​It has long been known that Catholics in Culcheth worshipped at Culcheth Hall prior to St.Lewis' Church being built in Croft in 1827. However, recent material that has resurfaced shows that this closed for worship in 1751 and a new chapel built at a place simply known as 'Dobbsfont' and described as 'in the vicinity of' Culcheth Hall.

​​The book in which these registers are inscribed is a small quarto volume.
It is well bound in parchment, and its covers are ruled on each side towards
the edges. The volume is in a good state of preservation, and is kept in
the archives of the Mission of St. Lewis's, Croft, Warrington.
 
 HISTORY OF CULCHETH CHAPLAINCY

Culcheth, in the parish of Winwick, has been assigned as the site of
many synods of the Anglo-Saxon Church, many charters were dated thence,
and an ancient farmstead, moated round, and called the " Old Abbey,"
points to some ecclesiastical building of remote antiquity. The manor
descended in the family bearing the name until the death of Thomas
Culcheth, of Culcheth Hall, in 1747, when the estate passed to his cousin
Thomas Stanley, of Great Eccleston Hall, in the Fylde, whose mother
was aunt to Thomas Culcheth. Two years later Thomas Stanley died,
and his brother, Fr. Henry Stanley, became heir to the estate. The chapel
in the hall was then closed, and Fr. Stanley opened a small chapel in the
vicinity, at Dobbsfont, which so continued till the opening of the chapel
at Croft in 1827.

Thomas Stanley left an only daughter and heiress,
Meliora, who became the wife of William Dicconson, 4th son of Edward
Dicconson, of Wrightington Hall, Esq., and upon her death, June 29, 1794,
Culcheth passed to John Trafford, of Trafford and Croston, Esq., whose
grandfather John Trafford, of Croston Hall, had married Catherine, sister
to Mrs. Stanley and daughter of Thomas Culcheth, of Culcheth Hall. By
the Traffords the estate was sold to Peter Withington, Esq., and thus
Culcheth, which had ever been in Catholic hands, ceased to be a centre
of Catholicity.

The Culcheths had always remained staunch to the Faith,
and many of them were Jesuits and nuns. They intermarried with the
leading Catholic families of the county, and one of them in the reign of
Henry VIII married a daughter of Sir Thomas Southworth, of Samlesbury
Hall and Southworth Hall, high sheriff of Lancashire in 1541, and sister of
the famous confessor of the faith, Sir John Southworth.

Fr. Henry Stanley alias Culcheth, S.J.(Society of Jesus), born Sept. 11, 1688, son of Richard Stanley, of Great Eccleston Hall, in the Fylde, Esq., and his
wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Culcheth, of Culcheth Hall, Esq. He
entered the Society at Watten in 1706, and in 1716-18 was professor of
philosophy at Liege College. About this time he was sent to the mission
in the Oxford district, of which he was superior from February 1728-9 till 1743,
and seems to have been chaplain to the Curzons at Waterperry.

Upon the death of his mother's nephew, Thomas Culcheth, Esq., in Oct. 1747, the Culcheth estates passed to her son Thomas Stanley, who took possession
of the hall, but died within two years and was buried at Winwick, July 21,
1749. Fr. Henry then became heir to the estates, and came to reside
at Culcheth, not at the hall, but at a place called Dobbsfont, where he
established a chapel and priest's house.

In 1751 he had a socius given him in the person of Fr. Henry Smith, and in Nov. of that year he made his will (now at Stonyhurst), leaving his personal estate to the Society.
(Latin SOCIUS meaning to be made an associate/allowed to join, here I assume to the Society of Jesus)
He died Nov. 27, 1753, aged 65, and was buried at Winwick.

​From the list of Culcheth family burials at Winwick –
1753. Nov. 30—Mr. Henry Stanley of Culcheth. Priest.

As mentioned above, the will is mentioned in a list of original manuscripts at Stonyhurst -

STANLEY, Henry (Rev.) of Dobbsfont, Parish of Wynnick, Co. of Lanc.
Sole devisee and executor, Joseph Beaumont of Cowley Hill, parish of Prescot, Co. of Lanc.
16 Nov 1751. Signed and Sealed.

