Lowton is a village within the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Greater Manchester, Atherton, Ashton-in-Ma ...
, in
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England. It is around from
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, Staffor ...
, south of
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
and west of
Manchester city centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...
. The settlement lies across the
A580 East Lancashire Road.
Within the boundaries of the
historic county of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, Lowton's history is closely connected with Byrom Manor, the ancestral home of the Byroms, a family which included poet
John Byrom
John Byrom, John Byrom of Kersal, or John Byrom of Manchester (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as the wr ...
, the inventor of a system of
shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to Cursive, longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Gr ...
. During the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
Lowton was associated with coal mining and manufacturing: it was close to several collieries and factories.
At the 2011 census, the population of Lowton was split between two wards: Lowton East, and Golborne and Lowton West. The latter partially counted the entire population of
Golborne
Golborne (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south-south-east of Wigan, north-east of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. Along with the neighbouring village ...
, and partially the population of Lowton's western half, with the boundary between them roughly being at Scott Road to the north and Windsor Road to the south.
History
Lowton has an unclear
toponymy
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper na ...
: the second element is from
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''tun'' "farm, village" with an uncertain first element. (It is suggested that the first element is from ''hlāw'', an old English word for hill: Wornoth Low near
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
is the highest hill in the area, and Lowton is the highest point locally.) A record of the name as ''Liewetune'' in 1176 suggests Old English ''hleowe'' "
lee", although this is not a certain etymology.
Lowton was one of the berewicks of the
Royal Manor
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...
of
Newton, later being one of the members of the Barony of Makerfield.
Byrom Manor, later to feature the ancestral home of the poet
John Byrom
John Byrom, John Byrom of Kersal, or John Byrom of Manchester (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as the wr ...
which was built in the 18th century, is recorded as early as 1212;
the family prospered there for centuries. Byrom Hall at one time featured a moat.
The Hare and Hounds
public house
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
, built in the 17th century, was once used as a place to hold trials of local criminals, including murders. The Lowton
stocks
Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...
can still be found today nearby at St Luke’s Parish Church and are Grade II
listed.
The former
Lowton railway station was used as a resting point for the
royal train. Lowton had a second station –
Lowton St Mary's – which closed in 1964.
Lowton had a toffee factory, along with other sites of heavy industry. Many of these factories have now closed and have been replaced with light industry.
Lowton's Sandy Lane is reputedly haunted by the ghost of Joshua Rigby, a local farmer who died in 1883.
Governance and politics
In 1931 the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
had a population of 4584. On 1 October 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Golborne.
Between 1894 and 1974, Lowton was part of the
Golborne Urban District, in the
administrative county
An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. In 1974 as part of the local government reorganisation enacted in 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 ...
it became part of Greater Manchester with the boundary at Newton-le-Willows marking the edge of the new county of
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
.
Lowton is within the
constituency of Leigh and is represented in parliament by the
Labour MP Jo Platt
Joanne Marie Platt (born 15 June 1973) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Leigh and Atherton since 2024. She was previously MP for Leigh from 2017 to 2019.
Political career
Platt w ...
.
Locally, the area is represented on
Wigan Council by three Labour Party members, Jenny Gregory, Garry Lloyd, and Mike Smith.
Transport
Situated on the A580 East Lancashire Road, the village has direct access to the cities of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
to the east and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
to the west. From this road, the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
runs north and south, and the
M60 connects with the
M62 across the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...
. Also, the
M61 can be reached via the A579. The nearest railway station is
Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows, often shortened informally to Newton, is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census was 24,642. Newton-le-Willows is on the ea ...
on the
Chester to Manchester Line and
Liverpool to Manchester Line. Public transport in Lowton is co-ordinated by
Transport for Greater Manchester
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a local government body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), ...
and is served by buses to Manchester, Wigan, Leigh, Newton-le-Willows and St Helens. Buses: 35 Bryn/Leigh-Manchester (Bee Network), 34 St Helens-Leigh (Arriva Merseyside), 610 Leigh-Wigan (Bee Network).
