Euxton ( ) is a village and
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 ...
in the
Borough of Chorley
The Borough of Chorley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It is named after the town of Chorley, which is an unparished area. The borough extends to several villages and hamlets including Adlington, B ...
,
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 ...
, England. The population at the
2011 census was 9,993, but is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to housing developments in the village, including at
Buckshaw. The village is just to the west of
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
, and south of
Clayton-le-Woods
Clayton-le-Woods (commonly shortened to Clayton) is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerde ...
.
Euxton is around 2.5 miles from east to west and 2 miles north to south. The village is made up of several areas including Runshaw Moor, Balshaw, Shaw Green, Daisy Hill,
Buckshaw, Pincock, Primrose Hill, Glead Hill, Dawbers, Spout Hillock, Culbeck and Pear Tree.
Euxton is served by five primary schools: Balshaw Lane Primary, Primrose Hill Primary, Euxton C of E Primary, Euxton RC Primary and Trinity C of E/Methodist Primary School.
History
Euxton's original village settlement in Pincock was based near the ford over the
River Yarrow, along the route of the old Roman road
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
– now the
A49 road
The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...
– that runs through the length of the village, from Pincock to Packsaddle.
Demonstrating its significance, Euxton had a market charter granted in 1301 by
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
and whilst the area was called Euxton, the township was called Euxtonburgh. The name suggests an Anglo-Saxon origin. It has been suggested that it is derived from "Efe's Tun", with "tun" referring to a farmstead and Efe being a personal name and the later addition of burgh suggesting the settlement had grown and been fortified.

The manorial seat was Euxton Hall owned first by the Molyneux family and later by the Anderton family. A new manor house is said to have been built in the early 16th century by Hugh Anderton (1466-1516/17). It is likely that the manor would have been located closer to the parish church. A new hall was built by William Anderton (c.1708-44) in 1769 and rebuilt on the same site but on a grander scale in 1850. Euxton Hall is now a private hospital and is made up of the lower ground floor of hall as the upper floor was demolished following a fire.
Charles II lodged at Euxton Hall in 1651 when on his way south to
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, he is said to have drunk water from the stream at the edge of Euxton describing it as "Cul Beck" or cool brook giving it its name, from whence the area takes its name.
The hall had three lodge houses, one at the bottom of Chapel Brow, one at main gates of Euxton Park on Wigan Road and one on Dawber's Lane which is now much extended and known as Dower House. The centre of the village later moved from the old ford to be closer to Euxton Hall and its chapel (now
Euxton Parish Church).
Whilst the oldest extant building is believed to be the parish church and although Euxton Hall is likely to be older in places, dating back to 1662, Armetriding Farm is believed to be the oldest dwelling house.
One of the most significant buildings in Euxton is
Buckshaw Hall, an H-plan two-storey timber framed property on a sandstone base, with both brick and wattle and daub infilling and a slate roof. It is considered to be one of the best preserved Tudor halls in Lancashire.
Euxton Hall Chapel was designed by architect
E. W. Pugin (1834–1875), and built in 1866 as a private chapel for the Anderton family who lived in Euxton Hall.
There has been a building at Runshaw Hall since medieval times and the current house was built in 1862 and later acquired by William Bretherton.
Early industry
Euxton Hall, which was a significant stately residence, now acts as a private hospital and is half its former glory, with the second storey being removed in the 20th century along with its grand colonnade. Euxton Hall's 19th century gatehouses can be seen at the bottom of Chapel Brow, near the
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 ...
whilst the other gatehouse can be seen at the entrance of Euxton Hall Gardens. Earlier gatehouses were previously located on Dawbers Lane and Runshaw Lane. Balshaw Lodge, which has recently been redeveloped, was originally built as guest lodgings for the hall.
There was a large
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal ...
(
ROF Chorley) built here in the buildup to the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(Nevell ''et al.'', 1999). At its peak the factory employed over 40,000 people, and had its own railway station. It was probably the biggest munitions filling factory in the world, and it is said that the
bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be predeterm ...
s used in the
Dambusters raid
Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using spe ...
were made there.
ROF Chorley later came under the ownership of
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...
, and in subsequent years was closed down with the land being sold. In the early 2000s the former
ROF Chorley site was effectively flattened and sanitised, so that the land could be transformed into the new
Buckshaw Village.