STANLEY, Henry (Rev.) of Culcheth, Parish of Wynnick, Co. of Lanc.
Sole devisee and executor, Henry Smith of Culcheth.
19 Nov 1751. Signed and Sealed.

The Stanley family papers don’t mention Dobbsfont at all, and the only other archives that mention it are copies of the above extract. I can’t find it on any map, though I am still searching the handwritten tithe listings for any clue.

Warrington Archives have nothing relating to it and the only other document I found, at Bolton archives, was again another copy of the above.

​Can anybody help? The search continues.

ASSIZES TAKEN AT CLYDERHOWE IN THE COUNTY OF
LANCASTRE ON THE OCTAVE OF S. MICHAEL IN
THE TWELFTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF KING EDWARD
[6 OCTOBER 1284],
BEFORE JOHN DE REYGATE AND GEOFFREY AGUYLLUN, JUSTICES ASSIGNED.
 
Novel disseisin-
 
Cecily de Latun v. Richard de Kulchith, Gilbert his son, Robert de Ryselegh, Ellen his wife, Adam de Hyndley, Margery his daughter, Thomas de Hulecroft, Jennet his wife, Richard son of Thurstan, Walter le hom Thomae, Roger Brodew of Croft, Adam Godlowe, Ranulph de Croft, Henry de Howes, John son of Gilbert, Robert son of William de Kenyan, Hugh son of John de Heydock, John de Rachedale, Simon le fiz Brun, William de Barton, Augustine Attewode, Richard de Shawe. William Pore and Richard le Harpur
re the third part of a toft, 50 acres of wood and 59 acres of moor, in Culchith.
 
The eight first named defendants appear; the rest come not, nor were they attached, so the case proceeds in default. Richard says that he holds the toft and 30 acres of the wood in right of his son Gilbert, whose inheritance it is, and that he entered upon the third part of the toft by the concession and will of Cecily; and, as to the 30 acres of wood, that Cecily holds land to the value of her third part, at a place called le Rygges.
Robert and Ellen say they hold 20 acres of wood by grant (produced) from Cecily; Adam and Margery hold 20 acres of moor and pay 30s. rent yearly for the third part and other tenements they hold by grant from Cecily; and Thomas and Jennet similarly hold the rest at a rent of 26s.
 
Verdict for defendants; and further that Richard and Gilbert have set up a fence to the hurt of Cecily. Judgment accordingly, and the fence to be demolished at cost of Richard and Gilbert.
 
Cecily to gaol. Damages 2s.
 

Note: The Novel Disseisin (an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been dispossessed) was only abolished in 1833.

LOT 18.- A FREEHOLD COTTAGE, and LAND,
No. 63 Fowley Common, Culcheth, in the occupation of J. Ashton, containing 6,867 square yards.
Gross yearly rent £13.

​LOT 19.- ALL THAT FREEHOLD RESIDENCE, known as
CULCHETH HALL,
Containing 3 large Entertaining Rooms, Large Reception Hall, Butler’s Pantry, Wine Cellar, Servants’ Hall, Beer Cellar, Office, Store Room and Larder on Ground Floor,
Nine Bedrooms, Dressing Room, Bathroom and Lavatory and W.C. on First Floor and Four Servants’ Bedrooms on Second Floor.
Coach House and Saddle Room and Stabling for Five Horses, together with the greenhouses, Frames, Fruit Trees etc.
Together with the Avenue, Lodge, Outbuildings, Gardens, Lawns and 3 fields adjoining, containing altogether 32a. 1r. 25p. statute measure.
 
LOT 20.- A FREEHOLD COTTAGE and GARDEN, known as
High Lodge, Common-lane, Culcheth, in the occupation of T. H. Kilminster, containing 1,200 square yards.
Gross yearly rent £5.
A Right of Way to Culcheth Hall is reserved over this Lot.
 
LOT 21.- A FREEHOLD FARM. HOUSE, BUILDINGS and LAND, known as
Twiss Green Farm, situate off Twins Green-lane, Culcheth,
in the occupation of R. Mason, containing 17a. 1r. 38p. statute measure.
Let at a yearly rent of £32 10s.
 
