After June’s D-Day anniversary, it came to light that there are no WWII deaths remembered on Croft Village Memorial Hall. I spent some time looking up the details of those fallen in the second world war, who had lived locally.

I found the information for three of them, which I think should be added to the memorial.
The missing WWII dead are:
 
Driver James Swindell
Of Lymm View, Risley (Formerly Risley Primitive Methodist Chapel)
Died of wounds Italy 23/10/1944 Aged 21
 
Lieutenant Richard Moores
Of 3 Lords Lane, Risley
Died Italy 31/10/1943 Aged 29
 
Lance Bombardier James (Jim) Wood
Of Lord Street, Croft
Worked at Oak Tree Farm for Lewis Birchall
Died Algeria 05/12/1942 Aged 35

Feedback has suggested that a handful of people think that the Memorial Hall was built originally as a WWI memorial and it should stay that way. However, the majority feel the names should be added.

If it is decided that the Memorial Hall should stay as a WWI memorial, then we really shouldn’t be holding WWII services there and could perhaps consider Christ Church in future.

After looking much more deeply into the names of the fallen, there are some local names missing from the WWI list.
The memorial hall plaque, which was unveiled in 2014, has the same 20 men as are listed on the Christ Church memorial. 

Christ Church on Lady Lane has two official
Commonwealth War Graves Commission graves from WWI.
​
Both soldiers are buried in the churchyard.
Both died from wounds obtained in WWI.
Both died after the war had ended.

Only one of them is on the memorial list.

Gunner Samuel Yates is not included on the memorial.
​
(The plaque in the church was unveiled whilst he was still alive, so it’s clear why he was missed off at first. I can only assume that by the time the plaque was next updated in 1945, a whole different generation was in charge, and he was sadly forgotten.)

There are three WWI gravestones at Croft Unitarian Chapel, one being an official Commonwealth War Graves Commission grave (Harold Houghton).
Harold Houghton is rightly named on the Christ Church and Memorial Hall plaques.
The other two are Lance Corporal William Whittle and Private George Daintith.
 
George Daintith’s stone was originally in the grave space of Harold Houghton’s grave and reads

IN MEMORY OF HAROLD’S COMRADE
PRIVATE GEORGE DAINTITH
LIVERPOOL REGIMENT
KILLED IN FRANCE
JUNE 25TH 1916
​
I can’t imagine how Harold would feel knowing that he was named on the village memorial whilst George wasn’t.
William Whittle is named on his parent’s grave, with the quote
​‘DUTY NOBLY DONE’.

The Risley War Memorial

This memorial was re-erected after the demolition of Risley Presbyterian Church in 1971. The triangular stone had previously topped the clock of Risley Presbyterian School (Closed as a school in 1932)
John Winterburn writes:
‘…the school was closed and became merely a polling station. Now (1974) there is nothing but the site, and a wooden hut on it at election times. Two relics only remain. Croft Parish Council have kept the War Memorial Tablet and old clock which were part of the school fabric. Someday, they hope to erect them again in another place.’
Taken from A History of Education in Culcheth.

Named on the memorial from WWI are:
Harold Houghton
George Daintith
William Whittle
Norman Gibbins

Again, only one of these names is on the Plaque at the Village Hall and in Christ Church.

So altogether, there are four names missing from the Memorial Hall Plaque which I believe should be on there.
 
Gunner Samuel Yates
Private George Daintith
Lance Corporal William Whittle
Gunner Norman Gibbins
 
The Church may have had (and may still have) other reasons for not including these names, but as the Memorial Hall is for the use of all residents and is in the centre of the village, I think the Croft community should add the missing names from WWI to the Village Hall memorial.

Alan Sharpe’s book states that the names on the church plaque were taken from the Croft 1901 census. This can’t be true for several reasons:

- The records were sealed until 2001
- If they had special access to a census, the 1911 census would be much more accurate than 1901
- Harold Houghton lives in Leigh, not Croft on the 1901 census, yet still made it onto the list
- Even on the 1911 census, both Harold Houghton and George Daintith lived at the Old Noggin Inn in Risley, yet Harold was on the list of Croft war dead, without George. 
​

Why Should We Add Missing Names?

Adding missing names ensures that the memorial accurately reflects all those who sacrificed their lives. It honours every individual's contribution and maintains the integrity of the historical record.

Every person who served and died deserves recognition. Updating memorials to include missing names shows respect for those individuals and acknowledges their sacrifice.

For the families and communities of those whose names were initially omitted, adding their loved ones' names can provide a sense of closure and recognition. It validates their loss and ensures their relatives are remembered alongside their peers.

A complete memorial serves as a more comprehensive educational tool, providing a fuller picture of the war's impact on the community. It helps future generations understand the breadth of sacrifice made during the wars.

Omissions may have occurred due to oversight, lack of records, or other reasons. Correcting these omissions is a matter of historical justice, ensuring that every individual's contribution is duly noted and remembered.

Updating memorials to reflect all who served and died maintains the memorial’s role as a true representation of the community's history and collective memory. It reinforces the values of inclusivity and thoroughness.


​I will be approaching the committee for the Memorial Hall with this information and would also welcome any feedback from residents.

Update 07/11/24
​Decisions have now been made. Read the details here.

Sports competitions and children’s fun days were held often in Croft, especially over the summer during the early 19th century.
The sports days were usually for serious contenders, with separate days for children and adults. They were advertised in newspapers around Lancashire, with the results being published afterwards.
As times changed, a band was added to the sports day for some extra enjoyment.

Leigh Chronicle & Weekly District Advertiser
17th August 1878

CROFT ATHLETIC SPORTS
THIS DAY (SATURDAY)
AUGUST 17TH 1878.
OVER 150 ENTRIES.
GOLBORNE BRASS BAND in attendance for Dancing.
JOHN DAINTETH, Hon. Sec.
 
The children’s fun day and the sports day were kept separate and had different committees.
 
Leigh Chronicle & Weekly District Advertiser
9th September 1892

CROFT CHILDREN’S TREAT

This popular treat, which is looked forward to with evident interest by the children and young people of the parish, took place on Saturday afternoon under very unfavourable circumstances with regard to the weather. The committee this year consisted of Messrs H Hankinson, J Hatton, W Sanderson, R Sanderson, and H Shaw, Mr S Stretch being the hon. treasurer and Mr. S Taylor the hon. secretary, whose arrangements gave every satisfaction.

The children assembled at the Board School at one o’clock, and at two a procession was formed, and, headed by a banner and the Leigh Volunteer Band, they paraded the village. At four o’clock they sat down to an excellent tea, in the schoolroom, which was thoroughly enjoyed, and afterwards nuts and sweets were distributed to them. The weather being so unpropitious it was deemed advisable to postpone the usual sports until next Saturday afternoon. There was a large attendance at the treat, and the usual complement of merry-go-rounds, swing-boats, nuts, sweets, and toy stalls, etc, which were fairly patronised.
 
CROFT SPORTS AND GALA

The annual athletic sports were held in a field near the Horse Shoe Inn, Croft, on Saturday Afternoon. The weather was very unfavourable for the occasion, heavy showers prevailing at intervals throughout the day, which made the ground very wet and slippery, and also, no doubt, reduced the attendance, which was, however, a pretty good one. There was a good number of entries for the various events, namely 73. The contests were very keen and some good running took place considering the wet state of the ground. 

