Newton-le-Willows – Page 4 – Newton-le-Willows

The M6 Motorway

11 April 200828 December 2013 Steven Dowd

The first section of the 63 miles long North-South Motorway through Lancashire to be completed was the Preston By-pass (8 miles)—Britain’s first motorway—opened by the Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Harold Macmillan, M.P., on the 5th December, 1958. The second section was the Lancaster By-pass (12 miles) opened by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Charles Hill, M.P., on the 11th April, 1960. The Minister of Transport authorised the construction of the third section of the Motorway between the southern end of the Preston By-pass…

Sankey Viaduct and Embankment

20 March 200822 December 2013 Steven Dowd

Although the Stockton & Darling-ton Railway was the first public railway on which locomotives were used, the Liverpool & Manchester Railway was the first in the accepted sense of the word today. The scheme for a railway between the great port of Liverpool and the thriving cotton-manufacturing town of Manchester, was first entertained as a practical proposition in 1821, when a preliminary survey of the proposed line was made. The company was formed in 1824, and George Stephenson was appointed Chief Engineer in 1826. The route had to be amended…

BOB CARLISLE – “The Walker”

19 March 200822 December 2013 Steven Dowd

My earliest recollection on my way home from St. Johns School at the corner of Legh St. and Market St., and one that stands out very clearly in my mind, is of seeing a man walking round and round Earlestown Market Square. I was later to learn that his name was Bob Carlisle, and he was repeating a feat of walking one thousand miles in one thousand hours, at not more than one mile an hour. This had been performed some time before for a wager between some very prominent…

1872 – Vulcan Foundry Rules

13 January 200822 December 2013 Steven Dowd

Ken Harding one of the website visitors sent me quite a few local photos that he had scanned, one of the items he scanned was this document, Its a copy of the Rules and Regulations from the Vulcan Foundry, dated Jan 1st, 1872. I added the photos Ken sent into the photo gallery, but the rules document would not have been readable displayed in the gallery, so I have transcribed it for you to read If you click the read more link below this text, you will be able to…

Newton-in-the-Willows

21 November 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

I was sent the whole page, but its a very large scan, so i have cut out just the main section of it for you here.

War Memorial Hospital

20 November 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

The idea of a Cottage Hospital for this district took shape almost immediately the South African War was over. Although some efforts had previously been made the idea did not appeal to the public until the end of the war, when they entered into the scheme with increased interest. Two War Memorials have been elected in the township, the fIrst of these was to the memory of our townsmen who fell or served in the Boer War. This is well-known to all residents as standing prominent in its position by…

History of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

24 October 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

On Sunday 18 September 1955 several founder members of the R. & C.C.S. visited Rainhill, Parkside, Newton and other historic places on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. This is a short history of the railway, prepared earlier the same year by G.O. Holt for the Railway and Canal Historical Society, I transcribed this from the publication they produced. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY Any history of this line must begin with a tribute to the enterprising spirit that brought about its great success. For several years…

Rokeden – Poem by J H Lane

13 September 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

There is not in dear Newton a picture so pretty As the green rocky dean at the north of the town; Oh, the sight of this valley inspires a sweet ditty, Of sprightliest measure, its beauties to crown. From the old Castle Hill to the Lady Hill stretching, What a sylvan display greets the visitors eye! A succession of scenes worth an artistic sketching In bright colours to equal the bow in the sky. First the bridge oer the lake claims the life-limning brushes, With its background of trees on…

Castle Hill (Road)

26 May 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

This road is clearly visable going straight across the fields towards the mound, at some points the trackway (road) is over 2 meters higher than the surrounding fields. This next image will take a while to download as its 150kb, sorry its a little larger than normal, but its a full 360 degree view of the area. You can see clearly in this view that the Castle Hill Rd, snakes across the fields from Newton high st directly to the mound, The M6 moterway being the first thing to break…

Vulcan to Warrington: The Roman Road

2 May 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

THE ROMAN ROAD FROM NEWTON BROOK TO THE SOUTH OF THE PARISH CHURCH, WARRINGTON. An account of the investigation carried through by G. A. Dunlop, F.S.A., and Colonel B. Fairclough, C.M.G., D .S .0. [Reference Maps, Ordnance Survey, 6 inches to 1 mile ; Lancashire, sheet CVIII, NE., 1928 ; Lancashire, sheet CVIII, SE., 1929 ; Lancashire, sheet CIX, SW., and Cheshire, Part sheet XVI, 1908 ; Lancashire, sheet CXVI, NW. Cheshire, Part sheets XVI and XVII, 1929.] INTRODUCTION. THE Ordnance Survey Maps, Lancashire, sheet CVIII, NE., and Lancashire, sheet…

Randalls Nurseries / The Arch, Newton High St

8 April 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

Colonel Thomas Peter Legh was the person who originally Built the Archway we now see in Newton High Street, It was built as a gateway to Haydock Park/Lodge, Peter Legh was still a serving Officer at the time the Arch was being built, and while away at camp he apparently left orders with the workmen that he should be the first person to pass through the arched gates after their completion. His orders were of-course obeyed, but unhappily for Col. Peter Legh, he was borne through them first when Dead,…

The History of Newton Hall

4 April 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

The History of Newton Hall , Newton-le-Willows Introduction During the course of the research many details were found relating to Newton Hall in Newton-le-Willows (formerly Newton in Makerfield). These include not only the names of a number of the owners and occupiers but also a description of the interior of the property and some of the earlier history of the site. It would appear that Newton Hall stands on the site of or at least very close to the site of another property, long gone. Built in 1634, the later…

Highwayman – Winwick, Red Bank Mill

16 March 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

I posted last week about a newspaper article I read about a local Highway Robbery, here now are the details: GENERAL POST OFFICEWednesday, November 12, 1800. The post-Boy carrying the Mail on Horseback from WARRINGTON to WIGAN was stopt about Half-past Two oClock in the Morning of Sunday 9th inst.. between Winwick and RED Bank MIll, by a Man on Foot, who after a struggle with the Rider pulled him off his Horse which the Robber mounted, and rode away with the Mail, containing the following bags of letters, viz.The…

Nobel Prize for local born man

14 March 200722 December 2013 Steven Dowd

He served as professor of immunology at St. Marys Hospital Medical School, London, until 1967, when he joined the faculty at the University of Oxford. Porter approached the problem of antibody structure by using an enzyme, papain, to cleave the bloods immunoglobulin molecule into functionally different fragments, which were then amenable to structural analysis. Edelman, working independently, used different methods to break up the molecule, and concluded that rather than a single chain of amino acids, it was a multichain entity. Porter and his research team were then able to…

Roman Road – Archaeologists Evaluation Dig

21 January 20077 April 2018 Steven Dowd

The Demolition The odd thing is, this was all happening right besides my house, I was overlooking the whole archaeological evaluation. It was like having my own personal Time Team, right next door. The house beyond this evaluation trench is my own humble residence. I may have to revise this text later if my understanding of the evaluations prooves wrong, but as I understand it, the archeaologists were looking for remains of the Roman Road and also a Tannery, from published information and local maps from different periods its well…