LOT 22.- A FREEHOLD FARM, HOUSE, BUILDINGS and LAND, known as
Lime Tree Farm, Twiss Green, Culcheth, in the occupation of Samuel Southern,
containing 23a. 1r. 39p. statute measure.
Let at an apportioned yearly rent of £45.
 
LOT 23.- A FREEHOLD COTTAGE and GARDEN,
situate off Twiss Green-lane, Culcheth, adjoining Lime Tree Farm, in the occupation of A. Sykes, containing 454 square yards.
Gross yearly rent £4.
 
LOT 24.- A FREEHOLD FARM, HOUSE, LAND and BUILDINGS,
known as School-lane Farm, Culcheth, in the occupation of
Joseph Barrow, containing altogether 51a. 0r. 27p. statute measure.
Yearly rent £85 10s.
 
LOT 25.- A FREEHOLD FARM, HOUSE, LAND and BUILDINGS,
known as Collier's Tenement, Leigh, In the occupation of
Thomas Belshaw, containing altogether 23a. 2r. 3p. statute measure.
Yearly rent £50.
​
LOT 26.- A FREEHOLD FARM, HOUSE, BUILDINGS and LAND,
No. 3 Glazier's-lane, Culcheth, in the occupation of
B. Weir, containing 40a. 1r. 14p. statute measure.
Yearly rent £71.
This farm has a considerable frontage to the highway.
 
LOT 27.- A FREEHOLD FARM,
at Heath-lane, Croft, in the occupation of J. Thompson.
Containing 39a. statute measure, and let at a
yearly rent of £70.
 
LOT 28.- NINE WELL-SECURED FREEHOLD GROUND RENTS,
amounting in the aggregate to £22 11s. 10d. per annum and secured by Nine several Indentures of Lease each for the residue of a term of 999 years, granted between the years 1870 and 1909.
 
The vendor does not own the mines and minerals under Lots 5 and 26.

The mines and minerals under all the other Lots (except Lot 27) are excepted from the sale with full powers of working and getting the same.
 
A plan showing the Lots, and particulars and conditions of sale, containing the exception of mines and minerals can be inspected at the offices of-
 
Messrs. TRAVERS & GALE, Church-street, Leigh
and
Messrs. GIBBONS, ARKLE & DARBISHIRE Solicitors,
13 Union-court, Castle-street, Liverpool.

​Notice is hereby given, that application is intended to made to Parliament, in the next Sessions, for leave to bring in a Bill, to make a rail or tram road or roads into, through, to and from the town and borough of Liverpool, into, through, to and from the town of Manchester, both in the county palatine of Lancaster, with certain branch rail or trans road or roads to be connected therewith, and that the same is, or are intended to pass into, through, to, and from the several boroughs, parishes, townships, and places of Liverpool, Everton, Kirkdale, Walton, Wavertree, Childwall, West Derby, Knowsley, Prescot, Huyton or Highton, Whiston, Cronton, Torbock, Rainhill, Eccliston, Saint Helens, Sutton, Parr, Haydock, bold, Burton Wood, Newton-in-the-Willows, Winwick, Leigh, Kenyon, Croft, Culcheth, Astley, Chat Moss, Wooding, Worsley, Barton-upon-Irwell, Swinton or Winton, Monton, Eccles, Pendleton, Salford, and Manchester, in the county palatine of Lancaster, or some of them.
Dated the twenty-eighth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.

One of the most famous of the railway engineering works was Stephenson's 'floating' railway across Chat Moss, an undertaking that one contemporary engineer declared 'no man in his senses would attempt'.
 
The bleak waste of Chat Moss had long been notorious in the county of Lancashire. It had defied several attempts over the years to drain and cultivate it and was home to vipers. A giant spongy mass of bog-moss, it rose above the surrounding countryside like the dome of a giant jellyfish.
 
The treacherous bog would not bear the weight of either a man or a horse; it was over 30ft deep in some places, and four miles across. Stephenson's assistant John Dixon slipped off a wooden plank while inspecting the ground, and nearly disappeared for good; he had to be rescued by the navvies.
 
The engineers and men approached the problem logically. The navvies fastened wooden boards to their shoes to spread out their weight and stop them sinking; next, they constructed heather walkways for their wheelbarrows and the wagons. Light rails were laid down on this path. Young lads pushed one-ton wagons laden with building materials along the rails, and according to Stephenson's biographer Samuel Smiles, they could trot across all four miles of the Moss in just over half an hour.
 