100 Yards Flat Race (Scholars)
1st Prize – Suit of clothes by Messrs Dolan’s, Warrington – Won by J Eaves, Earlestown
2nd Prize, Biscuit barrel – Won by J Shaw, Croft
3rd Prize, Keyless watch – Won by E Taylor, Croft
 
120 Yards Flat Race (Men)
1st Prize – Chiming clock by Messrs Ind, Coope and Co., Burton-on-Trent – Won by S Houghton, Warrington
2nd Prize, Electro plated jelly dish – Won by J Ashcroft, Golborne
3rd Prize, Butter dish – Won by J Straw, Warrington
 
Half Mile Bicycle Race
1st Prize – Gladstone bag – Won by H Devenport, Stockton Heath
2nd Prize - Timepiece by Messrs Cook and Co., Leigh – Won by G Ball, Leigh
3rd Prize - Gold medallion by Mr J S Darwell, Leigh – Won by J Davis Lowton
 
 
Mile Bicycle Race
1st Prize – Set of carvers – Won by G Dandy, Rixton
2nd Prize - Alarm timepiece – Won by G Ball, Leigh
3rd Prize - Electro plated teapot – Won by M Quinton, Bamfurlong
 
220 Yards Flat Race
1st Prize – Pair of trousers by Messrs Dolan’s, Warrington – Won by J Adams, Earlestown
2nd Prize - Electro plated butter dish – Won by J Ridyard, Golborne
3rd Prize - Table brush and tray– Won by T Chadwick, Daubhill
 
One Mile Flat Race
1st Prize – Six bottle cruet – Won by A Holland, Lowton
2nd Prize - Barometer – Won by A Hill, Warrington
3rd Prize - Pair of pictures by Mr Gregory, Leigh – Won by M Jennings, Croft
4th Prize – Woollen sweater – Won by H Wilson, Earlestown

After the 1911 coronation celebrations, the annual events took a break and then in 1914, war broke out.
There are some events that took place during the war years, but understandably they were kept low key and focused on the children.

Huge festivities took place in 1919 to celebrate peace and people must have tried to carry on and come to terms with the horrors they had faced.

1925 - 2025 100 YEARS!

In 1925, it was decided to hold a mixed field fete with a procession including floats, bands, morris dancers, and coaches. Bad weather delayed the start, but it did go ahead. It was so popular that it was decided to be held again the next year.
The athletics were again incorporated into the day and gradually the whole event was known as the Croft Carnival.
The second world war meant another break from celebrations, though it was held consistently after that up until the 1960’s. A Carnival Committee was set up in order for the event to take place in 1972 and it ran continually until the Covid lockdown of 2020 stopped things again.
​
2025 will be 100 years since the first “Croft Carnival” including parade, picnics and all the fun and games. The committee are working hard to ensure it is one of the best yet! If you can help or contribute to the 100 year celebrations, please get in touch with [email protected].

Sometimes, a fresh pair of eyes is all you need. I recently printed out and read an article relating to Croft Unitarian Chapel on it’s opening day, which I have had for over a year.
I was astonished to see the following sentence:

'After the service, the congregation dined at the Gibraltar Inn, Croft.'

The newspaper is the Manchester Times and it is dated Saturday 5th October 1839. At first, I thought this must be a mistake by the journalist and so I looked into it further. I found another mention of the Gibraltar Inn in the Manchester Courier dated Saturday 19th September 1846. This was in the marriages section.

'On the 13th inst., at Croft cum Southworth, by the Rev. T.P. Kirkman, Rector,
Mr. William Vernon, of Liverpool, Coal Agent, to Elizabeth, second daughter of Mr. James Owen, of the Gibraltar Inn, Croft.'

The correct name of the rector at Christ Church confirms the location, but more importantly, the mention of the Owen family shows that it must be what is now the General Elliot. (See The Story of Enoch William Sankey)
I double checked the church records and indeed, James Owen, father of the bride, is listed as ‘Farmer and Publican’.

Whilst searching for any other mention of the Gibraltar Inn, I came across the Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons 1876. This had an extremely interesting and detailed list of the local Friendly Societies registered. (I will write a separate post in the near future with more information on these societies.)

Listed was the Croft Junior Female Friendly Society, with it’s registered office as ‘Admiral Rodney Inn, Croft, Warrington’ established 1854. There was no further information on this and newspapers have no mention of it so far. Was this another name for the General Elliot?

Lastly, those of you who have read the book by Alan Sharpe on the history of Croft, will know that he mentions the 1824 record of a pub on Lord Street called the General Wolfe Inn, with the only other pub at the time being the Joiners Arms. This was also under the name of James Owen.
​
So, I think it’s safe to say that in 1824, the General Elliot was the General Wolfe Inn. From at least 1839 to 1846 it was known as the Gibraltar Inn, and it’s very possible at another time it was the Admiral Rodney Inn.
In 1851 the England Census return shows the name as the General Elliot with William Norbury as Licensee.
We know the pub has had many refurbishments and different owners, but it seems the old names were forgotten, until now.

​This week whilst undertaking some completely unrelated history research, I came across some documents that mentioned the manuscripts found in 1851. I can only say that these were written after the 1930’s as no other dates are given.

Here is a transcript of the documents:

The series of papers relating to the local government of the rural areas of Houghton, Middleton and Arbury were housed for some years in an outhouse attached to the Plough Inn at Houghton Green.

Formerly they had been kept in a nearby cottage which was pulled down, and the site used for the present bowling green. In this cottage were also found, many years before, bricked up in one of its walls, a quantity of documents relating to the civil wars of Cromwellian times. These are now in the archives of the Warrington Municipal Library.

The papers were contained in an oak chest about three feet long by twelve inches high and ten inches wide and standing on four legs. The attention of the owners of the Plough Inn, Messrs Greenall, Whitley & Co. was directed to their presence, and the papers were given for safekeeping to the Warrington Museum committee on the 7th April 1930. The chest remains in possession of Harry Higham the landlord of the Plough Inn.

Only one book was found in the chest namely “Willian Turner’s and Thomas Atherton’s (Constables) weekly accounts for 1819 and 1820. The book is bound in parchment and was fastened with two brass clasps, now broken.
The loose papers may be classified into the following categories-

1. Constables Papers (earliest 1705, latest 1799)
2. Papers relating to the High Constable
3. Overseers of the poor papers
4. List of persons receiving poor cloth
5. Workhouse receipts
6. Settlement Papers
7. Doctors’ bills
8. Undertakers’ bills
9. Bastardy papers
10. Prices of clothing and commodities
11. Supervisors of Highways papers
12. Building and Highway materials account
13. Wages
14. Indentures
15. Female Society forms
16. Household Inventories
17. Assessments
18. Legal Papers. Murder Indictment.
19. Window and land tax receipts
20. Robert Bates will
21. Miscellaneous receipts
22. Notices and forms
23. Miscellaneous papers
24. Plough Inn Licences

There are then some transcriptions of a selection of the accounts and the following image with the description-

Statement formerly in the Houghton, Middleton and Arbury Parish Chest, now framed and hanging in the Plough Inn at Houghton Green

Looking at the old maps of Houghton Green, there is one clear building which must have been the cottage pulled down to make way for the bowling green. The outbuilding is also shown.

So, we know where the cottage was and where the documents were, but are they still there?
​To be continued...

Gravestones can provide a wealth of information to those who know how to interpret them. Here are some of the key pieces of information that can typically be learnt from gravestones:
 
Name and Dates – Obvious? Not always
Gravestones usually bear the name of the deceased, along with their birth and death dates. This basic information can be crucial for genealogical research and tracing family histories. Older stones can be small and simple markers with just the occupiers’ initials. Weather damage over as little as a decade can leave a stone completely unreadable.
 
Family Relationships
Some gravestones may also indicate familial relationships, such as "beloved husband/wife of..." or "father/mother of...". These can provide insights into family structures.
 
Epitaphs
Many gravestones feature epitaphs, short phrases or sentences that summarize the person's life, personality, or beliefs. Epitaphs can offer glimpses into the values and sentiments of the deceased and their loved ones.
An example on the above image is ‘In the Midst of Life we are in Death’.
Below is another one from a stone at St. Oswald's in Winwick.

