Astley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is crossed by the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Wo ...

and the A580 East Lancashire Road. Continuous with

Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, southeast of Wigan ...

, it is equidistant from

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, both away. Astley Mosley Common ward had a population of 11,270 at the 2011 Census. Astley's name is

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

, indicating

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

settlement. It means either "east (of)

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staff ...

", or ''ēastlēah'' the "eastern wood or clearing". Throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Astley constituted a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

within the parish of Leigh and hundred of

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West ...

. Astley appears in written form as ''Asteleghe'' in 1210, when its

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

granted land to the religious order of

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

canons at Cockersand Abbey. Medieval and Early Modern Astley is distinguished by the dignitaries who occupied

Damhouse Damhouse or Astley Hall is a Grade II* Listed building in Astley, Greater Manchester, England. It has served as a manor house, sanatorium, and, since restoration in 2000, houses offices, a clinic, nursery and tearooms. History From medieval ti ...

, the local

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

around which a settlement expanded. The Bridgewater Canal reached Astley in 1795, and the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...

in 1830. The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

introduced the

factory system The factory system is a method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labor. Because of the high capital cost of machinery and factory buildings, factories are typically privately owned by wealthy individuals or corporations who emplo ...

when the village's

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

was built in 1833.

Coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

became an important industry. Mining subsidence and a decline in coal production led to a reduction in the industry in the mid-20th century; its cotton mill closed in 1955, and the last coal was brought to the surface in 1970. Astley has grown as part of a commuter belt, supported by its proximity to Manchester city centre and inter-city transport links. Astley Green Colliery Museum houses collections of Astley's industrial heritage.

History

Toponymy

Astley is of Old English derivation, and means "East Leigh", a reference to its position in relation to

. Leigh is derived from ''leah'', meaning a "wood", a "clearing" or a "meadow". The earliest written record of Astley was in documents dated 1210 when it appeared as the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

''Asteleghe''. Other archaic spellings include ''Asteleye'' (1292) and ''Astlegh'' (14th and 15th centuries).

Early history

The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is the remains of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

which served as the route between Roman camps at ''Coccium'' (

) and '' Mamucium'' (

). The road ran to the north of Astley, past Keeper Delph and through Tyldesley. Evidence for the presence of

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened ...

in the sparsely populated, heavily wooded and isolated region is provided by place names incorporating the Old English suffix ''leah'', such as in Leigh, Tyldesley,

Shakerley Shakerley is a suburb of Tyldesley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was anciently a hamlet in the northwest of the township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley, in the ancient parish of Leigh. The boundary between S ...

and Astley.

Manor

Astley emerged during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

as a

in the parish of Leigh. It was mentioned in documents in 1210, when Hugh of Tyldesley, Lord of the Manors of Tyldesley and Astley, granted land to Cockersand Abbey. In 1212, he was recorded as tenant of

Astley Hall Astley Hall may refer to * Astley Hall (Chorley), country house in Lancashire, England * Astley Hall (Stourport-on-Severn) Astley Hall is a country house in Astley near Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England. The hall was the home of P ...

, the

for both Astley and Tyldesley, located just inside the Tyldesley township. After his death, his son Henry inherited the manors. He was succeeded by his son, another Henry, who, when he died in 1301, divided the lands between three of his six sons. It is from this division that the manors of Astley and Tyldesley were separated. Tyldesleys lived at the Astley manor until April 1353 when Richard Radcliff bought it for 100 marks. The Radcliffs remained there until 1561 when William Radcliff died childless and the land passed to his half-sister Anne, who married Gilbert Gerard. Dam House Doorway and inscription

In 1606 Adam Mort bought the manor house and land in Astley. He was a wealthy man who built the first Astley Chapel as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

for the parish church in Leigh. The chapel was consecrated in 1631, the year that he died. He built a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

that stood for over 200 years until 1833, when it was demolished and rebuilt. Adam Mort's grandson, also Adam, rebuilt Damhouse in 1650 and his initials are carved in the plaque over the front door. The stone and timber structure was named from the stream which was dammed to supply water to a waterwheel powering a corn mill near the house. It is possible the hall was once surrounded by a moat. Adam Mort's descendants continued to support the chapel and school and remained at Damhouse until 1734 when it was bought by Thomas Sutton. After Sutton's death in 1752 the house was inherited by Thomas Froggatt of Bakewell who contributed to rebuilding the chapel in 1760. Froggatt's descendants owned Damhouse until 1800 when it was leased to tenants, one of whom was George Ormerod, owner of the Banks Estate in Tyldesley who gave land for its churchyard and church school. In 1839 the house became the property of Captain Adam Durie of Craig Lascar by marriage to Sarah Froggatt. Damhouse was dilapidated when the Duries moved in. Captain Durie gave land to build a school on Church Road. After his death in 1843 his widow, Sarah, married Colonel Malcolm Nugent Ross. The Ross's Arms

