Wrightington
Encyclopedia
Wrightington is a civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in West Lancashire
West Lancashire
West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....
, England, with an area of 3,915½ acres. The surface is hilly, rising to over 400 ft. at Harrock on the border of Parbold
Parbold
Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire, England.-Local government:The 83 hectares of the 'urban settlement' of Parbold has a population of 2,700. This settlement forms part of the larger Parbold ward Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in...
, and then falling to the north, north-east and south-east. On the southern border, the boundary at Appley Bridge
Appley Bridge
Appley Bridge is a village in West Lancashire, England. It is located off Junction 27 of the M6 motorway and is nestled in the Douglas valley alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.-History:...
touches the River Douglas
River Douglas
The River Douglas, also known as the River Asland or Astland, is a river that flows through Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the north-west of England...
. Wrightington Hall is to the north of this point. Tunley and Broadhurst lie to the north of the park, and Fairhurst, to the west of Harrock, reaches down to the Douglas. At the 2001 census, Wrightington had a population of 4,055.
History
Boar's Den TumulusBoar's Den, thought to be a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
round barrow
Round barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
, is relatively undisturbed and consists of an earth and stone mound 66.5m (E/W) by 62m (N/S) with a maximum height of 2.5m that suffered some plough damage in the past and is now used only as grazing land. If this round barrow were not marked on a map, despite being fairly extensive, it might be missed on the ground, mistaken as a natural lump in the middle of the field. Map Ref: SD51771116
In 1691, the first church in Wrightington was built. The curate, Jonathan Scholefield, ejected from Douglas Chapel, Parbold
Parbold
Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire, England.-Local government:The 83 hectares of the 'urban settlement' of Parbold has a population of 2,700. This settlement forms part of the larger Parbold ward Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in...
, in 1662 for his Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
beliefs, found refuge at Tunley, where a group of Presbyterians started meeting regularly for worship at South Tunley Hall, the home of Thomas and Elizabeth Wilson. Twenty-two years after his death in 1667, the passing of the Toleration Act (1689) allowed dissenter
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
s to worship openly. For the free exercise of their Divine worship, Thomas Wilson of "Tunley within Wrightington " erected a chapel for Protestants dissenting from the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. About a century later the congregation became Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
before the building was given to the Scottish Presbyterians. It now belongs to the Presbyterian Church of England. The original church building is believed to be the oldest building in England that was built as a Presbyterian church.
St. James the Great was built in 1857 by E.G. Paley for the services of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. In November 2000, to commemorate the millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
, a new stained glass window was added combining traditional imagery and contemporary elements. The church is set in lovely countryside, commanding views stretching from Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
to the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. The central theme, the Nativity
Nativity
-The birth of Jesus:* Nativity of Jesus, the Gospel story of the birth of Jesus* Nativity of Jesus in art, paintings depicting the Nativity* Nativity play, a dramatic production about the Nativity...
, is surrounded by finely drawn landscapes and well known buildings from the surrounding area: the famous Wrightington Hospital, the church and the four hundred year old Heskin School.
Founded before 1893, the Carr House Lane Primitive Methodist Church was an early 19th century (1807) secession from the Wesleyan Methodist
Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the major Methodist movement in Great Britain following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements...
church. It was particularly successful in evangelising agricultural and industrial communities at open meetings. In 1932, the Primitive Methodists joined with the Wesleyan Methodists and the United Methodists to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain. The chapel is now closed.
Fairhurst Hall was at one time a place of worship for Roman Catholicism and a priest had been maintained at Wrightington Hall from the 1680s and a private chapel dedicated to St. Joseph was provided for the family, tenantry and employees until the building of St. Joseph's in 1892 by Charles Clifton Dicconson.
Wrightington Hall
For several centuries, Wrightington Hall was the home of the Wrightington family, who are said to have been descended from Fitz Orm, the son of Orm, a powerful noble in this part of LancashireLancashire
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...
in the 12th century, credited with the founding of the Church of St Peter and St Paul
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Ormskirk
-External links:...
, Ormskirk
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
's parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
.
When Sir Edward Wrightington died in 1658, his heir, Hugh Dicconson, erected a very fine tomb for Sir Edward in St Wilfred's Parish Church, Standish
Standish, Greater Manchester
Standish is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the A49 road between the towns of Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway....
.
Two of Hugh Dicconson's sons, William and Roger, became Roman Catholics and were implicated in a plot to overthrow the government of the day under William and Mary
William and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
and bring back the exiled King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
William, along with several other Catholic Lancastrians, was put on trial in Manchester for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
in 1694. They were acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence to convict them. However, immediately afterwards, William fled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to join James II in exile, where he was appointed "governor" (tutor)to Bonnie Prince Charlie, and his wife became "Maid of Honour" to the exiled Queen, Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
.
William's brother, Roger, was living at Wrightington Hall and supported the Old Pretender in the abortive 1715 rebellion. Surprisingly, the estate did not suffer for his part in it.
The hall was then a typical Tudor manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
: gabled and half-timbered on a stone base. This ancient hall, which formed the north wing of the present hall, was partly destroyed by fire in the early part of the last century and was demolished around 1929 when the current nurses home annexe was constructed.
The present hall was built in 1748 and modified in 1860. It was eventually bought by Lancashire County Council in 1918 for £16,473 with the purpose of turning it into a TB
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
hospital.
The estate also came up for sale on 26 August 1921.