Religious Affiliation
Symbols, inscriptions, or imagery on gravestones can indicate the religious beliefs of the deceased or their family. For example, Christian gravestones might feature crosses, while Jewish gravestones may have Hebrew inscriptions.
 
Military Service
Gravestones of military personnel often include information about their service, such as rank, branch of service, and any notable achievements or honours received during their service.
 
Cultural and Ethnic Identity
Gravestones may incorporate symbols or motifs that reflect the cultural or ethnic identity of the deceased or their community.
 
Social Status
The size, style, and material of a gravestone can sometimes provide clues about the social status or wealth of the deceased. Elaborate monuments and mausoleums are typically associated with wealthier individuals or families.
 
Historical Context
Gravestones can offer insights into historical events, trends, and cultural norms of the time period in which they were erected. Changes in gravestone styles and inscriptions over time can reflect shifts in society's attitudes towards death and commemoration.
 
Overall, gravestones serve as markers of individual lives as well as offering glimpses into the past and providing valuable information for those interested in understanding the lives and legacies of those who have passed away.

Gravestone symbols are rich in meaning, often representing religious beliefs, cultural traditions, or personal attributes of the deceased. Here are explanations of some common gravestone symbols:

Cross
Although the cross is one of the most widely recognized symbols in Christianity, it was rarely used before the Victorian period except on Roman Catholic graves.
It signifies faith in Christ and hope for eternal life.
 
Star of David
A six-pointed star, the Star of David is a symbol of Judaism and is often seen on Jewish gravestones. It represents the Jewish faith and identity.
 
Angel
Angels are often depicted on gravestones as guardians or messengers of God, symbolizing protection, guidance, and the belief in an afterlife. They can range from a chubby-cheeked cherub to a full standing figure.
 
Dove
The dove is a symbol of peace, purity, and innocence. With a twig in it’s mouth it could mean hope or promise.

Skull and Crossbones
This symbol, often wrongly associated with piracy, can also be found on many older gravestones. The skull and two thigh bones are believed to be the parts of the body required for resurrection.
 
Serpent
The encircled serpent biting its tail is a symbol of eternity.

Lamb
A lamb is a common symbol on gravestones, particularly those marking the graves of children. It symbolizes innocence and purity. The Latin AGNUS DEI is sometimes shown, meaning ‘Lamb of God’.

Broken Column
A broken column on a gravestone often represents a life cut short, typically that of a young person or someone who died prematurely. It symbolizes the unfinished nature of their life and the sorrow of those left behind.
 
Anchor
The anchor is a symbol of hope, steadfastness, and eternal life in Christianity. On gravestones, it can represent the deceased's hope for salvation and their belief in Christ as their anchor.
 
Tree
Trees symbolize life, growth, and the cycle of renewal. On gravestones, they can represent the idea of the deceased's spirit living on or the family tree, signifying connections between generations.
​
Wheat
Along with other symbols such as oak leaves, wheat shows a long life, one that was harvested by the reaper when it was time.

Clasped Hands
Represents friendship or love, or a sign of being reunited with a loved one in heaven.

Tools
Tools of a person’s trade are common on memorials. A pickaxe is one example for a tradesman, or a chalice may mean the grave of a priest.

Hourglass
An hourglass is a symbol of the passage of time and mortality. It reminds viewers of the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death.

Books
A book or books, open or closed can refer to the Bible or to knowledge of the deceased.

XP
The first two letters of the Greek word for Christ
 
IHS
IESUS HOMINEM SALVATOR/Jesus, Saviour of Mankind
 
INRI
IESUS NAZARENUS REX IUDAEORUM/Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews
 
2B/2 Breadths
A single grave or plot for two people

Ledgers are those stones lying flat, whilst vertical slabs are referred to as gravestones.
The earliest ones to be found today are usually from the 17th Century onwards.
​
Some are just small marker stones with initials and a year, others are larger but they are often poorly laid out with words spread over two lines and sometimes have extra letters squeezed on afterwards.

Through the 18th Century, stones did tend to increase in size, though they were still for the more affluent members of the community. Most were still just a simple rectangle slab.
​
In the early 19th Century, things started to become more elaborate, with bigger stones and different shapes and fonts. Monuments were built in the style of crosses, columns and Angels.
Throughout the Victorian era, the most popular shape seems to be the Lancet.

Though the bodies were buried underground in the usual way, those who could afford it had a large chest or slab propped up above the body.

​Cast Iron railings sometimes surrounded these as protection from body-snatchers. In most cases, the Iron was removed during the Second World War for scrap metal.

The following narrative of local history has been prompted by the recent
discovery at Houghton-Green, near Warrington, of a number of original
manuscripts, so closely connected with the military transactions in this
part of our county, during the Civil War between Charles the First and his
parliament, as to come peculiarly under the province of this Society for
notice.
​They consist almost entirely of warrants or precepts for the supply
of forage, provisions, and money to the troops of the party in power, alternately Royalist and Parliamentarian. A few only of the documents are in a complete state of preservation; the remainder have suffered much from the attacks of mice or insects, but about thirty can without difficulty be deciphered.

The whole were discovered in the month of May last, in the roof of an
ancient farmhouse at Houghton-Green, a hamlet about two miles distant
from Warrington. In one of the rooms on the chamber floor of the house
in question, was a walled-up cavity, apparently intended for concealment,
and in the thatch immediately covering this the manuscripts were found,
tied together with a piece of cord.

The house appears to have formerly been the residence of Thomas Sargeant, who in 1640 was constable of Houghton, and at a subsequent period served the same office for Southworth with Croft adjacent.

​In all probability, the varying occupation of the
district by Parliamentarians and Royalists, led to his wary concealment in
the thatch of his house, of these evidences of his implication with the
Royalist cause.

The above is a representation of the house at Houghton Green. The dot
shows the situation of the cavity in which the documents were found.

APPENDIX.
AN ABSTRACT OF THE CIVIL WAR DOCUMENTS FOUND AT HOUGHTON
GREEN, NEAR WARRINGTON, IN MAY 1851.

I .- A Petition from the Inhabitants of Southworth & Croft, Midleton,
Houghton and Arbury to Captain Coney (of Ditton, Lancashire)
complaining that Captain Holcroft of Holcroft had fuvoured the township
of Culcheth by imposing upon Southworth &c. an unfair proportion of
men for the train-band.

II .- A similar Petition to Mr. William Alcock (of Prescot, Lancashire).

III .-- A Report upon the above Petition by Mr. Alcock to Edward Norris, esquire,
Captain of the trainband for the hundred of West Derby, disclaiming his
connection with the above unfair imposition. Dated at Prescott Jan 6 1642.
IV .- A Precept signed " Richard Astley" to the constables of Southworth &
Croft, Middleton & Arbury, in pursuance of a precept from Henry Ogle
esquire, (of Whiston, Lancashire,) directing an assessment to raise
£21. 15. 0. imposed upon those townships. Dated 14 Jan 1642.

V .- A Precept from Sir Gilbert Hoghton to the constables of Houghton cu
Middleton, commanding them to summon all the able men of the town-
ship, between the ages of 16 and 60, to appear with their best arms on
the 13th of February following at Wigan. Dated at Wigan 10 Feb 1642.

VI .- A Precept signed " Richard Asby" under the authority of a warrant from
James, earl of Derby, addressed to the petty constables in the several
townships of the parish of Winwick, requiring them, in consequence of
the non-payment of the various assessments imposed upon the county,
to give warning to four sufficient men in each township to appear before
the earl of Derby on the 27th of February following, at the house of
Hugh Lathom in Ormskirk. Dated 25 Feb 1642.

VII .- A Precept signed " Richard Astley," under the authority of a warrant
from the earl of Derby, to the petty constables of the several townships
of Culcheth, Southworth cu Croft, Middleton & Arbury, ordering an
assessment to raise £65. 5. 0, to be paid upon the 14th of March following
at the house of Hugh Lathom in Ormskirk. Dated 9 Mar 1642.