Environment
To the south of Lowton is Highfield Moss, part of which has been designated 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 ...
. The site was designated in 1986 for its biological interest. It is predominantly notable as a
mire
A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
and it is the best example in Greater Manchester.
Education
*
Lowton Church of England High School
* Lowton Primary School
* Lowton St. Marys Primary School (Church of England)
* Lowton West Primary School
* St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School
* St. Lukes Church of England Primary School
Religion
In 1635 the Puritan clergyman,
Richard Mather, and his family left for
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
as a result of religious intolerance.
Lowton's churches include the two
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
churches of
St Mary's and St Luke's; Lowton Independent Methodist, a member of the
Independent Methodist Connexion; and Lowton Community Church. Lane Head
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
church closed in 2010. The
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church of St Catherine of Siena closed in 2011 after a safety inspection revealed problems with the electrical system, and the building was demolished in 2017.
The churches in Lowton organise some joint activities including
ecumenical
Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...
services. Their
charity
Charity may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
work has included the
Lowton Churches Romania Appeal, formed after the collapse of the Communist regime in Romania in 1990. It supported an orphanage in
Lugoj
Lugoj (; ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș, Timiș River divides the city into two halves: the "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank, and the "German Lugoj" on the left bank. Th ...
but its remit has since expanded to include several projects in the country.
St Luke's

A date of 1732 on the church door suggests that the building was completed that year. The Chapel was consecrated on 18 October 1733,
St Luke's Day, by the
Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
. The chapel and chapel yard were built on land given by Hugh Stirrup, a
yeoman
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...
of Lowton.
Although the Deed of Consecration allowed for all the regular church services and sacraments, the chapel was not yet a
Parish Church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
and thus no burials were permitted. The parish registers were stored at Winwick.
[
Today many of the chapel pews still bear metal plates showing the names of their original owners. The oldest, pew No. 1, has a plate for Edward Byrom dated 1732. Other plates bear the surnames Green, Kenyon, Leigh, Lowe, Mather, Pierpoint, Tyler, and Worsley.][
]
Sport and organisations
Lowton is well known for lowton community darts as seen on tiktok. A darts league that's been established for a number of years and currently plays it's matches at lowton social club. Lowton is also the location for Golborne
Golborne (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south-south-east of Wigan, north-east of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. Along with the neighbouring village ...
Sports and Social Club which participates in local football, hockey, bowls and cricket leagues. Other nearby sports teams include Golborne Parkside RLFC, Leigh RUFC and Leigh United FC.
Media
Lowton falls inside the circulation areas of these newspapers and websites:
* '' Wigan Evening Post''
* '' Wigan Reporter''
* '' Leigh Reporter''
* '' Leigh Journal''
* ''Manchester Evening News
The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...
''
Notable people
* Richard Mather (1596–1669), who became an American Congregational
Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...
clergyman, was born in Lowton.
* John Byrom
John Byrom, John Byrom of Kersal, or John Byrom of Manchester (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as the wr ...
(1692–1763), an English poet, at times lived at Byrom Hall, Slag Lane.
* James Grundy (born 1978), the MP for 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, Staffor ...
between 2019 and 2024, has lived on a farm in Lowton since birth.
* Katie White (born 1983), singer with pop group The Ting Tings, was brought up on a farm in Slag Lane, Lowton.
Sport
* Clayton Blackmore (born 1964), a former Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
footballer, used to live in Lowton.
* Jon Clarke (born 1979), a former rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
player, grew up in Lowton.
See also
References
Notes
Further reading
*
External links
GB7JL Amateur radio repeater
A Piece of Lowton History
Community info
Links to many Lowton interest websites
1st Lowton St Marys Scout Group
Lowton Independent Methodist Church
{{authority control
Areas of Greater Manchester
Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan