Stopping Up of a Croft Footpath in 1831

Documents in Lancashire Archives

Original Document Courtesy of Lancashire Archives

We John Arthur Borron and Thomas Ellames Withington, Esquires, two of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the said County Palatine of Lancaster acting within the Division of Warrington in the Hundred of West Derby in the said County Palatine at a Special Session for the Highways holden at the Sessions Room within Warrington aforesaid on Wednesday the fifth day of October one thousand eight hundred and thirty one

having upon view found that a certain Footway situate in the Township of Southworth with Croft in the Parish of Winwick in the said County Palatine of Lancaster leading from and out of a certain public highway called Heath Lane leading from Southworth Hall to a certain Chapel belonging to the Wesleyan Methodist Society, both in the Township of Southworth with Croft aforesaid, commencing at a field belonging to and in the occupation of Reginald Owen at a point marked A on the map or plan hereunto annexed and passing thence in through or over certain lands or grounds all in Southworth with Croft aforesaid belonging to the said Reginald Owen, Anne Travers, John Wilding, William Smart and Richard Leigh to the point marked B on the said map or plan, being in a field belonging to the said Richard Leigh and in the occupation of James Clough, such footway being of the length or distance of eight hundred and ninety nine yards or thereabouts is unnecessary.
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Do hereby Order that the said public Footway be stopped up and We do hereby order the Surveyor of the Highways for the said Township of Southworth with Croft where the said Footway lies to proceed forthwith to treat and make agreement with the said Reginald Owen, Anne Travers, John Wilding, William Smart and Richard Leigh respectively for the sale to them of such part of the same Footway so ordered to be stopped up as runs through or over their respective lands if they or any of them shall be willing to purchase the same; if not to some other person or persons for the value thereof and pursue such measures and directions in all respects as are warranted and prescribed by the Statute made in the thirteenth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third and also another Act made and passed in the fifty fifth year of the reign of his said late Majesty for the amendment and preservation of highways and to pay and apply the money arising thereupon pursuant to the directions of the said Acts.
Given under our hands the day and year first above written.
J. A. Borron
Tho. Ellames Withington
Enrolled October 1831

1831 October 5th
This is the Plan referred to in an Order this day made by us at a Special Sessions for the Highways held at Warrington within and for the division of Warrington in the Hundred of West Derby & County Palatine of Lancaster.
J. A. Borron
Tho. Ellames Withington

Plan of the Highway from near Southworth Hall to the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel near Croft Hall, both within the Township of Southworth with Croft in the Parish of Winwick and County Palatine of Lancaster, together with a Plan of certain Field Roads or Foot Paths leading from and to certain parts of the said Highway.

References
From A to B is a Field Road, in length 899 yards, commencing at A in Heath Lane; at B it communicates with another Field Road extending from C to D and from E to D. The red line from A to B shows the Footway proposed to be stopped up as unnecessary.

Measurements
Route
Distance (yards)
The length of the Field Road from A to C is
1353

The length of the Highway from A to C is
1239

Difference (Highroad nearer)
114

The length of the Field Road from A to E is
1684

The length of the Highway from A to E is
1630

Difference (Highroad nearer)
54

The length of the Field Road from A to D is
1971

The length of the Highway from A to D is
1148

Difference (Highroad nearer)
823

What this tells us
This document was prepared to justify closing the footpath shown A–B. The surveyor compared the distances between destinations using:

• the field road/footpath network, and
• the public highway (road).

The measurements show that travelling by the public highway was actually shorter than using the footpath network in each example:

• A–C: road is 114 yards shorter
• A–E: road is 54 yards shorter
• A–D: road is 823 yards shorter

This was likely evidence used by the magistrates to conclude that the footpath was "unnecessary", leading to the closure order recorded on the previous document.

I used ChatGPT for transcription and summary - hopefully there aren't too many errors.

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