VIII .- A Precept signed " R. Molyneux," to the constables of Southworth &
Croft, Midleton, Houghton & Arburie, requiring them at sight thereof,
to bring into the town of Newton (Lancash:) 20 bushels oats, 104 stone
of hay, 5 threave of straw, and £2. 10. 8. in money "for my lord
mollinex." Dated at Newton 23 Apr 1643.

IX .- A private note, without date, intimating that " lord muleynex's" precept to
Culcheth demanded 30 bushels of oats, 180 stone of hay, and £4. 10. 0.
in money.

X .- A Precept from Colonel Edward Norris.

XI .- Another Precept from the same.

XII .- A Precept from Sir Thomas Stanley, and Richard (Holland?), Peter
Egerton, and John Houlcrofte, esquires.

A detailed account of X, XI AND XII will follow below.

XIII .- A Precept from Sir Thomas Stanley, and Peter Egerton and John
Houlcrofte, esquires, to the constables of Southworth, Croft, &c. ordering an
assessment on the township for £10 in pursuance of an order from the
deputy-lieutenants of Lancashire, " for paying of souldiers, and necessary
defence of the same (county) in theis dangerous & distracted tymes."
Dated at Warrington 11 July 1643.

XIV .- A Precept from Colonel John Booth, governor of Warrington, and Peter
Egerton, esquire, to the constables of Houghton & Arbury,
requiring " sixe good and able teames w'th Cartes & three horses in each
Carte, together with an able driver. And tenn sufficient and able
workmen of bodie to worke w'th spads for the doinge & p'forminge of such
service in an aboute the repayre of the workes belonginge to the s'd
garrison as shall be severally Imposed on them." Dated at Warrington
14 Sep 1643.

XV .- A Receipt from Richard Abraham, of Warrington, treasurer appointed to
receive the sums imposed upon the townships, to Thomas Sargeant,
constable, for monies received in Sep. Oct. and Dec. 1643. Dated at
" Warrington Garrison."

XVI .- A Petition from Thomas Sargeant to the governor of Warrington for relief
from further serving the office of constable for Houghton, and that his
next neighbour (apparently a female,) may be compelled according to
ancient custom, "to send her son or any other to give content to the towne
and exacut the office of a constable."
No date.

XVII .- An Account of monies paid for provision, forage, and cartage during a year
by a constable, (Thomas Sargeant.) No date.
XVIII .- A Power of Attorney from Colonel John Booth, governor of Warrington,
to enable Robert Burley, "his servant, now resident in London," to receive
£1000 from the Committee of Revenue, for the payment of soldiers in
the garrison of Warrington. Dated 24 Nov 1645.

XIX .- A Precept signed "Henry Byrom" to the constables of Winwick with
Hulme, Newton, Culcheth, Southworth cu Croft, Middleton, Houghton
& Arbury, ordering assessments, by virtue of an ordinance of parliament,
to raise the sum of £45 within the said township. Dated 8 Feb 1645.

XX .- The same to the same, for raising further sums of money Dated 14 Mar 1645.

XXI .- A Precept signed "Henry Byrom" to the constables of Winwick & Hulme,
Newton, Culcheth, Southworth, Croft, Hougton, Myddelton & Arbury,
"who have served from the beginning of the present parliament, requiring
them to bring in their accounts to be exhibited to the parliamentary
commission, at the house of Geo. Woods in West Darbie, on Friday
24th of April, 1646. Dated 14 Apr 1646.

XXII .- A Precept signed "Henry Byrom" to the constables of Southworth cu Croft,
Middleton, Houghton & Arbury, requiring them by virtue of an order
of the Committee of the County, dated Aprill 25, 1646 to present to the
Committee for Sequestrations at Preston, returns to a series of questions
respecting delinquents and their estates.
Dated 25 April 1646.

XXIII .- The same to the same, with further questions. Same date.

XXIV .- A Warrant from Thomas Holcrofte to the constable of Houghton to bring
to Warrington four persons therein named to provide a soldier under his
command, or to serve in person. Dated 29 May 1646.

XXV .- A Warrant from the same to the same, empowering him by virtue of
Colonel Booth's order, to receive from Jane Robinson of Middleton, widow,
the sum of 14d. towards the hiring of a soldier. In default of payment
to distrain her goods. Dated 29 May 1646.

XXVI .- A Certificate from Will. Brocke that John Bordman of Houghton had
deposited his musket with him at Warrington. No date.
​
XXVII-XLV. These documents are in a very dilapidated state. Fortunately they
consist chiefly of Constables' Accounts and Rates, and possess comparatively
little interest.

Document X
 
To the Constables of Southworth
Middleton Houghton Arbury & Croft
 
" Theis are in his Ma'ys name straitly to chardge and comand you and
every of you that immediately upon receipt hereof you make diligent
search w'thin yo'r Constablarie for p'vision of victualls and oates and hay
for the Armie here.
And the same forth'th to bringe or cause to be
brought unto this towne of Warrington for reliefe of the souldiers, and
storeinge the same towne in case any Seige be laid thereunto by the enemie.
And hereof faile not at yo'r p'll. Given under my hand this third day
of May. Anno Dni 1643.
 
md. to bringe in noe bread, but wheate or meale instead thereof, or pease."
 
E. NORRIS
 
Endorsed on the back thus :-

"Southworth rec'd ye 4th day of May, at 8 of ye clocke in ye afternoone."

Document XI
 
 
To the Constables of Hulme, & Winwick, & all the other Constables
w'thin the p'ishe of Winwick, and to every of them greeting.
 
Se you send me an accompt of this warrant.
 
 
"Whereas very lately I directed my warrants to severall parts neare
adjacent for the calling in of all the able men unto our ayd but finding
that the Enemy was retraited was very willing that the said men should
return to their oume houses. but nowe soe it is that this day I have received
intelligence by 3 severall messengers that the Enemy intends very speedily
to assault us. Theis are therefore in his Ma't's name straitly to Charg
and Comand you that forthwith upon receit hereof you give notice and
warning to all the able men w'thin yo'r severall Constableries that are
w'thin the age of 60 yeares and above the age of 16 yeares that they come
unto this towne of Warrington with their best armes and p'vision of meate
for 4 dayes by 9 of the clocke ......... beinge the 15th daye of this instant
May ; wherein you are not to faile as you honor his Ma'ties service and
will answer the contrarie at yo'r utmost p'ille. given under my hand the
14th daye of May 1643.”
 
E.NORRIS
 
Endorsed on the back as follows:-
 
"Seene i p'suned (sic) by the Cunstables of Winwick & hulme.
Seene & p'used by the Constable of Newton.
Seene & p'used by the Con'bles of haidoke, and speedilye sent away to
the Con'bles of Golborne.
Seene & p'used by the Constable of Goulborne the 15th day between 3 &
4 of the clocke in the afternoone and speedilye sent unto Loton.
Seene by the Constable of Lawton about 7 of ye clocke ye 15 day and
sent to Kenion with speede.
Seene & p'used by the Constable of Kenyon.
Seene & p'used by the Constables of Culchet and sent away.
Seene & p'used by the Constables of Southworth en Croft and Middleton
Houghton on Arbury & sent away with al speed."
 

 The expectation of Colonel Norris that he was shortly to be the object
of an attack by the Parliamentary forces was realised within a few days
of the date of his last precept.
 
Diary entry of Edward Burghall, a Vicar in Nantwich.
 
At this time Coll. Brereton & all his Horse were at Stafford, from
whence they returned to Namptwich, & some considerable Forces out of Cheshire marched forth to meet the Forces of Manchester at Warrington, which happened to be on Whitsunday, May 21.

