Golborne
| Golborne | |
|---|---|
 High Street, Golborne | |
  Golborne Location withinGreater Manchester | |
| Population | 24,169 (2011 census) |
| OS grid reference | SJ606978 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WARRINGTON |
| Postcode district | WA3 |
| Dialling code | 01925 01942 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Golborne(pronouncedgo:lbə:norgo:bə:n) is a town in theMetropolitan Borough of Wigan,inGreater Manchester,England.[1]It lies 5 miles (8.0 km) south-southeast ofWigan,6 miles (9.7 km) northeast ofWarringtonand 14 miles (22.5 km) to the west of the city ofManchester.Along with the neighbouring village ofLowton,it recorded a population of 24,041.[2]
Within the boundaries of thehistoric countyofLancashireand being situated across theA580 East Lancashire Road,Golborne owed most of its historic growth to mining and textile manufacturing; however, these industries have since declined. There was also significant agricultural activity, with many farms still belonging to the families who originally owned them.
History[edit]
Toponymy[edit]
The name Golborne derives from theOld Englishgoldeandburna,and means "stream wheremarsh marigoldsgrow ". The earliest settlements in the present-day town were on banks of the Millingford Brook, hence its name being derived from a water course wherecalendulagrew.[3]Golborne has been recorded in ancient documents as Goldeburn in 1187, Goldburc in 1201, Goseburn and Goldburn in 1212 and Golburne in 1242. Golborne and Gowborne were 16th-century spellings.[4]
Early history[edit]
A settlement at Golborne has existed since at least the time of theDomesday book.The manor was held in twomoieties,half by the Lords of Lowton, and the half by the Golbornes up to the reign ofHenry III,and later by various families including the Fleetwoods and Leghs.
The old Manor of Golborne stood to the north side of the village, giving its name to a public house on Church Street (now demolished). The manor and its lands extended as far as St Luke's Church in Lowton, and also gives its name to Manor Avenue and Manor Court.
TheVenerable Bedewrote in hisHistoria ecclesiastica gentis Anglorumof a well near Golborne sacred to St. Oswald's memory.[5]This well had been suggested as the site wherePenda,the pagan king ofMercia,slew the Christian King Oswald, later St Oswald, in theBattle of Maserfield,in 642. It is more generally accepted though that the site of that battle was some considerable distance to the southwest, nearOswestry.
Holcroft Hall,now a farm, was the home ofColonel Blood,who, during the reign of Charles II, attempted to steal the Crown Jewels. King Charles was amused by Blood's audacity and pardoned him. Blood married Maria Holcroft ofHolcroft Hallat Newhurch Church against the will of her father.
In 1648 the Battle of Red Gap was fought by the old road south from Golborne (probably the Red Bank area of Newton le Willows) during the 2nd Civil War. The Scots on the side of Charles I had advanced into England.Oliver Cromwell,leader of the Roundhead Army intercepted the Scots at Preston and, in a series of running battles between Preston, Wigan and Warrington, of which Red Gap was one, he defeated the Scots even though his army was outnumbered by ten to one.
Recent history[edit]
The former village grew rapidly during theIndustrial Revolutionas the mining industry expanded. On 18 March 1979 there was a methane explosion at the town'scollierycaused by an electrical spark, which took the lives of ten miners.[6]Of the eleven present, only one survived. The colliery closed in 1989. The location of the former colliery is known locally as the Bonk which is now the largest park in Golborne.[a]The closure of the colliery led to the loss of employment for a large proportion of Golborne's population as well as people from nearby towns and villages such asAbram,Lowton andAshton-in-Makerfield.Unemployment problems have been mostly eradicated in recent years with the development of different industries which has brought in new jobs, further aided by the creation of Stone Cross Industrial Park and Golborne Enterprise Park.[citation needed]
There is a campaign to reopen the town's main line railway station –Golborne South.[7]As part of Greater Manchester's Transport Initiative Fund package, a station at Golborne would be reinstated, probably on the site of the original station off the A573 in the centre of town.[8]Golborne's branch line station –Golborne North– was closed in 1952. Mayor of Greater ManchesterAndy Burnhamcommented that “Golborne has a rock solid case for a station. It is now becoming quite clear. It has been sent to the Government for sign off. I prioritised it as mayor because of the very poor transport connectivity in that area – and if Metrolink isn’t coming anytime soon to the Wigan borough then it has to be the case to improve rail connectivity.”
