre became based on Earlestown. During recent years the town hall in Earlestown has been allowed to some extent to fall into a poor state of repair, it has recently been registered as a Grade 2 listed building.
Shopping centre
The town centre is now based in the Earlestown district of the town, with its main shopping street, Market Street, being pedestrianised during the 1980s. Bridge Street, Oxford Street, Queen Street and Earle Street make up the shopping area (Earle Street was formerly named Pepper Alley Lane up to the late 19th century.
The market is a major attraction for people from the surrounding areas. There are many small long established independent retailers although the number of national retail organisations in the town is increasing.
Local media
From Victorian times until 2007, the town had a number of local newspapers. The Newton and Golborne Guardian was the longest established, which ceased publication in 2007. Other papers to have served the town over the years include The Earlestown Guardian, and Newton Reporter.
- Newspapers: St Helens Star, St Helens Reporter, Warrington Guardian, Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News and Wigan Evening Post are widely available in Newton.
- Local radio: Wish FM of Wigan, and Wire FM from Warrington
- Regional radio: Real Radio North West, BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Manchester.
Outside links
References
- ↑ Freeling, Arthur (1838), Freeling's Grand Junction Railway companion to Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, Whittaker, p. 30
- ↑ Steven Dowd. "The Battle of Winwick Pass, 19 Aug 1648". http://www.newton-le-willows.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=27. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
- ↑ Dowd, Steven (Originally published in Warrington Guardian 21 September 1979). "Some Earlestown Sporting History". www.newton-le-willows.com. http://newton-le-willows.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=1. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
Books
- Liverpool & Manchester Railway 1830–1980, Frank Ferneyhough, Book Club Associates, London, 1980, (no ISBN)