On Monday morning they planted their ordinances
and beset the Town round about, played upon it all that week, it being
strongly fortified, & the Souldiers behaving themselves very bravely. But
Bread & other Necessaries being scarce, upon Saturday they came to a
Parley, when it was agreed upon That the Town should be rendered up,
& that some Capts. & Comanders should depart with every man his Horse
and Pistols, and all the Souldiers to pack away unarmed, and leave all their
arms, amunition and Provision behind them, which was done accordingly.
 
And upon Trinity Sunday, Sir George Booth, being lord of the Town,
entred it, where he was joyfully entertained by the Inhabitants. There
were slain on the Parliament side only 4, & 2 of the Town, wherein the
mercy of God appeared.
 
From a contemporary source we learn that the Siege of Warrington was
upon this occasion allotted to Colonel Assheton, of Middleton, one of the
most active and successful soldiers of the Parliament. His regiment leaving
Manchester on Saturday the 20th of May, 1643, appears to have been
joined on its route by the Cheshire forces under Sir George Booth of
Dunham-Massey, and to have reached Warrington on the day following.
On Monday the assault began, lasting until Saturday, May 27th, when the
capitulation took place, followed by the formal entry of Sir George Booth
on Sunday, May the 28th.
 
During the siege one or two marvellous incidents are recorded in
"Lancashire's Valley of Achor" with the characteristic extravagance of a Puritan historian.
 
“All this while the cry of oppressed Warrington importuned heaven,
and compassion wrought in us, and having this far-fetched terrifying assistance, we entered upon a new and prosperous Voyage the twentieth day of
May: The three and twentieth of May was designed for Fasting and
Prayer in Manchester, to meet with the beginning of the enterprize against
Warrington.
 
Whilst the duty was in performing, tidings came of the taking of Winwick
Church and Steeple, they on the steeple standing on terms, till God sent a
deadly messenger out of a fowling-Piece to one of them; also a strong Hall*
possessed by professed Romane Catholikes, and stored with Provisions, as
if it had been purposely laid in, both for our supply and ease.
 
In this Warrington Siege so good a friend was God to our faith, that the
greatest Peece was made unusefull the second time it was in use, and with-
out the terrour of those Idols, the living God gave us the Church and
Steeple the 26 of May, and that strong Hold upon termes, May 28.
 
A Providence much to be observed in this Siege was this: One night our
men were to work within half musket shot of the Town: It was a great
calme, that they could not work, but the enemy would hear: when some
went to worke others went to prayers; and God raised a great winde, that
took away the noise: a Providence not altogether unlike what I have heard
in Boston: The Chancellor gave organs to Boston; before they breath in
that new world, the well-affected pray: after their prayers, a mighty winde
forceth its passage into the Church, blows down the organs, brake them and
stopt their breath!
 
That which ripened the enemies ruine, was their hard usage of prisoners,
and well-affected in the Town, their extreme cruelty in the country, killing
a godly man and his wife in their own house, and their professed confidence
and pride in their strong Hold, appearing by their hanging out a Flag of
Defiance upon the highest chimney.
 
.... Some recompence God made to tyred Warrington in
the shortnesse of the Siege, and security from spoyle, which we charitably
made an article of our Peace.”
 
* Probably Southworth Hall, one mile east of Winwick Church.
 
The episode at Winwick Church affords me an opportunity of introducing
another of the documents found at Houghton-Green. It is a precept
issued apparently by a Committee of Lancashire deputy-lieutenants, sitting
at Winwick, or at Bewsey Hall, near Warrington.

Document XII
 
"These are to will and require & immediately to charge and command
you that immediately upon the receipt hereof you summon &
require all men and others of ability w'thin your townes to come & appear
before us at Winwick upon Fryday next being the 26th. of aye ..
clock in the afforenoone to lend & contribute money .....
if they will avoid .......of their estuts and securinge of their persons
.. able men furnished with spads & mattocks & 3 days
provisions ...... for such service for the ......... as shall be appointed them.
And further that you gather in y'r ..... vittuals for p'vision of our
Armie & bringe it & the ....... in to morrowe morninge to Beusy hall
as you will answer the contrary at your ottermost p'ill.
Given under our hands this 24th of May 1643.”
 
T. STANLEY
RICHARD (Holland ?)
PETER EGERTON
JOHN HOULCROFTE
Constables of Southworth cu Croft.
 
The battery of the Parliamentarians in the Siege of Warrington was
beyond doubt placed on the Moot-Hill near the parish church, which
tradition asserts was raised higher than its former level for this express purpose.
A recent excavation of the hill has strongly confirmed this idea. Amongst
other curiosities of an earlier period which have thus been brought to light,
are a few which may be referred to the time of the Civil War, and the
Siege in 1643. Of these the most remarkable are portions of horses'
trappings, the hilt of a sword, and an ancient military spur. Traces of
cannon-shot are still visible on the eastern end of the chancel of the church,
and to the same cause may be attributed the shattered condition of the
tracery of the east window, rendering its removal a few years since necessary.
The stained glass, rich and very ancient, both here and in the Boteler
Chapel, was at the same time wholly destroyed, as we find a minute of a
Vestry Meeting in the year 1647, in which the glass of the windows is
ordered to be replaced, and other repairs of the church to be undertaken,
since it was then "far decayed in respect of the long disasters."
 
In conclusion I may remark that the surrender of the town of Warrington
by Colonel Norris was expedited by intelligence of the surprise, defeat, and
capture of Lord Goring at Wakefield by General Fairfax on the 21st of
May. It was followed by a summons to all the Earl of Derby's Lancashire
forces to join the Queen at York, and the vanquished garrison of Warrington
doubtless joined the retreating body.

Today my friend and fellow historian Brian Tuohey were lucky enough to have a guided tour around the partly demolished Noggin Inn site. The team at Carrick Construction were very welcoming and made sure we were fully kitted out in safety gear before we began.
It really was the last chance ever to see this piece of history disappear, as it will be fully demolished in the next week or so.
I have put together a rough timeline of the Noggin to share. The building may be gone but the history will remain with us.
Thank you very much to Brian for the photographs and for letting me join you!

If you have read the story of The Noggin Inn and The New Noggin Inn, you will know that as well as the Noggin Inn, there was a pub across the road called The New Noggin Inn. This closed in 1911 and has long since been demolished.

This is the earliest mention of the Noggin, with the owner/landlord named as Thomas Mather. The article is advertising a land auction locally. Another newspaper in 1805 still shows him as the landlord.

Another newspaper advertisement names Josiah as the landlord in 1928 and the 1841 census return has Ellen listed as an Innkeeper.

The 1851, 1861 and 1871 census returns show John Sankey as the Innkeeper.
​A newspaper announcement transfers the licence to Mary in 1877 on John's death.

Thomas Unsworth had the licence for a brief period from1877 before it was transferred to Robert Jackson in 1878. He is listed as a Publican in the 1881 census.

Thomas Blackburn gained the licence in 1882. In 1887, the licence was renewed with a strict caution after it was found that betting had been allowed to take place on the premises.

Charles Monk took over in 1888 and is listed as the Publican on the 1891 census. Isaac Warburton is listed as the same on the 1901 census.

Both Warburton and Taylor had Full licences for one year.

Thomas Houghton had the full licence from 1907 and is still there in the 1911 Census.
Rifleman Harold Houghton was the son of Thomas and was tragically killed in March 1915.
The licence was then transferred to Herbert Collier. Herbert is still there for the 1921 census.

The 1939 register taken at the start of World War Two shows Ann Thomason as the Innkeeper at the Noggin.

Manchester Evening Chronicle - Friday 6th October 1950
​
ATOM VILLAGE READY FOR THE BEER RUSH
For William Higham, trade is going to boom again for the tiny village that has rocketed into the headlines.
Thirty thousand munitions workers made shells here during the war. Now the factory that sprawls over 12 square miles of flat, hedge-divided countryside is going to be the nerve centre of Britain’s atomic development.
And William Higham looks like being Risley’s busiest villager.