Governance[edit]
Under theLocal Government Act 1972,in force from 1 April 1974, theurban districtof Golborne, established in 1894 (and expanded in 1933 by adding part ofLeigh Rural Districtwhich includedKenyon), was split, with the parts ofCulchethand Newchurch becoming the civil parish ofCulcheth and Glazeburyin theWarringtondistrict in Cheshire, and the rest of the district becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan of Greater Manchester.
Demography[edit]
| Population growthin Golborne since 1901 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 2001 |
| Population | 6,789 | 6,931 | 7,183 | 7,321 | 13,845 | 16,878 | 21,310 | 20,007 |
| Source:A Vision of Britain through Time[9] | ||||||||
Landmarks[edit]
The parish church of Golborne is St Thomas' Church, in the Deanery of Winwick, Diocese of Liverpool. Founded in 1829, the church building has a clock tower that is still in operation and is still heard chiming on every hour. There is also a graveyard surrounding the building.
Peter Kane Square and memorial clock is situated in the town centre and is named in honour of local boxerPeter Kane.
On Sunday 19 March 2006 the Rector of Golborne, the Rev Robert Williams, officiated at a service in Kidglove Road at what was the entrance to Golborne Colliery. The service was attended by ex-miners and their families, and was the fruition of two years of fund-raising to erect the 6-by-3-foot (1.83 m × 0.91 m) stone, commissioned in memory of the men and women who worked and died at Golborne Colliery between its opening in 1880 and its closure in 1989.
The memorial was conceptualised by the Golborne Ex-Miners Association, who staged a series of concerts to help towards the cost of the stone. Funding was also received from a community chest grant from Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, Alpla (UK) Ltd of Golborne, and the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. Former miner Dean Mitchell landscaped the memorial site.
A cenotaph memorial also lies at the junction of Legh Street and Barn Lane.
Notable people[edit]
- Johnny Hart(1928-2018), professional football player and manager
- Paul Hart(born 1953), professional footballer and son of Johnny Hart
- William 'Billy' Hibbert(1884–1949), professional footballer
- Peter Kane(1918–91), blacksmith and professional boxer
- Bert Llewellyn(1939–2016), professional footballer
- Philip McGinley(born 1981), actor
- Jimmy Pennington(born 1939), professional footballer
- Jack Rigby(1924–97), professional footballer
- Danny Tickle,(born 1983), professional rugby league player
- Brian Simpson(born 1953), Member of the European Parliament 1989–2014
- Davey Boy Smith(1962–2002), professional wrestler
- Thomas Billington(aka: Dynamite Kid, 1958–2018), professional wrestler
- Chris Washington(born 1989), comedian.
- Matty Hughes(born 1992), professional footballer.
- Charlie Hughes(born 2003), professional footballer.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"Golborne TownCentre C A Appraisal"(PDF),Wigan Council,retrieved23 February2015
- ^"Golborne and Lowton Community Profile"(PDF).Wigan.gov.uk.Retrieved9 July2022.
- ^Mills, A. D. (2003),A Dictionary of British Place-Names,Oxford University Press,ISBN0-19-852758-6
- ^Farrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1911),"Golborne",A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4,British History Online, pp. 148–50,retrieved28 February2010
- ^Golborne,Wigan Council, archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2007,retrieved21 June2007
- ^"18 March 1979: Three die in Golborne mine blast".On this day 1950–2005.BBC. 2008.
- ^"Disused Stations: Golborne South Station".Disused-stations.org.uk.Retrieved9 July2022.
- ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 November 2012.Retrieved20 December2019.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"Census 2001 Key Statistics – Urban area results by population size of urban area",ons.gov.uk,Office for National Statistics,KS01 Usual resident population
,22 July 2004,retrieved22 September2009
Notes[edit]
- ^The name is said to have originated from the migration of Welsh miners to North West coal mines: 'bonk' may derive from theWelshword "banc", meaningbankormound,for thespoil tipof the colliery; possibly also involving aLancashire dialectvowel mutation of 'a' to 'o'.[citation needed]
External links[edit]
