In the High Court of Justice – Chancery Division.
Manchester District Registry.
Re LORD, deceased.
HINMERS v. TAYLOR.
1902. Letter H. No. 1040.
Glazebury, Culcheth, and Southworth-with-Croft, Lancashire.
 Valuable freehold fully-licensed Hotel, well secured chief and ground rents, excellent country cottages and gardens, and compact and fertile Farms.
PURSUANT to Order made in the above action;
Mr. John Mainwaring (the person appointed by the Judge) will offer for sale by auction, at the Lion Hotel, Warrington, on Wednesday, 22nd November, 1905, at 3 o'clock P.M. prompt, the following lots :-


 In Glazebury.       
Lot 1 .- Seven cottages, Nos. 247, 249, 263, 265, 267, 269 and 271,Warrington Road, with the gardens and appurtenances thereto, producing a gross annual rental of £48 10s. Site, 3,231 square yards or thereabouts.
Lot 2 .- (a) Six cottages, Nos. 234 to 244, even numbers inclusive, Warrington Road, with the gardens and appurtenances thereto, producing a gross annual rental of £36 10s. Site, 2,057 square yards or thereabouts.
(b) The detached dwelling-house, No. 228. Warrington Road, with large garden thereto, producing the gross annual rental of £9 10s. Site, 1,487 square yards or thereabouts.
(c) The pair of semi-detached cottages, Nos. 220 and 222, Warrington Road, with the gardens thereto, producing a gross annual rental of £11 19s. Site, 2,050 square yards or thereabouts.


NOTE - The nine houses comprised in this lot will, in the first instance, be offered as one property, and if not so sold, then in the separate portions above specified
 
 Lots 3, 4, 5, and 6 - The following ground rents reserved upon leases for 999 years, with the freehold reversions to which they are incident :-


Lot 3
Two houses, Nos. 208 and 210 Warrington Road(448 Sq. yds. Rent £2 16s)
One house, No. 206 Warrington Road (224 Sq. yds. Rent £1 8s.)
One house, No. 204 Warrington Road (224 Sq. yds. Rent £1 8s.)
One house, No. 202 Warrington Road (243 Sq. yds. Rent £1 15s. 6d.)
One house, No. 200 Warrington Road (221 Sq. yds. Rent £1 15s. 2d.)
Two houses, Nos. 212 and 214 Warrington Road (451 Sq. yds. Rent £2 16s. 4d.)


Total Rent £11 19s. 0d.
 
Lot 4
Glazebury Branch of the Leigh Co-operative Stores, with cottage and barn adjoining (1538 Sq. yds. Rent £24)
Lot 5
Glazebury Post Office and house adjoining Nos. 176 and 174 Warrington Road (368 Sq. yds. Rent £3 1s. 4d.)
Lot 6
Five houses, Nos. 164 to 172, even numbers inclusive, Warrington Road (828 Sq. yds. Rent £6 18s.)


Lot 7 - The perpetual yearly rent charge of £50 issuing out of a plot of land containing 7A. 0R. 27P. or thereabouts, on the easterly side of Warrington Road, and the northerly side of the London and Northwestern Railway, on which are erected the cotton mill of Messrs. Gill and Hartley, a dwelling-house called
"Brook House," and 44 cottages in and near Warrington Road.
With this rent charge are included the mines and minerals under the said plot of land as excepted and reserved by the Indenture of Feoffment limiting the said rent charge.

Lot 8 - The old established and fully – licensed country Inn called the "Chat Moss Hotel," immediately adjoining Glazebury Railway Station, with the outbuildings, bowling green and land occupied therewith lying on the easterly side of Warrington Road, the total area being 5A, 3R. 37P. or thereabouts.
These premises are let on lease expiring 25th December, 1909, and produce a rental of £81 per annum.

Also the two cottages, Nos. 231 and 233 Warrington Road, with gardens thereto, and another detached garden (now occupied by the tenant of No. 247).
These premises produce the further gross annual rental of £13, and the site, containing 1,752 square yards, forms an important addition to the "Chat Moss Hotel," completing an extensive and valuable frontage to the high road.

Also the perpetual yearly rent charge of £15 receivable in respect of the private road which intersects part of the foregoing premises, and leads from Warrington Road to the "Light Oaks" estate. This rent is secured upon the said "Light Oaks " estate, containing nearly 400 acres.