Walter Farrington, also a local councillor, took the licence in 1958 and would hold it for over 20 years.
He seems to have had lots of music acts playing and was extremely popular.

The ‘Stack Waddy’ rock group were booked to play at the Noggin on 1st October 1970. They had a car crash during the day but escaped with just cuts and bruises. The lead guitarist, 25-year-old Mick Stott told the Manchester Evening News ‘We will be able to keep the booking if we can find transport in time.”
Resident Tony Benson was there that night and confirms that the band did play, using a stand-in for the injured band member.

In 1972 the Liverpool Daily Post reported that the village of Risley was in uproar after the loud music coming from a concert at the pub during the weekend.

The below advertisement is from the Runcorn Guardian on
​23rd December 1983.

The Greater Manchester Beer Drinker’s Monthly Magazine – The Noggin, Warrington road, Risley has re-opened as a “Hudson’s Eating House”.
​Greenalls cask mild and bitter remain.

​In June 1993, the Manchester Evening News reported that 1500 jobs were to go at British Nuclear Fuels in Risley, leaving manager Steve Leonard concerned about trade.

Of course, this is a fraction of the activity at the Noggin over the years. Many of you no doubt have lots of wonderful memories from your own experiences.

​It was also headquarters of The Grand United Order of Oddfellows through the 19th and early 20th Century. (119 members counted in the year 1888).

And who could forget the iconic letter box outside?
​It was already in use before 1896 and from then was serviced by the ‘Rural Cyclist Postman’ who would drop the post at Croft Post Office in the morning before delivering via The Noggin and Glaziers Lane. He would then empty The Noggin box at 6:30pm followed by the wall box at St. Lewis church at 6:45pm. He would then collect the post bag from Croft Post Office again at 6:50pm.

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.

CULCHETH
 Culcheth is now a large characterless village, a scattering of cottages and farms developed into a sprawling suburban dormitory since 1946, initially to house the scientists of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Birchwood.
Dismal 1950s-70s shopping parades define the centre (with a little plain SUNDAY SCHOOL, dated 1821). More interesting are the flat-roofed semis at Fowley Common, built during the Second World War as accommodation for HMS Ariel, now Risley Remand Centre. The streets here have deferentially patriotic names - Churchill, Eden, Bevin, Attlee, Beaverbrook.
 
HOLY TRINITY NEWCHURCH (Image above), Church Lane. 1904-5, by
Travers & Ramsden, replacing a C17 chapel destroyed by fire.
Incredibly retardataire. This brand of Neo-Norman might be
1850. W tower, aisles, quarry-faced stone. Dull interior, with
parish room in w bay, behind a clashing wooden screen (1991).
- REREDOS with the Adoration of the Magi on painted glass
panels by Kayll & Co., Leeds.
- FONT. Marble, quatrefoil plan, on four stubby piers with merging capitals.
Presumably 1905 too.
- TWO CHANDELIERS in the chancel. Brass, C18, four tiers;
from Culcheth Hall (demolished c. 1958).
- STAINED GLASS.
More quantity than quality. Much by A. Seward & Co. of Lan-
caster, including an impressive Crucifixion in the five-light
E window, a memorial to Charles Crofton Black, 1913.
- BRASSES. In the parish room a brass inscription to Elizabeth
Egerton, 1646, signed John Sale sculpsit - an oddity of the first
order; also one to William Ratclyff, 1561, and family; a third
brass is of three girls, hands clasped in prayer, the dead daughters
mentioned on the Ratclyff brass. These two brasses are
fragments of a larger memorial.

SALFORD UNION COTTAGE HOMES (former), Stonyhurst Crescent.
Built in 1901 with an oval plan and varied treatment
of the front elevations, though the rears of every cottage are
identical. Now housing.
 
KENYON HALL, Broseley Lane, on the NW edge of Culcheth, is
a classical mansion now serving as a golf clubhouse. It appears
to be early C19 with alterations. Rendered, the ground floor
with channelled rustication. The orientation is 90 degrees out
from what one might expect: the N side has the entrance loggia;
the E front is seven bays, the middle three projecting in a
shallow segmental bay, with a grossly insensitive single-storey
extension; and the s front is seven bays, the r. three slightly
projecting with a later segmental ground-floor bay, and with
a later blank w extension containing the billiard room
(there were large conservatories attached here in 1886).
Giant pilasters at most angles, hideously pink. The w side is definitely
the back, with C20 extension and alterations.
Some good INTERIORS. Much of the plan is taken up by
the top-lit central hall, which contains a very grand staircase
rising around the sides via quarter-pace landings to a first-floor
landing supported by two Ionic columns. The ceiling is sup-
ported by two more Ionic columns above these, now with a
partition between. Lantern, once square, replaced by lenses set
in a concrete disc. Off this on the ground floor are four rooms,
knocked into two, with high-quality ceilings (in 1886 they were,
clockwise, the library, drawing room, music room and dining
room). The dining room in the centre of the s façade has a
superb cornice, with a frieze of pomegranates and pears,
unusual ceiling rose, and square engaged Corinthian columns
that once flanked the buffet. All this decoration (and the stair
balustrade) seems mid-C19. The billiard-room lantern is now
hidden behind suspended ceiling tiles.
The LODGE is single-storeyed, stuccoed with pedimented
gables and a Doric entrance porch in the re-entrant angle.
Across Broseley Lane is a really quite big VILLA of 1906, Stockbroker
Tudor with half-timbering, turrets etc. It is the best of
a number of early C20 houses built by the new money of Leigh
in the northern part of Culcheth, which is called Twiss Green.

NEWCHURCH OLD RECTORY( Image above), 1/4mile s on the A574, is a generous two-storey, three-bay, red brick house of 1812 with
pedimented Doric-columned doorcase. Steps up to it with
wrought-iron balustrade.
 
HOLCROFT HALL 1 mile w on the B5512. A rendered exterior,
the proportions and massive chimney the clues to the late
C15-early C16 date. It was enlarged in the C18, but in the late
C20 it disgracefully had its cross- and mullioned windows
replaced with uPVC frames, and gained a crude E extension.
One can only hope that the interior features described by the
DCMS - heavily moulded beams, massive roof timbers, a now
internal Gothic window, a priest hole and sealed triangular
openings - remain.
 
HOLE MILL FARM 1/5 mile further s on the B5512 is, mercifully,
a farmhouse that has so far escaped mauling. Brick, three bays,
two phases - C18 and possibly C17. Inside is a charming provincial
Chinese Chippendale staircase, presumably of the 1750s.

CROFT
 
Croft was a dispersed village, a scattering of cottages and farms.
Now it is an uninteresting dormitory to Warrington, the cottages
and farms heavily modernised and housing estates erected. The
best surviving house is SPRINGFIELD FARMHOUSE, Spring
Lane, a standard late C18 brick three-bay box with pedimented
doorcase and fanlight.
 
CHRIST CHURCH, Lady Lane. 1832-3, by Edward Blore, a little
Commissioners' church that cost £1,457. Red sandstone with
a stumpy sw steeple of wholly incorrect but quite enterprising
design. Lancet windows and short chancel. The simple, broad
interior has a little W GALLERY, and massive cross-braced roof
trusses. - Oak FURNISHINGS. - Creed, Decalogue and Lord's
Prayer, in pointed painted panels. On either side three E lancets
containing STAINED GLASS by Mayer of Munich, 1896. Very
good figures: Christ flanked by Peter and James, Elsewhere,
post-war glass by Shrigley & Hunt. The best is s fourth from
w, quintessentially 1950s.
 