Stephenson ordered drains to be cut on either side of the track route; around 200 men were needed for this section. It was frustrating work; in many places, whenever the men dug a drain, the Moss quickly filled it up with water again. So a kind of 'pipe' drain was constructed using empty tar barrels joined end to end, weighted down with clay so they wouldn't rise up again. But the railway line, of course, had to support the weight of a full-size locomotive and wagons. Once the ground had firmed sufficiently after drainage, hurdles 9ft wide and 4ft broad, interspersed with heather, formed a kind of floating base. A 2ft layer of gravel or ballast was piled on this, topped by wooden sleepers, on which the track was laid. 

To the dismay of the men and the railway directors, and despite all their efforts to prevent it, the Moss swiftly gobbled up whole sections of their new embankment. Worst of all was the embankment which had to support the line at the Manchester end of the bog. Turf-cutters, men and boys, skinned the moss nearby with sharp spades called 'tommy-spades', and dried the turf into cakes, which were then tipped into the hole to help form the embankment. The men tipped in hundreds of wagonloads of dry moss in order to fill it up, to no avail; it seemed as if they were feeding a bottomless pit.

​The tipping went on for weeks, but Stephenson encouraged the men to persevere. They worked day and night until at last the Moss was conquered; his vision of a floating railway was now a reality, and a lasting monument to the navvies hard work.
£28,000 (£2.6 million today) was the total cost for the Chat Moss crossing - £820,000 (£77 million today) being the cost for the whole railway.

Before the official opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, there was much controversy over which design of locomotive to use. The story of the Rainhill trials in October 1829 and the triumph of Stephenson's Rocket is well known. Rocket achieved a then revolutionary speed of 29mph (unladen) and won the £ 500 prize.

The next year an 'immense multitude' gathered to witness the grand opening ceremony at Liverpool on 15th September; the cheering crowds saw the wonderful engines, covered with flags and carrying many passengers, speed down the line with 'arrow-like swiftness'.

​The day was marred by a dreadful accident at Parkside, when William Huskisson, M P for Liverpool, unluckily fell under the wheels of the advancing Rocket, and was fatally injured. The Duke of Wellington wanted the festivities cancelled, but after much hand-wringing by the authorities and railway directors, fears over public order meant the procession of engines eventually continued their journey to Manchester. Here they received a mixed reception as political protestors tried to make their presence felt. Radical sympathisers waved banners and some of the wagons had stones thrown at them by weavers. A tablet was later displayed in his memory.

The railway opened to passenger traffic the next day, conveying 130 people to Manchester for seven shillings a head, in an hour and thirty-two minutes.

​The Railway Age was here.

​(Extracted and edited from NARROW WINDOWS, NARROW LIVES by Sue Wilkes)

The Cotton Factory Times was a weekly British newspaper, aimed at cotton mill workers in Lancashire and Cheshire. It ran from 1885 – 1937.

Here are a selection of articles featuring local places and people.

Friday 22nd June 1894

Outing – On Saturday afternoon the foremen of Messrs. T Barnes and Co., Farnworth Cotton Mills, had their annual picnic to Croft, near Warrington. In a first-class turnout a start was made from Gladstone Road at 115, and on reaching Chat Moss Hotel a stop was made for one hour while the party had a game at bowls and refreshments.

They then commenced the journey to Croft, which was reached about 430. A first-class knife and fork tea was partaken of at the Horse Shoe Inn. After tea a few had a ramble in the country, and the others enjoyed themselves on the green with bowls, etc. The return journey was commenced at 845, and the party arrived home about 1145 well pleased with their out.

Friday 17th June 1892

FATAL ACCIDENT TO AN OVERLOOKER – On Friday evening James Vanse, aged 43, overlooker, at the Daisy Bank Mill, Culcheth, near Leigh, went up a ladder to get something out of the spout, when the ladder slipped and he fell to the ground and sustained injuries to his head, from which he died the same night.

The inquest was held on Monday afternoon, when a verdict of accidental death was returned.