Lot 9 - The valuable farm containing about
40A. 3R.14P. with the dwelling-house and farm buildings thereon, occupied by John Peters, as yearly tenant, at the rental of £103 5s. The land lies on both sides of Warrington Road, to which it has important frontages, and can be advantageously developed for building purposes.


In Culcheth and Southworth-with-Croft.

Lot 10 - The three cottages (one used as a shop) in Warrington Road, Culcheth, occupied by Messrs. Capper, Clare, and Ball, and producing a gross annual rental of £20 14s.
The site contains 3,055 square yards or thereabouts.


Lot 11 - The two well-built and convenient dwelling houses, with large gardens, situate in Cinder Lane, Culcheth, known as the "Model Cottages," and occupied by Messrs. Barlow and Gibbons. The gross annual rental is £16, and the land (including a strip on the northerly side of Cinder Lane, forming an osier bed) contains 10,970 square yards or thereabouts.


Lot 12 - The following compact and desirable farms, situate at Culcheth, with the dwelling houses and farm buildings thereon,
let to yearly tenants as under :-

a. Four Lane Ends Farm, occupied by Mr. Benjamin Gibbins.
Area, 25A. 1R. 33P. Rent, £64.
b. Orchard Farm, occupied by Messrs. Daxon.
Area, 41A. 3R. 24P. Rent, £99.
c. Cinder Lane Farm, occupied by Mr. Joseph Gibbins.
Area, 14A. 2R. 20P. Rent, £48.
d. Yew Tree Farm, occupied by Mr. John Wood.
Area, 49A. 1R. 37P. Rent, £103.
e. Cross Lane Farm, occupied by Messrs. Savage.
Area, 50A. 2R. 2P. Rent, £107.
f. Oak Farm, occupied by Mr. William Carr.
Area, 71A. 2R. 28P. Rent, £160 10s.
g. Two Butts Farm, occupied by Mr. Henry E. Southern.
Area, 31A. 0R. 34P. Rent, £66 15s. (This has no dwelling-house.)
h. Springfield Farm (in Southworth-with-Croft), also occupied by Mr. Henry E. Southern.
Area, 27A. 2R. 8P. Rent, £62 5s.


This group of fertile and convenient farms lying practically in a ring fence, and having extensive frontages to good roads, will in the first instance be offered together. If not so sold they will be offered separately, except that Springfield Farm and Two Butts Farm will in any case be treated as one.

Four Lane Ends Farm includes a yearly rent of 8s., payable in respect of land held by the Trustees of Risley Chapel.

Portions of Cross Lane Farm, Orchard Farm, and Two Butts Farm, containing altogether about 54 acres, are subject to a reservation of one-half the net proceeds of working the coal thereunder.

Lot 13 - The following excellent and productive farms, with good dwelling-houses and buildings thereon, situate in Southworth-with-Croft, and let on yearly tenancies as under –
 
i. Eaves Brow Farm, occupied by Mr. William Hunt.
Area, 54A. 1R. 20P. Rent, £105.
j. Oak Tree Farm, occupied by Mr. Lewis Birchall.
Area, 75A. 0R. 9P. Rent, £176.
k. Mount Pleasant Farm, also occupied by Mr. Lewis Birchall.
Area, 18A. 2R. 17P. Rent, £54.

These three farms will first be offered in one group, and if not so sold, Eaves Brow Farm will be offered separately, and Oak Tree and Mount Pleasant Farms together.
 
With Eaves Brow Farm are included three receivable yearly rents of £3 5s., £3 5s., and 4s. 6d.
 
Lot 14 - The two cottages situate in New Lane, Southworth-with-Croft, occupied by Messrs. Lythgoe and Waywell, and producing a gross annual rental of £12. The site contains 2,775 square yards or thereabouts.
 
Lot 15 - The two cottages known as "Moss Cottages”, Southworth - with - Croft, and about 2 acres of land occupied therewith. These are let to Messrs. Miller and Whitefield, and produce a gross annual rental of £14.
 
For further information, application may be made to
Messrs. James Atherton and Son, Surveyors and Land Agents, 13, Mawdsley-street, Bolton, and (as to the farms and cottages) to Mr. Henry E. Southern, Springfield Farm, Croft.
 