ST LEWIS (R.C.), Mustard Lane, Little Town. 1826-7, replacing
a Jesuit mission in Southworth Hall, Brick. To the
E the church, to the w and back-to-back with it, within one
envelope, the priest's house, in the usual manner. The latter
has a chequered front and a doorway with engaged Doric
columns, the former arched windows to N and s and a w front
with gable pediment and pedimented porch. Inside, the E wall
has four Corinthian pilasters with a shallow apse and flanking
blank arches between them. The outer pilasters are cranked
around the re-entrants. Under the N arch is the door to the
vestry, under the s a Lady Altar. The flat ceiling has a coved
and bracketed cornice and a rose of acanthus within garlands
of husks.

SOUTHWORTH HALL, Southworth Lane, ½ mile w.
A house is first mentioned in the C13. The current building - of brick and
of five bays (the outer ones projecting under gables), with
cross-windows and a massive chimneystack - is of 1932, by
Geoffrey Owen, and a pretty faithful likeness of its C17 predecessor,
albeit reduced by one storey to two. The back elevation
was adapted for C20 living. From the old house there is a large
segmental-arched fireplace in the single-storey hall, and the
brick base of its chimney.* Also, the studded door and four-
centred stone surround in Owen's porch. The door is - and
was - central (i.e. creating a symmetrical façade). The current,
C19, staircase was formerly the back stairs. C17 brick and stone
reused in garden wall. The Southworth family's other medieval
house, Samlesbury Old Hall, survives (N Lancashire).
A Bronze Age ROUND BARROW was excavated 1/2 mile wsw of the
Hall in 1980. It displayed two phases: a small ditched sand
mound associated with two cremations was succeeded by a
larger turf mound covering a burnt timber structure and nine
cremations, three in collared urns and two in globular vessels.
The radiocarbon dates for the two phases spanned c. 400 years,
between approximately the C18 and C14 B.C. The barrow was
surrounded and overlain by a large Early Christian CEMETERY.
This comprised at least 800 graves covering an area of
over 1,200 square metres. There were at least three phases of
burial, but few bones survived in the acidic soil conditions. A
possible church, 26ft (8 metres) long and 13 ft (4 metres) wide,
was suggested by the layout of the graves.**
 
* The C19 panelling in the hall is from Norton Priory, Runcorn, Cheshire,
demolished in 1928.
 
** Information supplied by Adrian Tindall.

GLAZEBURY
 
Glazebury is quite a large village strung out along the A574 with
numerous C19, C18 and a few C17 houses and weavers' cottages,
virtually all 'modernised' in the later C20 with miserable visual
consequences. Two plain C19 Methodist chapels. There was a
cotton mill alongside the railway.
 
ALL SAINTS. 1851, by E.H. Shellard. A pretty coursed rubble
exterior with reticulated tracery. Bellcote, aisle-less. No
chancel arch. Elegant oak PEWS.
 
HURST HALL BARN, Hurst Lane. A fascinating, important and
enigmatic fragment of a medieval timber-framed hall of rare
construction. There is a reference to an estate in 1311, and from
the C14 to the C18 at least it was held by a branch of the
Holcroft family. Beyond that we know little.
Adjoining the s gable of the present Late Victorian
farmhouse is a barn with a spectacular roof, which appears to
be the substantial part of a possibly C14 hall. The s side is
largely open and the gable ends are modern brick. Between
them are four bays, not all of the same length, with three tiers
of quatrefoil wind-braces (some missing), ridge purlin and four
trusses of three different designs. From the E, with suggested
interpretation of their functional relationship to the possible
plan of the former hall, these are: a cusped kingpost and raked
struts with a tie-beam, moulded on the w side only with rolls
and hollows (possibly a spere truss, with the screens passage
to the E, hence the moulding on the w side only; however, there
is little convincing evidence for spere posts). Next, an arch-
braced collar (associated with an open hearth). Third, another
kingpost and raked strut truss, the kingpost an uncusped
replacement, this time with an arch-braced and cambered tie-
beam. Finally, a similar truss, now missing its arch bracing (the
w end of the hall, and the site of the dais). Or, in fact, was the
dais at the E end, rather than the screens? The third truss is
supported on massive posts, with broad arch braces (one lost)
to the deep wall-plate running between the gable ends which
supports the others. The posts are magnificent: T-section, 20
in. (50 cm.) wide with a splay rising from cheeks at the foot to
the tie-beam, and all this fashioned from a single, monumental
piece of timber. They stand on sandstone padstones, and
there are remnants of an interrupted sill. The sandstone plinth
is largely replaced by brick. Mortices in the wall-plate indicate
the former position of intermediary posts. No corner posts or
closed trusses survive; was the hall ever more than four bays
long?
 
LIGHT OAKS HALL, Light Oaks Road. The hall was newly
rebuilt when its owner, Henry Traves, died in 1626. Traves,
with lead mining interests in the High Peak, was easily the
wealthiest man in the extensive Leigh parish and his new house
has an extremely fine E front, even after the s bay (which contained
the parlour) was demolished c. 1947, leaving the centre
bay and N bay. Two storeys. The old centre bay has ten-light
mullioned-and-transomed windows with a king mullion, and
the N bay a similar five-light window. All have hoodmoulds.
Between is the original studded door, in a heavy chamfered
surround with a four-centred arch. This is all sandstone (some
replacement), but the building is brick, constructed in diaper
pattern above the ground floor. A rear wing projects at the N
end, where there is a massive chimneystack (there was a match-
ing wing behind the demolished s bay). The house is only now
double-pile because of a 1960s extension filling in the remain-
ing L. The front door opens directly into the dining room (as
described in a 1626 valuation) filling the centre bay, lined with
immaculate early C17 oak panelling removed from the chamber
above in the C20. The fire surround and overmantel have
lozenges and attached colonnettes etc. as one would expect for
the date, but are said to be a C20 creation. If so it is extremely
convincing. A central armorial panel is attached. Two others
flank it; a fourth, with combined arms and the date 1657, is
above a door. They are all C17 and postdate the wainscoting.
They relate to the family of Traves' nephew Sir Henry Slater,
to whom the estate fell in 1655. Sir Henry's arms are the central
panel. The doors have cocks-head hinges. There was no stair-
case in the surviving C17 building, but presumably one in the
demolished part.
 
THE RAVEN INN, Warrington Road. Said to be of 1562, but
under the C20 fake timber frame it is brick, and double-pile,
and so unlikely to be any earlier than the early C18.

KENYON
Golborne
A hamlet 1 1/4 mile N of Croft on the B5207.
 
BARROW FARMHOUSE, Kenyon Lane. Brick, of three storeys. A
newel post is dated 1763, but the two platbands and especially
a brick label mould suggest a C17 or early C18 date. Perhaps
then 1763 is the date of improvement. Do the scars in the
return suggest the second storey was raised? The s front is
rebuilt in stretcher bond. Replacement windows. The plan was
originally baffle-entry (now altered to a door in the r. return).
Inglenook with massive bressumer.

HIGH PEAK, Main Lane. A big Queen Anne-style villa dated
1891. Brick. Built by the Marsh family, who abandoned the
C18 Westleigh Old Hall, Leigh (demolished). Hugely extended
and drastically altered for a nursing home c. 1988, but behind
the large mullioned-and-transomed window the staircase with
splat balusters survives. Attached stable/coachhouse. 

GLAZEBROOK
Rixton-with-Glazebrook
 
A linear village of little attraction along the B5212. Three
CHAPELS date from the growth that followed the draining of
the mosses in the 1870s: the Free Methodist, the Salvation Bar-
racks and the Primitive Methodist. The latter, 1908, shiny red
brick and buff terracotta, the least modest.
 
STATION. Of the same Cheshire Lines Committee design as
Widnes, with gables with divers patterns to the barge-
boards. The water basin on the Liverpool platform with dock
leaf in a pointed arch is dated 1872. A pretty row of COTTAGES
as at Padgate Station, Warrington.