Wrightington Hospital
Wrightington Hospital was officially opened on 16 June 1933. The hall was sold to Lancashire County Council in 1918 for £16,473 with the intention of turning it into a hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis.Between 1929 and 1931, for a cost of £129,520, a two hundred and twenty-six bed hospital was created. The first patient, a nine-year-old boy with tuberculosis of the spine, was admitted in 1931.
After the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
was formed, the implementation of drug treatment for tuberculosis produced a rapid decline in the number of patients at Wrightington, which coincided with John Charnley
John Charnley
Sir John Charnley was a British orthopaedic surgeon. He pioneered the hip replacement operation, which is now one of the most common operations both in the UK and elsewhere in the world...
's work on total hip replacement
Hip replacement
Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant. Hip replacement surgery can be performed as a total replacement or a hemi replacement. Such joint replacement orthopaedic surgery generally is conducted to relieve arthritis pain or fix severe...
.
The first ever hip replacement operations were performed at Wrightington in the early 1960s. The hospital maintains its status as a Centre of Excellence (Orthopaedic Surgery).
In 1992, Wrightington Hospital became Wrightington Hospital NHS Trust and, on the 1st April 2001, Wrightington Hospital NHS Trust merged with the Wigan and Leigh Health Services NHS Trust to become the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust.
Peter Lathom's charity
Peter Lathom of Bispham was a great grandson of Richard Lathom of Allerton HallAllerton Hall
Allerton Hall is in Clarkes Gardens, Allerton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-History:During the medieval period the manor of Allerton was held by the Lathom family....
(b.1563 d.1602) Lancashire, UK- who's family's lands and hereditaments were confiscated for treason in 1652 (fn. 20) and ordered to be sold by Parliament. His family now poor, Peter took to the roads and became a beggar, relying on the goodwill of the surrounding villagers for occasional jobs, food and shelter. In his will (1700), he left money for the children of these villages, including Wrightington:
Peter Lathom’s life (1651-1701) was cast in very stormy times. He grew up during some of the most disturbed periods of English history. He saw the confiscation of the Parbold. Wrightington and Allerton estates; he witnessed the extremes of poverty into which this Confiscation had thrown the Lathom family; he saw some of them with not the value of 5/- either in goods or lands, and constantly harried by religious and civil strife; and seeing all these things it is hardly surprising that he leaves money for the benefit of the poor – among whom the Lathom's of Parbold were now to be numbered; that he remembers the St, John Roman Catholic Mission in which Christopher Lathom, the priest, and a possible relative, is interested; that he bequeathrs £40 to the children of another possible relative, Mistresss Katherine Lethem; that he forbids any public offlcer to be employed in the distribution of his charity- an understandable family dislike of the officialdom which had oppressed the Lathom's of Parbold- and that he does not forget even the poor prisoners in Lancaster Castle, in which again he may have had some family interest.
From his will, which he signed in his own handwriting. and other legal sources we learn that he called himself Peter Lathom, yeoman, of Bispham; that the Will was dated 2nd April, 1700, with a codicil dated 19th February 1700/1 ; that the “ Testator departed this life October, 1701,” and finally that the will was proved in the Consistory Court of Chester on the 11th February, 1701/2.
An English paper says: — "The trustees of the charity of Peter Lathom, once a beggar, of Mawdesley
Mawdesley
Mawdesley is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,787.-History:...
, near Preston, have just met. It was reported that the property, which originally cost a few hundreds, was now worth £570,000 - One block had recently been sold for £87,000, the fabulous advance in value being owing to the discovery of coal on the land. Lathom left the land for the benefit of the thirteen townships through which he begged, to keep and apprentice four lads, to further education, and other philanthropic uses."
Today, the key objectives of the charity are to provide financial assistance for the education and training of persons under the ages of 25 years.
Amenities
There are five churches in Wrightington Parish. Wrightington has two primary schools, Mossy Lea Primary School and St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a hairdresser and two service stations. There are three pubs along the main road through the centre of the village and country pubs and restaurants in the outlying village.Agriculture and industry
Wrightington is a rural community of farms and equestrian establishments. Dairy, sheep and fish farming together with stables contribute to the agricultural economy.Established in 1976, Ainscough Crane Hire has since grown through expansion and acquisition to become the UK's largest crane hire operator.
Community
The parish council working in partnership with Lancashire CollegeLancashire College
Lancashire College is an adult education college located in Chorley, Lancashire, England.The college is the main site and headquarters of Lancashire Adult Learning, an adult education service operated by Lancashire County Council, which includes The Adult College and Alston Hall.Courses offered by...
now offers Mossy Lea Village Hall as a learning facility with computer courses, family learning courses, T'ai chi and Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
classes.
Recreation and sport
There are two bowling greenBowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
s.
Sports facilities at the Wrightington Country Club include: a state of the art gymnasium
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
, an eighteen metre swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, an aromatic fibre lit steam room
Steam room
A steam room is an enclosed space with large amounts of high temperature steam, creating a high humidity environment. People sit in this room in a similar way to a sauna , for relaxation and purported benefits to health and well being. They can be commonly found in gyms, sanitariums and health...
, toning tables, a solarium
Solarium
Solarium may refer to:* Similar to a Sunroom, a room built largely of glass to afford exposure to the sun. Solariums have glass roofs , unlike sunrooms...
, a jacuzzi
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
, a dance studio and squash courts.