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

at Higher Green is named in his honour. The Durie's daughter Katharine, who married first, Henry Davenport and second Sir Edward Robert Weatherall, became lady of the manor after her mother's death but the family was in financial difficulties and the house and estate sold in November 1889. The Leigh Hospital Board bought Damhouse in 1893 for use as a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

dealing with cases of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by '' Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects chi ...

and, in 1947,

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

. Two bombs fell close to the hospital during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It became a general hospital in 1948 dealing with chronically ill and geriatric patients and closed in 1994.

Industrial Revolution

Astley became more industrialised during the early 19th century, but not so much as neighbouring Leigh, Tyldesley and Boothstown. A

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

was built by James and Robert Arrowsmith on Peel Lane at Astley Green, near the

in 1833. Until then, agriculture and cottage spinning and weaving had been the main economic activities. Fustians,

muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured. Muslin of uncommonly delicate hands ...

s and, after 1827,

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

were woven in the area. Handloom weaving declined after the cotton factory was built. Arrowsmith's factory lasted until 1955, when mining subsidence damaged its foundations and it was demolished, ending Astley's link with the textile industry. Astley Green Colliery - geograph

Astley on the Lancashire Coalfield and had several coal mines within its boundaries. On a map of 1768, a lane leading to Nook and Gin Pit Collieries was called the Coal Road and later North Coal Pit Lane. Gin Pit's name alludes a method of coal mining, raising coal using a

horse gin A horse mill is a mill, sometimes used in conjunction with a watermill or windmill, that uses a horse engine as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for gri ...

. An early colliery at Cross Hillock was abandoned in 1886 because of flooding. Samuel Jackson developed the mines that became

Astley and Tyldesley Collieries The Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company formed in 1900 owned coal mines on the Lancashire Coalfield south of the railway in Astley and Tyldesley, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. The company became part of Manchester Colli ...

between Astley and Tyldesley. Peat works were opened close to

Astley railway station Astley was a railway station on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway on Chat Moss to the south of Astley village in what was then the county of Lancashire, England. History Opened in the 1840s by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the s ...

by the Astley Peat Moss Litter Company Limited in 1888. On 7 May 1908 the Pilkington Colliery Company started sinking No 1 Shaft of

Astley Green Colliery Astley Green Colliery was a coal mine in Astley, Greater Manchester, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It was the last colliery to be sunk in Astley. Sinking commenced in 1908 by the Pilkington Colliery Company, a subsidiary o ...

near the Bridgewater Canal. A colliery railway moved coal from the screens to the

but some coal was transported to power stations at Trafford Park and

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. S ...

using the Bridgewater Canal. Pit head baths, a canteen and medical centre designed for the Miners' Welfare Committee by architect C. Kemp, were built in 1935–36 at a cost of over £24,000 (£ as of ). There was a

mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. ...

at Astley Green on 7 June 1939 when five men including the manager died in an explosion of firedamp. Women, " pit brow lasses", worked on the screens sorting coal from rock until 1955. The last coal was wound on 3 April 1970. The

headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, ...

at Astley Green Colliery Museum remains a landmark in the 21st century. It is made from wrought-iron lattice girders with rivetted plates at all the joints, three wheels, two large and one small, are mounted at the top. Built by Head Wrightson of

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimat ...

in 1912, it is nearly high. In the winding house is a twin tandem compound steam engine made by Yates and Thom of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

who also supplied 16 Lancashire boilers.

Governance

Historically, Astley formed part of the Hundred of

, a judicial division of southwest Lancashire. It was one of six townships or

vill Vill is a term used in English history to describe the basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing. Medieval developments The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit—a geographica ...

s that made up the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Leigh. The townships existed before the parish. Under the terms of the

Poor Law Amendment Act The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relief ...