Friday 13th April 1906
​
Accident – Early on Saturday morning a tape weaver named Miss Ellen Collier, of Warrington Road, Glazebury, and employed at Messrs. Gill and Hartley’s, Glazebury Mill, was following her employment when she got her right arm entangled, with the result that it was broken just above the wrist.

Friday 18th September 1891

SHOCKING SUICIDE OF A WEAVER – The operatives employed at the Glazebury Weaving Shed of Messrs. Gill and Hartley, near Leigh, were thrown into a state of consternation on Tuesday evening by the intelligence that a weaver, employed at the mill, named Richard Massey, had shot himself at his residence, Fowley Common, where he resided with a man named Taylor.

Taylor went home about 11 o’clock on Tuesday night, and went to bed without getting a light. After being in bed some time, he called out to Massey, but, receiving no answer, he struck a light, and found his fellow lodger stretched on the floor dead, with a bullet through his head.

Deceased had apparently tied a piece of string to the trigger of a gun, and so shot himself. Massey, who was nearly fifty years of age, had lately been very depressed, and had frequently threatened to put an end to his life.

Friday 26th March 1897

ACCIDENT TO A SCAVENGER – An alarming accident happened at No. 3 spinning room of the No. 1 mill of the Mather Lane Spinning Co., on Tuesday morning, about half-past ten, to a scavenger residing at Warrington Road, Glazebury, named William Johnson. He was new to his work, and he went under the carriage as the wheel was going up, with the result that his hips were crushed and the sinews ruptured.
He was immediately conveyed to Dr. King’s, who attended to his injuries, and he is progressing as favourably as can be expected.

Friday 23rd February 1906
​
Marriage – On Saturday afternoon, at the Newchurch Parish Church, in the presence of a large number of relatives and friends, the marriage was celebrated of Miss Maggie Yates and Mr. Thomas Gould, both mill operatives, and residing at Culcheth.

The bride is employed as a weaver and the bridegroom as a twister at the Daisy Bank Manufacturing Co.’s mill, Culcheth. A good number of their workmates were present at the dinner, which was served at the house of the bride, after which a pleasant evening was spent.
The happy couple have been the recipients of numerous and useful presents.

Among the discoveries which were made was a pew out of the ancient Church, which the Rector has had fixed in the Church porch. It had, presumably, been removed from the gallery of the old Church before it was destroyed by fire and been used as a garden seat.

A number of old name plates from the pews were also found in a cupboard at the Rectory. The old Church contained a number of square box-like sittings or pews, dating from 1717 onwards, and the name plates indicate various old families who occupied them. These have been mounted and placed on an oak panel in the clergy vestry.

Other relies of past centuries found at the Rectory were the old keys, used when the Rev. Thomas Wilson, who became Bishop of Sodor and Man, was in charge. These, too, have been mounted on brass discs and dated 1663.
​​

A set of six old prints, going back to 1721, were also discovered, and these have been suitably framed in oak by Mr. Plant and are interesting to look upon in the clergy vestry.

There is a colour in the prints which cannot be matched to-day.
​They represent: The Birth of Christ; the Wise Men; the Sermon on the Mount; Mary and Martha; Martyrdom of Stephen; Elijah carried up to Heaven.
There is also a rare photo-print of the Archbishop of York, Dr. Cosmo Gordon Lang, D.D ., who has now been translated to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, and is now the Primate of all England.

Newchurch has one of the most interesting histories, which architecture has preserved, and possesses Communion plate of great value.

The silver Communion cup of peculiar design was given by Dr. Richard Sherlock, Rector of Winwick, to his nephew, Bishop Wilson.
The vessel stands six and a half inches high and measures four and a half inches across the top, as well as across the base. It is of the wineglass shape, and bears traces of gilding on the outside. The cup has been hammered out by a local smith from a pre-Reformation chalice.

Examination by a magnifying glass reveals distinct signs of a cross, which frequently occurs on one side of the bowl of such chalices. The cup is somewhat roughly fashioned and bears no hallmark. It holds the most honoured place in the list of local church plate, and is one of the very few known examples of pre-Reformation chalices in the world.

It is a connecting link, both in material and in features of design, between the typical pre-Reformation chalice and the post-Reformation Communion cup.
 