Modern industry
Plans by
Tarmac to operate a
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
near the village were approved in August 2008 by a planning inspector. The quarry, to be located between Runshaw Lane and Dawber's Lane, had been proposed for ten years and is opposed by the village council, and by local residents, some of whom set up an action group, Euxton Residents Against Sand Extraction (ERASE), due to its impact on health, traffic and environment locally. The quarry has permission to operate for 15 years.
Estates and public houses
The village also has seven public houses; the Talbot, the Euxton Mills, the Railway at Euxton, the Bay Horse, the Traveller's Rest, the Plough and the War Horse (in the
Buckshaw part of Euxton).

Euxton has several large housing estates, particularly in the eastern half of the village built in the late 1960s by
Trevor Hemmings
Trevor James Hemmings (11 June 1935 – 11 October 2021) was a British billionaire businessman.
Early life
Hemmings was born in Woolwich, London, on 11 June 1935, the son of a Royal Ordnance worker. During the Second World War, part of the Ro ...
. The Talbot Estate lies to the east of Euxton and the Greenside Estate to the north on Runshaw Lane.
Newer housing estates include Wentworth Drive to the north-east of the village and Church Walk and Park Avenue to the west.
Euxton's population was significantly increased after the Royal Ordnance Factory in Buckshaw was demolished and redeveloped, creating a huge new residential and commercial area in the north of the village.
Transport
The north-south
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 ...
lies to the west of the village. Access from the M6 is by Junction 28 for the
A49 road
The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...
at nearby
Clayton-le-Woods
Clayton-le-Woods (commonly shortened to Clayton) is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerde ...
.
Euxton has two railway stations, with stopping services operated by
Northern:
*
Euxton Balshaw Lane railway station is sited on the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
, between
Preston and
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 ...
. Services operate hourly in each direction between
Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station complex located on Lime Street, Liverpool, Lime Street in Liverpool city centre. Although publicly a single, unified station, it is operationally divided into two official railway stations: Liv ...
and
Blackpool North. The station was re-opened in 1997, after a gap of some 30 years.
*
Buckshaw Parkway railway station was opened in 2011 to serve the new
Buckshaw Village development. It is on the
Manchester-Preston line, with direct destinations include
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
,
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
, Preston,
Barrow, Blackpool,
Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly is the main railway station of the city of Manchester, in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. Opened originally as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchest ...
and
Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...
.
Euxton is home to three listed railway bridges: Pincock Bridge, Old Station Bridge (Wigan Road) and Bay Horse Brow (Euxton Lane). There are also bridges on School Lane and Balshaw Lane.
Bus services are operated primarily by
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire
Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered in Liverpool.
History
Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire can trace i ...
, including the following routes:
* Route 109: runs twice hourly through the village to provide a connection to
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
,
Leyland,
Clayton-le-Woods
Clayton-le-Woods (commonly shortened to Clayton) is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerde ...
and
Preston
* Route 119 operated by Tyrer’s Coaches runs hourly between Chorley and Preston via
Buckshaw Village, Leyland, Farington and
Penwortham
Penwortham () is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road ...
.
* Route 337 operates between Chorley and
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...
via Euxton, Charnock Richard, Croston and Burscough bi-hourly.
* Route 347 operates from Chorley to
Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
via Charnock Richard, Eccleston, Croston and Rufford bi-hourly Monday-Saturday.
Sport
The former
ROF Chorley sports ground was used by
English football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
as its training headquarters. On 19 February 2016, the training facility was sold by Bolton Wanderers to
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, they have p ...
whilst on 1 September 2020 Wigan sold it to
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
.
The Independent: "Wigan Athletic confirm sale of training ground to Preston North End"
/ref>
The village is also home to Euxton Corinthians F.C., Euxton Villa F.C., Euxton Girls F.C. and Euxton Cricket Club. Euxton Villa F.C. have a training ground on Runshaw Lane.
See also
* Listed buildings in Euxton
References
Bibliography
* Nevell, M., Roberts, J. and Smith, J. (1999) ''A History of Royal Ordnance Factory, Chorley'', Lancaster : Carnegie Publishing,
External links
The official village website: euxton.com
Euxton on chorley.gov.uk
{{authority control
Geography of Chorley
Villages in Lancashire
Civil parishes in Lancashire