1834, the townships formed the Leigh Poor Law Union established on 26 January 1837, comprising the whole of the ancient parish and part of Winwick. There were

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

s in Pennington, Culcheth, Tyldesley and Lowton, but Leigh Union workhouse at Atherleigh replaced them in the 1850s. In 1894 the civil parishes of Astley, Culcheth, Kenyon and Lowton became part of

Leigh Rural District Leigh Rural District was, from 1894 to 1933, a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, in northwest England. It spanned a rural area outlying from the town Leigh. It was created based on the rural sanitary district and consi ...

which lasted until it was dissolved in 1933 and Astley was incorporated into the

Tyldesley Urban District Tyldesley cum Shakerley Urban District and its successor Tyldesley Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in Lancashire, England. History The township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley historically lay in the large ecclesias ...

. The urban district was abolished in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, and Astley became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, a local government district of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. For most of its existence in Wigan borough up to revisions in 2004, Astley was part of the "Bedford-Astley" ward joining it with rural land in the

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

area south of Leigh. Since 2004 Astley and

Mosley Common Mosley Common is a suburb of Tyldesley at the far-eastern edge of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it was anciently a hamlet in the east of the township of Tyldesley cum Shaker ...

form an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. The ward elects three councillors to the 75-member metropolitan borough council. As of 2012, the Astley Mosley Common ward is represented by three Labour councillors. From 1983 to 2010, Astley, along with neighbouring

, was part of the Worsley parliamentary constituency, joining it with the western half of the

City of Salford The City of Salford () is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury, as well as the villag ...

. Despite including more Conservative areas such as Worsley and Boothstown, this was a safe Labour seat held by Terry Lewis up to 2005, followed by

Barbara Keeley Barbara Mary Keeley (born 26 March 1952) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Worsley and Eccles South, previously Worsley, since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Sha ...

, who remains MP for its successor

Worsley and Eccles South Worsley and Eccles South is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The seat is currently held by Barbara Keeley MP of the Labour Party. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the ...

. However, a review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester, the Boundary Commission recommended that Astley and Tyldesley should be part of the

constituency at the

2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom und ...

. At the 2010 General Election

Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 200 ...

retained the Leigh seat with 24,295 votes and a majority of 15,011, representing 51.3% of the vote. Burnham was re-elected MP for the Leigh constituency in 2015 with 24,312 votes which was 53.9% of the total vote cast. Jo Platt, representing Labour, was elected in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

with 26,347 votes which was 56.2% of the total votes cast. Leigh was gained by the Conservatives in the 2019 general election, and is now represented by James Grundy.

Geography

At (53.5008°, −2.4454°), and northwest of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, Astley is on the northern side of the Chat Moss bog, about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. It forms a continuous urban area with Tyldesley to the north, and, according to the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for ...

, is a part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area, the United Kingdom's third largest conurbation. Astley is west-northwest of Manchester city centre, and north of the Bridgewater Canal, which straddles the village's southern hinterland from east-to-west. Astley is crossed east-to-west by the A572 and A580 roads. The hamlet of Astley Green lines a straight road leading southwards through Chat Moss, to the former

, which is south of the village. Astley spans an area of , of which is peat bog. Astley and Bedford Mosses is one of the last surviving fragments of Chat Moss, most of which has been drained for agriculture or lost through peat removal. It occupies a site between Astley and the

. It has been a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) since 1989. Astley Moss is crossed by the Astley Brook and Moss Brook, tributaries to the Glaze Brook and the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

. The underlying geology consists of the Permo-Triassic

New Red Sandstone The New Red Sandstone, chiefly in British geology, is composed of beds of red sandstone and associated rocks laid down throughout the Permian (300 million years ago) to the end of the Triassic (about 200 million years ago), that under ...

in the south, and the Middle

Coal Measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coa ...

of the

Manchester Coalfield The Manchester Coalfield is part of the South Lancashire Coalfield, the coal seams of which were laid down in the Carboniferous Period. Some easily accessible seams were worked on a small scale from the Middle Ages, and extensively from the begin ...

to the north. The upper soils are a mixture of clay and sand, with a subsoil of clay. The Astley area encompasses smaller, suburban and semi-outlying areas, including Blackmoor, Astley Green, Gin Pit and Cross Hillock. The isolated hamlet of terraced houses at Gin Pit was built by the Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company. Peace Street, Lord Street and Maden Street were named after directors of the company.