 Besides the ancient Communion cup, the paten in use is of a very quaint type, and is slightly bent and out of shape. The handsome silver flagon is a magnificent specimen of church plate, bearing the date of 1763, though probably much older. It was bequeathed to the Church by Edward Leech in his will dated 13th November, 1760, and proved at Chester on February 23rd, three years later.

The two ancient collecting boxes, dated 1663, were used in the Parish Church by the wardens. In those days the boxes were only handed to the squire, the doctor and one or two other leading members of the parish and congregation, and gold coins were nearly always contributed.

Three pieces of gold in those days were more than sufficient to meet the Church expenses for a month, money going much further in spending value than it does to-day. Collections in Church were monthly, or as required.
 The wardens knew how much they wanted, and before the offerings were presented at the Holy Table, they would tilt the boxes and look at the coins to ascertain if there was sufficient. If the amount was not enough for their purposes they would proceed to collect from other worshippers in Church.​

Three constables' truncheons and hand-grips were discovered in the old parish chest, which in 1909 had not been opened for 20 years, owing to the loss of the keys.
They belong to the reigns of King George IV. (1820), King William IV. (1830), and Queen Victoria (1837).

These truncheons were assigned by the ruling monarchs to the High Sheriff of the county, who was entrusted with the execution of the law. The High Sheriff then handed over the truncheons to the squires of the villages, who, in turn, sought out some worthy villager to act as constable and keep order, presenting him with a truncheon, hand-grip and a key as aids to carrying out his duties.

The earliest constable's account book in the village chest at Newchurch is dated 1813.*
​
*there is a list of the village constables available at Culcheth Library,
dated 1665 - 1776

​On the 13th instant, one William Higginson, of Culcheth, near Leigh, having charg’d a Gun with an intent to shoot at some Crows, sat down at his Door with the Gun upon his Knees, in order to do something at the Flint, when it accidentally went off, and by recoiling against his Groin, bruised him so much that he died the next Morning.

TRAP ACCIDENT AT CULCHETH –
​A horse and trap belonging to the late Mr. Whiston, of Croft, was standing in the goodsyard at Culcheth Station on Saturday afternoon when the horse got startled by an engine, and it suddenly set off down the yard and got on to the main line, down which it ran to Lowton St Mary’s Station before it was stopped.
Fortunately no trains were running at the time, The trap was smashed and the horse cut.

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT - WARRINGTON
Monday Night - A sad scene took place at the Railway station, in this town, this afternoon. The Birmingham train from Manchester brought a young woman, to all appearance in a dying state, who had been run over by the train as it passed the Kenyon Junction, on the Liverpool and Manchester line.

Her left leg was hanging sadly mutilated from her body, one of her shoulders was dislocated, and her head considerably injured. The shrieks she uttered on being lifted out of the carriage will not be readily forgotten by those who heard them; she was evidently suffering the most intense agony.

The moment the train stopped, every assistance was rendered by Mr Rutter, the agent at the station, and the other persons employed there. The sufferer was conveyed to the Patten Arms Hotel, which adjoins the station, and by the time she was got up stairs, Mr Hunt, surgeon, and Mr. Robson, the house-surgeon to the Warrington dispensary, were in attendance.

On examination, it was found that the wheels of the engine had passed along the left leg from the centre of the thigh down to the foot, and that the limb was crushed to a complete mummy.

Amputation was immediately resorted to. The operation was performed by Dr Hunt. The poor woman was insensible during the greater part of the operation; she gradually sunk, and did not survive longer than a quarter of an hour after it had been performed...

From inquiries made since the accident, I learn that the deceased was a hand loom weaver, named Johanna Sankey, of Croft, in this county. She was an interesting, good-looking girl, in the 23d year of her age.

The engineer in charge of the train states that the deceased ran across the rails at the Kenyon Junction just as the train was passing, when it was not more than a few yards from her; that the engine knocked her down, and the whole train passed over her. He stopped the engine immediately, and no medical assistance being at hand, it was deemed advisable to bring her on to Warrington, after a ligature had been applied by a passenger to the bleeding and fractured limb.

She had been to Liverpool to nurse a sick brother, filling the situation of porter at Blezard's liquor vaults. Her brother, it seems, had sufficiently recovered to permit of his removal to Croft, and accordingly they both came to the Kenyon Junction by the first train, leaving Liverpool at a quarter before twelve o'clock.