BIRCHWOOD
 
The greater part of this district, bounded by the M6 to the w
and the M62 to the N, was made up of the former Risley Royal
Ordnance Factory, built 1939-41 and largely abandoned in 1961.
The district plan of 1974 was organised around the UK Atomic
Energy Research Establishment facility, established on part of the
factory site after the Second World War. This became the focus
of one of the United Kingdom's first Science Parks, intended to
attract research and development operations. Around this are the
district centre and three residential areas: Locking Stumps (w),
Gorse Covert (E), and Oakwood (s).
 
BIRCHWOOD DISTRICT CENTRE, Dewhurst Road. The
lynchpin is the SHOPPING CENTRE, 1980, low and deep with
bright enamel panelling and an internal street. Library, school,
sports centre and health centre are also included. It is located
in the sw corner of Birchwood for the admirable purpose of
integrating it with a new railway station. But the planning is
all wrong, with the parts isolated from one another by the
dominating car parking and distributor road, and the whole
thing lacks a sense of place.
 
OAKWOOD LOCAL CENTRE, Admiral's Road. A church, a
school and some shops. In other countries they would be
grouped compactly around a little paved and tree-lined square.
 
RISLEY MOSS VISITORS' CENTRE, S end of Moss Gate. By the
Building Design Partnership, 1980. A timber building buried in
the woods on the edge of the Risley Moss Nature Reserve. In
plan, five octagons, some stretched. The rather bland, boarded
elevations appear to float on the concrete substructure.
 
HOUSING. KINGSALE DRIVE, Locking Stumps, begun 1974,
was one of the first phases, a private development by Whelmar,
who were also required to create the adjoining golf course as
bait for golf-loving middle managers. Architecturally far
more interesting are two subsequent and parallel developments
in OAKWOOD which have matured well. MacCormac &
Jamieson's scheme on Redshank Lane off Ordnance Avenue
and Terry Farrell's (of the Farrell & Grimshaw Partnership) lanes
s of Admiral's Lane, public housing projects both designed in
1978, make an interesting comparison. They respond to the
policy of Hugh Canning, the Development Corporation's
Chief Architect, to introduce street frontage schemes,
though neither abandons separate pedestrian routes;
MacCormac's scheme has a particularly complex network. The
architects took very different approaches to the requirement
to anticipate the needs and desires of the (then unknown)
tenants.

Richard MacCormac produced a 'perimeter development'
evolved from earlier schemes of his such as Pollards Hill, South
London. Six U-plan four-storey 'chalets' front the district distributor
road to the N to establish a substantial N boundary,
introducing verticality and a sense of enclosure in the drab
landscape. The architect patronisingly declared these suitable
for the elderly because they afforded views of pedestrians and
vehicles. In the shelter of the chalets, terraces of two-storey
monopitch houses are grouped around the access road - these
are Canning's street frontages - and parallel courts. All the
buildings have brick ground floors and timber upper stages
clad in enamel panels with vertical wooden strips, like a sort
of bizarre mock timber framing: MacCormac adopted an
unashamedly middle-class ideal of stockbroker Tudorbethan
(albeit as ordered and reassembled by a Modernist), to appeal
to the aspirations of tenants. Plans are based on half-levels. The
mock-Tudor style attracted criticism when new, but the chalets
were well built, the established landscaping has softened the
initially stark perimeter blocks, and the humanly scaled courts
combine in a satisfyingly intricate layout where the car is
definitely subordinated to the pedestrian.
 
Farrell took Canning's ideas one step further by doing away
with access roads altogether. The distributor road is fronted by
cheerful enamel-panelled three-storey flats with external steps
to the first floor, though as the neighbouring local centre was
never built up to similar heights as planned, they stand out
slightly awkwardly. Behind these, four parallel lanes are care-
fully and charmingly extended amongst trees, petering out into
woodland to the s. The lanes are lushly leafy and intimate
without separate pavements, after the Woonerf concept - and
seem to capture the intimacy and friendliness of idealised
village lanes. Farrell's intention to make them communal
spaces inhabited by all, not public space shunned by all,
appears to have been realised. The houses, in pairs and fours,
are enlivened by wooden trellises, verandas and screens. These
are applied to a 'universal core' of services, kitchen and bath-
room, to which a standard timber-framed skin could be
expanded by occupiers to meet their individual needs. Though
this adaptability lay at the heart of the architect's approach,
few seem to have taken advantage of it.
 
 BIRCHWOOD PARK. The former United Kingdom Atomic Energy
Research Establishment (from 1954, the Atomic Energy Author-
ity) site E of Faraday Street retains the grid layout of the Royal
Ordnance Factory. 1950s sawtooth-roofed laboratories, and a big
blank former reactor block. Its two six-storey slab offices on the
w side of the street are of c. 1956 by T.L. Viney and R.S. Brocklesby
and absolutely of their date. The rest of Birchwood was conceived
by the Development Corporation as a Science Park along
US lines, with pavilions set in leafy parkland, like a campus. Of
this early, optimistic phase the best building, designed by Cham-
berlin, Powell & Bon like a Modernist peripteral temple, has been
demolished. On Birchwood Park Avenue is British Nuclear
Fuels' HINTON HOUSE, 1984, by DEGW, the most inventive
building. The bulk is to a certain extent broken up by a W-plan
and tiered wings. This, along with the gablets and deep eaves of
the roofs and numerous planted roof terraces, creates a presum-
ably intentional pagoda aesthetic. Dense, award-winning land-
scaping, though the hoped-for hanging gardens do not really
hang. Elsewhere, design has descended since the 1980s into the
usual business-park collection of brick-and-tinted-glass offices
(now routinely with brises-soleil, and cladding instead of brick),
with increasing densities squeezing out landscaping. A recent
example is ERLANG HOUSE for Vodafone, by BDP. The area E
of the UKAEA site has been colonised by vast distribution ware-
houses and parades of ribbed business-unit sheds.

​Griffiths Joseph, Croft, Near Warrington, Lancashire -
Was born at Nantwich, Cheshire on December 1st, 1823, and after mastering the first four rules of arithmetic, the art of writing and reading, was sent to learn the bricklaying trade at the age of eleven years, starting with sixpence per day wages.
 
At the age of fourteen his attention was directed to the temperance
question by hearing two lectures at Nantwich, delivered by John Hockings,
the Birmingham blacksmith, and he determined to become a teetotaler.
He met with opposition and persecution, but held on his way, and
in 1844 removed to Manchester, where he had to fight against the
then prevailing habits and customs of the trade, fines and footings,
and eventually overcame all obstacles, and attained the position of
foreman.

He married a lady of like mind, and under all circumstances, they brought up their children without the use of intoxicating liquors.
 
About 1852 the family joined the Upper
Jackson Street (now Chapman Street), Manchester, Temperance
Society and Band of Hope, then newly formed, Mr. Griffiths
taking the position of choirmaster, and subsequently the son as
organist, this connection lasting for about twenty years, and helpful
to other societies and organizations.
 
In January, 1875, the family removed to Orford House, Croft, near Warrington, where they engaged in farming on teetotal principles, and triumphed over
prejudices and customs. They attached themselves to the Inde-
pendent Methodist Church, (Twiss Green) Culcheth, and took the
same positions, Mr. Griffiths as choirmaster, his son Horatio as
organist, and have laboured with success for over eighteen years.
 
Instead of being the only teetotal farmers in the district, there are
now several within four miles of Orford House. Mr. and Mrs.
Griffiths have seen fifty-one years of wedded life on teetotal
principles. Their sons, HORATIO, born November 3rd, 1852,
and JOSEPH W., born January 2nd, 1857, are life abstainers,
and their four grandchildren, whose united ages make up eighty six
years, with several others under sixteen years of age, are all life
abstainers.