Middle Hulton was a township

Township (England)

In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...

 of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Deane

Deane, Greater Manchester

Deane is an area of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about south west of Bolton and northwest of the city of Manchester.Historically a part of Lancashire, the Parish of Deane was once one of four parishes within the hundred of Salford and covered roughly half of the present...

 in the Salford hundred

Salford (hundred)

The hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in Northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...

 of Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, England. It was located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) miles south west of Bolton

Bolton

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

.

History

The ancient district of Hulton, contained three townships, Over Hulton

Over Hulton

Over Hulton is a suburb of Westhoughton within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester,England.It lies south west of Bolton.-History:...

, Middle Hulton and Little Hulton

Little Hulton

Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Bolton, west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...

, it was recorded as Helghtun and Hulton in 1235, Hilton in 1278 and 1292, Hulton in 1292 although Hilton was still used until the 17th century. The chief manor was at Hulton Park in Over Hulton.

The manor belonging to the Hultons of Over Hulton was later sold to the Earl of Ellesmere

Earl of Ellesmere

Earl of Ellesmere, of Ellesmere in the County of Shropshire , is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1846 for the Conservative politician Lord Francis Egerton. He was granted the courtesy title of Viscount Brackley, of Brackley in the County of Northampton, at the same...

. There were coal mines and quarries in the 19th century. It was near the Bolton and Leigh Railway

Bolton and Leigh Railway

The Bolton and Leigh Railway was the first public railway in the historic county of Lancashire, England. It opened in 1828 for goods.-History:...

.

Cutacre

The Cutacre site was granted planning permission in 2001 for the surface mining of 900,000 tonnes of coal and reworking of the spoil tip. The operation was expected to last for 4 years and began in 2006. The restoration scheme would create over 100 hectares of amenity woodland and wetlands as well as for an area of industrial development. UK Coal

UK Coal

UK Coal plc is the largest coal mining business in the United Kingdom. The Company is based in Harworth, in Nottinghamshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

 is currently working with Bolton Metropolitan Borough

Metropolitan Borough of Bolton

The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bolton, but covers a far larger area which includes Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley and Westhoughton, and a suburban and rural element from the West Pennine...

 Council to promote the Cutacre site through the Local Development Framework process. Bolton Council have identified Cutacre as a key strategic site for future development in Bolton and consequently plans have changed. There has been a long campaign against the proposals by residents in Over Hulton and Little Hulton.

Geography

The former township was situated on the road from Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 to Preston, now the A6 road. There was no village centre, the most built up area was in the northern part of the township at Daubhill. It comprises 1280 acres (5.2 km²) of flat land, mostly of meadow and pasture the remainder arable. The underlying rocks are Coal Measures

Coal Measures

The Coal Measures is a lithostratigraphical term for the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. It represents the remains of fluvio-deltaic sediment, and consists mainly of clastic rocks interstratified with the beds of coal...

, there is also cannel coal

Cannel coal

Cannel coal, also known as candle coal, is a type of coal, also classified as terrestrial type oil shale, with a large amount of hydrogen, which burns easily with a bright light and leaves little ash....

 and there is a sandstone-quarry. The M61 motorway

M61 motorway

The M61 motorway is a motorway in North West England. It runs from the M60 motorway northwest of Manchester and heads northwest past Bolton and Chorley to join the M6 just north of the junction between the M6 and M65 motorways to the south of Preston....

crosses the former township.

Demography

Year	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Population	819	900	938	934	902	888	790	911	2,051	2,703
Sources: Local population statistics. Vision of Britain.