A spring cart was waiting to convey them to Croft from the station, and just after her brother and his luggage had been got into it, she found that he had left his stick on the opposite side of the rails. This led to her untimely death. She ran towards the stick but had scarcely advanced five yards when the Birmingham train came up and killed her, as a'ready described.

Harold Houghton was born in 1890 in Croft when his father, Thomas, was 31 and his mother, Mary, was 28. He had four brothers and four sisters.
In 1911 he lived at The Old Noggin Inn, Risley with his parents, his brother and two of his sisters
He worked at the Albion Ironworks in Leigh.
On 2nd September 1914 he joined the 5th Rifle Brigade, A Company, 2nd Battalion
On 24 March 1915 he died of his wounds from the battle of Neuve Chapelle, aged 25.
He was buried at Croft Unitarian Chapel, the grave stone stating
‘He Died for his Country’s Honour’.

When George Daintith was born on 24 February 1892 in Culcheth, his father, Thomas, was 25 and his mother, Mary, was 21. He was christened at Newchurch on 17th April the same year.
His mother Mary passed away in 1906 and his father remarried in 1907. He had seven brothers and two sisters.
In 1911 he lived with his father, stepmother and four of his brothers at The Old Noggin Inn, Risley.

In April 1915, he joined Kitchener’s Army, enlisting in the 1st King’s Liverpool Regiment. After about a year’s training he was sent to the Front and was attached to the 251st Company Royal Engineers. He was killed in action on June 25th, 1916, in the ‘great push’ near Albert.

Captain Hansen, R.E., in expressing his sympathy with his parents said:
‘Your son met his death on the night of June 25th while doing his duty, and I cannot speak too highly of his behaviour on this occasion, and ever since he joined this Company. I cannot say how deeply I felt his loss to my section, as he was one of my best men and could always be depended upon. He was a typical example of a true British Soldier, and died doing his duty to his King and Country and so great a cause. Your son was buried last night, and I have taken steps to have a cross placed upon his grave.’
A memorial service was held at Newchurch Parish Church on Sunday 23rd July 1916.
George is buried in Cambrin Military Cemetery.
Harold Houghton’s parents had a stone erected at Croft Unitarian Chapel in Harold’s grave space saying
'Private. George Daintith. In memory of Harold's comrade of the Liverpool Regiment, killed in France 25/06/1916'.

When William Whittle was born in 1889 in Culcheth, his father, William, was 29 and his mother, Ellen, was 21. He had two brothers.
In 1911 he lived and worked at Oakwood Farm, Risley with his parents and brothers.
He died on 14 June 1918 in France at the age of 29 and is buried at Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille.
He is remembered on the family grave at Croft Unitarian Chapel, the stone stating
​‘Duty Nobly Done’.

Royal Garrison Artillery. Died on 9th July 1920, aged 42.
​Son of Samuel and Mary Yates; husband of Lizzie Hankin Yates, of Longford Cottages, Longford, Warrington.

South Lancashire Regiment, transferred to as Private 584377, Labour Corps.
On 19th December 1918 he was admitted to the Military Hospital, Warrington with influenza and pneumonia. He passed away at 16:50 hours on the 26th November 1918. His history was of being unwell after he was gassed by mustard gas in France four months prior and he had chest trouble ever since.
He was the son of John and was the husband of Bertha, remarried to Andrews, of Little Town, Croft. He had two children, Thomas and Vera.

PRIVATE F FAULKNER
South Lancashire Regiment
​Died 16th March 1918

SERGEANT CYRIL WHITTLE
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died 23rd April 1944

PRIVATE JOHN CLARK PICK
Manchester Regiment
Died 31st May 1940

PRIVATE JOSHUE RICHARD CLEWORTH
King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
Died 25th November 1918

DRUMMER G LOCKE
Leinster Regiment
Died 8th May 1920

PRIVATE ARTHUR MONKS
Royal Army Service Corps
Died 18th January 1921

GUARDSMAN HUGH ARTHUR WOOD
Welsh Guards
Died 29 August 1921

PRIVATE W B MIDDLETON
Leicestershire Regiment
Died 29th March 1921

SERJEANT JOHN BUCHANAN
Royal Army Medical Corps
Died 27th October 1918

The Salford Board (of Guardians) purchased an estate at Culcheth, six miles from Warrington, an unspoiled country district in the healthiest part of South Lancashire in the parish of Newchurch.