Demography

Economy

Before deindustrialisation in the late 20th century, Astley's economy was linked with the textile industry and coal mines which developed during the Industrial Revolution. Now the main concentration of employment is at the Chaddock Lane Industrial Estate on either side of the A572 road between Astley and the East Lancashire Road. Since the early 1980s, much of the area between Tyldesley and Astley has been built on for housing. Indicators show that the township has a strong housing market, with a high owner occupancy rate of almost 80%. Parts of Astley are among the 5% least deprived areas in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, whilst parts of the Blackmoor area, where social housing is concentrated, are within the 10–20% most deprived neighbourhoods nationally. Facilities in the village include a small local shopping centre at Blackmoor. The development of Astley Green Colliery Museum and the heritage centre at Damhouse attract visitors interested in the area's heritage.

Landmarks

The site of Astley Green Colliery Museum, a scheduled ancient monument, retains its engine house and headgear, a prominent feature that can be seen from around the local area. Damhouse, the former

, is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

, parts of which were dated to 1595 by the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit. The house was extended in 1650. In 1999, Morts Astley Heritage Trust was formed to preserve Damhouse and open the surrounding woodland to the public. It is situated within the Astley Village conservation area. Morleys Hall lies on part of the lands donated to Cockersand Abbey by Hugh Tyldesley in 1210. It was owned by the Morleys until 1431, then subsequently by the Leylands. In 1540 it was described as being largely built of timber on stone foundations and surrounded by a moat. It was rebuilt in 1804, but parts of the old hall survive. Edward Tyldesley of

Wardley Hall Wardley may refer to: Organisations * Wardley (company), a fish food manufacturer *Wardley, a former merchant banking division of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation People *John Wardley (born 1950), English concept designer and develop ...

married Anne Leyland and inherited Morleys in 1564. Their granddaughter, Elizabeth Tyldesley, became abbess of the Convent of Poor Clares at Gravelines in the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

. Sir Thomas Tyldesley was the most famous of this line of the family, having been a

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). ...

commander and supporter of Charles II, King of England during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

. He died in the

Battle of Wigan Lane The Battle of Wigan Lane was fought on 25 August 1651 during the Third English Civil War, between a Royalist army led by the Earl of Derby and forces loyal to the Commonwealth of England under Colonel Robert Lilburne. The Royalists were defeat ...

and is buried at the

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Leigh The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin () is a Church of England parish church in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It is a member of the Salford & Leigh deanery in the archdeaconry of Salford, diocese of Manchester. It is recorded in the Na ...

. The hall passed through the Legh and Wilkinson families until it was sold to Tyldesley Urban District Council and the land used for a sewage works. The hall is a private residence.

Transport

Public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

in Astley is co-ordinated by

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilitie ...

. Bus services operate to Farnworth, the Trafford Centre,

, Atherton,

and

, operated by Diamond Bus North West, Stagecoach Manchester,

Vision Bus Vision Bus is a bus operator based in Blackrod, Bolton, England. Vision operate several routes in Greater Manchester including tendered and school bus services. Services Most of the Vision Bus routes serve Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a ...

First Greater Manchester First Greater ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 28186 ...

and Tyrers Coaches. Major

A roads A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...

link Astley with other settlements, including the A580 ''"East Lancashire Road"'', which opened in 1934 bisecting the village. Its

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

crosses the Bridgewater Canal on a bridge at Morleys. The

A572 road The A572 is a main road serving the Greater Manchester and Merseyside areas, running from Swinton to St Helens via Leigh and Newton-le-Willows. Route The A572 starts in Swinton at a dog-legged T-junction with the A6. The road heads in a ...

connects Astley and Worsley and the A5082 road heads north east to Tyldesley. By 1795, the original Bridgewater Canal from Worsley to Manchester had proved an economic success, prompting its owner,

Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater (21 May 1736 – 8 March 1803), known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman from the Egerton family. He was the youngest son of the 1st Duke. He did not marry, and the dukedom expire ...