Particulars, plans, and conditions of sale may be had from
Messrs. Atherton and Son;
from the Auctioneer, Bridge Street, Warrington;
Messrs. Grundy, Kershaw, Samson, and Co. Solicitors,
31, Booth Street, Manchester;
Messrs. Clowes, Hickley, and Steward, Solicitors,
10, King's Bench Walk, Temple, London, E.C.;
Messrs. Miller and Smiths, Solicitors, 3, Salters' Hall Court,
London, E.C.;
or from the Vendor's Solicitors,
Messrs. Gill, Radford, and Co., 79, Fountain-street, Manchester.
 
W. H. S. WATTS, District Registrar.

Below is the only image i have of the Glazebury Co-Op store, which is of very poor quality. The notes that came with it are from the Leigh Friendly Co-Operative Society Limited Jubilee 1857 - 1907 and state

'In October of 1860 another branch shop was opened at Bury-lane (Glazebury), in a small shop at the end of Hurst Hall-lane, owned by Mr. W. Hill.
In February, 1862, the business was transferred to the premises owned by Messrs. Gill and Hartley at the south end of the block of cottages adjoining their mill. The rent paid for this shop was £24 a year, continued at this sum for 42 years, until the society erected the handsome shop on the opposite side of the street in 1902. Over this shop, as at Lowton, a commodious reading room is provided.'

From the notes and the date they were written, I assume the picture is of the lot for sale. It seems that the first branch was near the top of Hurst (Hall) Lane, moving in 1862 across the road near the mill and then finally to the new location in 1902. I assume from the sales list that this was next to the post office, which is marked on the map below, placing some of the house numbers in different places than they are today.
​If anybody can correct me on this, or has any more information, I'd love to hear from you!

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.
​
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.
​
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. 
​
The site was designated a protected conservation area in 1993. In 1995, permission was granted for conversion of the buildings into private dwellings.

That we do know for certain, as it was taken apart and the materials used to build Culcheth Independent Methodist Chapel at Twiss Green in Culcheth.

Here is an extract from ‘A Short History of Independent Methodism’ by Arthur Mounfield, published in 1905.

‘James Wood, a tenant of an old farm near Kenyon Hall, allowed his kitchen to be used for worship by a group of his peers. His co-workers included Timothy Leather, John Fearnhead, Richard Hunt, John Goulden and John Massey, among others. Public worship was continued in the kitchen until 1845, when a chapel at Croft, which was disused, was taken down and removed to a site given by Richard Hunt.’

‘The Story of The Lancashire Congregational Union 1806 – 1906’
​by Nightingale has Croft listed under ‘Churches formerly aided but that have now been abandoned’
Croft, near Warrington 1830 – 1834 Amount £75 Abandoned

It was then registered as a Wesleyan Methodist place of worship in 1837.​

After the rebuilding of the chapel, the previous site was forgotten about.
Every source I have found that does mention Croft Methodist Chapel, states that the site is either missing or unknown.

Historic Culcheth: The Story of a Village by Rosemary Keery
‘It is thought that a disused church in Croft was demolished and rebuilt on the present site, but the details of this cannot be traced.’

Croft: The History of a Village by Alan Sharpe
‘Records show that an Independent Methodist Chapel was built in Croft in 1817, though the site on which it was built is unknown.’

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4, (1911) William Farrer and J Brownbill
'An Independent Methodist chapel was built at Croft in 1817 but has disappeared.'
These sources are all accurate to a point. There seems to be nothing at all in any archives or other available means.

​One source claims that the burial ground on Lady Lane (belonging to Croft Unitarian Chapel) is the burial site from the missing Methodist Chapel.
I can only assume this is just a wild guess from the author, as his dates for burials at Christ Church are also inaccurate.

Celtic Warrington and Other Mysteries: Book One by Mark Olly
‘This cemetery is part of the old original burial ground of the Independent Methodist Chapel built in 1817 which had been demolished by the 1870’s after burials began in earnest at Christ Church.’

The Methodist Chapel was on the list with full details and a reference number for the plan.

The landowners at the time were George Birch & John Byrom & Peter Philips & William Bowker as Trustees of The Methodist Chapel dated from 30th April 1837. The site of the chapel and yard were included. The quantity of land was 10 Perches (Land was split into Acres, Roods and Perches), with a charge of 1d. payable to the rector.

A document held at Lancashire Archives entitled ‘Highway Papers’ with the date 5th October 1831 contains a

Plan and notice for stopping up order for footpath between Southworth Hall, Heath Lane and Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Southworth with croft, Warrington.

​Looking at the tithe plan overlaid with the 1834 map, this makes perfect sense as the footpath is clearly shown.