The estate, of 46 ¾ statute acres, was purchased in 1899 for £4500. In 1903 the Board erected a group of cottage homes for the accommodation of 288 children and a staff of officers. The building costs were £61, 211 and furnishing an extra £2500.

No pains were spared to make the Colony complete in every way, and the result amply justifies the thoughtful foresight and unselfish labour spent on the project by the members of the Board at that time.

The Colony consists of 22 semi-detached and two detached cottages to accommodate 12 to 14 children in each; a hospital designed in wards to accommodate 32 patients; a detached home for the nursing staff, connected to the hospital by a covered way, and a detached house for the Superintendent.

The object in view when planning this Colony was to provide for the destitute children of Salford – ‘a home away from home’ – a home in the heart of the country, amid ideal surroundings, and away from the overcrowded and often squalid neighbourhood that most of them had known from infancy.
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The staff and children attend at the Parish Church each Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m., and the rector who is Chaplain of the Homes, prepares them for confirmation, teaches in the day school twice a week, arranges their Sunday School and children’s services, and looks after their spiritual life generally.

In each home are placed not more than 12 children, whose ages range from 2 – 15 years, in charge of a Foster Mother (and in the case of some boys Home of a Foster Father and Mother). Each child has its own separate bed, its own private locker, and its own private toilet utensils.

Uniformity in the Homes is avoided as much as possible, and the Foster Parents are encouraged to exercise their individuality, and while conforming to the general rules of the Colony, to conduct their Homes naturally and spontaneously.

The children attend school until the age of 14 and during this time have every opportunity of physical training, both by definite instruction, and by organised games – special attention being given to swimming, for which a large and handsome bath has been erected.

When a child passes 14 it leaves school, and while remaining in the Colony spends its school hours in one or other of the industrial shops, each of which is under the control of an experienced tradesman or tradeswoman, and where it receives careful tuition, and acquires practical knowledge.

For the girls there are provided a sewing room, well-equipped for all dressmaking, and which supplies the Colony with most of its garments, linen and hosiery, a laundry that affords training in the use of machinery, and in all branches of laundry work, and in addition the Homes themselves furnish tuition in cooking and all domestic duties.

The boys have the choice of the Shoemaker’s Shop, in which all the boot repairs are executed, and a large proportion of new work is undertaken, The Joiner’s shop, in which all renewals of, and repairs to woodwork for the Homes are made; the Bakehouse which supplies the Colony with its bread and cake, the Plumber’s and Engineer’s shop, which provides the Colony with electric light and with water and heat; the Painter’s shop, which is responsible for all decoration and re-glazing on the Colony. Gardening is taught to both boys and girls.

In addition, every boy has the opportunity of joining the brass band.
The numerous centres of activity, together with the large mixed farm, makes the Colony practically self-contained, and it is a rare occurrence to see any outside tradesmen at work in the grounds.
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The value of the training is shown when the children leave the Homes, and almost without exception they do well and make headway.

The Homes as an orphanage closed about ten years after this was written and became Newchurch Hospital in 1948.

In 1989, there were concerns for the future of the hospital:

Newchurch Hospital, Culcheth
HC Deb 23 March 1989 

Mr Hoyle - To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the future of Newchurch hospital, Culcheth, Warrington; and if there are any plans to close it.

Mr. Freeman - Newchurch hospital is in the process of retraction as patients are gradually transferred to care in the community schemes. As the numbers of patients reduces consideration will have to be given to the best way of caring for those remaining. We are not, however, aware of any plans to close Newchurch hospital.
(Source: parliament.uk)

The Workhouse Encyclopedia by Peter Higginbotham has the dates that  Newchurch Hospital operated as 1948 - 1992.

Former staff member Helena Campbell has contacted me with the correct closure date of March 1993. 
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The site was designated a protected conservation area in 1993. In 1995, permission was granted for conversion of the buildings into private dwellings.