, to seek powers to extend it route to Leigh via Astley. The Duke's plans were approved, despite opposition from the local population. Canal traffic brought trade to Astley Green where the Hope and Anchor Inn (now the Boathouse) was built with stabling for horses that pulled the barges. The original canal bridge built to connect Lower and Higher Green lasted until 1904, when it was replaced. The second bridge was replaced in 1920 by an iron bridge, which could be raised to counter the effects of mining subsidence. A boatyard was established by Lingard's Bridge. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830 crosses Astley Moss. It was built on a raft of branches and cotton bales to prevent the track sinking into Chat Moss. The early engines reached speeds of . The first passengers told the driver where they wished to alight until

was built in the mid-1840s. The railway was distant from the village and early travellers came on horseback or in carriages. An early tramway ran to a wharf on the Bridgewater Canal at Marsland Green and a mineral railway system linked Gin Pit Colliery to the Tyldesley Loopline at Jackson's sidings and Bedford Colliery and Speakman's Sidings. The colliery locomotives were named after

Gin Pit Colliery Gin Pit was a coal mine operating on the Lancashire Coalfield from the 1840s in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It exploited the Middle Coal Measures of the Manchester Coalfield and was situated t ...

's company directors.

Education

Adam Mort established a grammar school by the chapel in 1631 which was in use until 1833. Children from poor families were admitted free and those who could afford to pay covered the costs. Mort's School closed in 1894. In 1832 children were taught in a barn at the vicarage, the curate, Alfred Hewlett, improved it and the chapel was used as a classroom. A national school built by subscription on land donated by Captain Durie of Damhouse opened in November 1841. Meanleys Infant School was opened at Gin Pit in 1904 to serve the mining community that had grown up by there. Other schools were built at Ellesmere Street and Marsland Green.

Religion

Adam Mort built Astley Chapel which was completed in 1630 and consecrated 3 August 1631. It was the first of three chapels in Astley, and the first

of Leigh parish church. Astley Chapel was rebuilt in 1760; Thomas Froggatt gave a contribution towards the cost. The new church was built of brick and measured in length and in width and held 170 people and was enlarged in 1834, 1842 and 1847. It had a small chancel and its embattled western tower contained a single bell. The church, dedicated to

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

, was destroyed by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

on 18 June 1961. Also destroyed was the book collection, acquired by the Morts, memorials to the old families and the First and

memorials. It was too severely damaged to restore and a third church has been built on a nearby site. Prominent Catholic families in the Leigh parish did not abandon the Catholic faith after the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

despite penalties levied on papists. Secret Roman Catholic masses were held in private homes, including Morleys Hall, home of the Tyldesleys. On

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

1641, the Catholic priest,

Ambrose Barlow Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B. (1585 – 10 September 1641) was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of ...

was arrested during a service at Morleys Hall at the instigation of the vicar of Leigh. He was taken to Lancaster Castle, tried as a traitor and executed on 10 September 1641. He was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A church and school bear his name. The St Ambrose Barlow parish was formed in 1965 and the church was built in 1981. St Ambrose Barlow parish is in the Leigh Pastoral Area in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. There were two

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

churches but one in Lower Green closed in 2009. Astley Unitarian Chapel was demolished and the site built on. Gin Pit School doubled as a chapel for Wesleyan Methodists.

Sport

Astley and Tyldesley Miners' Welfare Club at Gin Pit is the venue for several sporting groups including Astley and Tyldesley Football Club, Astley and Tyldesley Cricket Club and the Astley and Tyldesley Roadrunners. The Astley and Tyldesley Cycle Speedway Club was formed in 1989 and built a race track at the Miners' Welfare Club in 1991.

Public services

Astley is policed by the

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

force from Atherton Police Station, which covers Atherton, Tyldesley, Astley and Mosley Common. The statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, from Leigh and Atherton fire stations. Hospital services are provided by the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust who provide an

Accident and Emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

service at Wigan Hospital and outpatient clinics at Leigh Infirmary. Health services in the Wigan borough are provided by the Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group. Waste management is co-ordinated by Wigan Metropolitan Council, which is a statutory waste disposal authority in its own right. Astley's Distribution Network Operator for electricity is Electricity North West Ltd. United Utilities manages Astley's drinking and waste water.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

The Astley Green Colliery Museumwww.tyldesleyhistoricalsociety.co.uk
the Tyldesley Historical Society
History of Astley Green Coal MineMort Family Website
{{Authority control Villages in Greater Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan