Billinge Higher End or Higher End is an area of 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 ...
,
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.
Governance
Billinge was a
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 ...
lying within the
historic county boundaries 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 ...
on 2 February 1837 it was divided into two townships,
Billinge Chapel End and Billinge Higher End when the Wigan
poor law union
A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland.
Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...
was formed merging the workhouse provision of 20 parishes in the Wigan area.
In 1866 Billinge Higher End became a separate civil parish. The poor law union built the Wigan Poor Law Infirmary in 1906 which became Billinge Hospital. In 1872 Billinge
Local Board of Health
A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...
was established for the area of these two townships and two detached parts of
Winstanley township (one known as Blackley Hurst and the other situated in the Carr Mill area, both lying within the area of Billinge Chapel End township).
In 1894 the area of the Local Board (together with the remaining area of Winstanley township) became Billinge Urban District, on 1 April 1924 the parish was abolished to form "Billinge and Winstanley" and in 1927 the
urban district was renamed
Billinge and Winstanley Urban District. In 1921 the parish had a population of 2396.
In 1974 most of Billinge Higher End (excepting Billinge Hill)) and most of Winstanley became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, with Billinge Chapel End (including the remainder of Winstanley) becoming part of
St Helens Metropolitan Borough in
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 ...
.
Geography
Adjacent places include:
*
Billinge Chapel End
*
Crank
*
Orrell
*
Winstanley
Billinge Higher End encompasses
Longshaw.
Communal facilities
*
Winstanley College
Transport
Billinge Higher End sits on the
B5206. Train services to
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 ...
town centre,
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 ...
,
Kirkby
Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...
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 ...
(one change) are available from the nearby
Orrell railway station.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Billinge and Winstanley
References
Areas of Greater Manchester
Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
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