WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



One of the great roads from south to north has 

 from the earliest times led through Winwick, Newton, 

 and Ashton, and there are several tumuli and other 

 ancient remains. 



The Domesday Survey shows that a large part of 

 the surface consisted of woodland, and Garswood in 

 Ashton preserves the name of part of it. In the 

 Civil War two battles were fought near Winwick. In 

 more modern times coal mines have been worked and 

 manufactures introduced, and Earlestown has grown 

 up around the wagon-building works of the London 

 and North- Western Railway Company. 



The agricultural land in the parish is utilized as 

 follows : Arable land, 16,2 5 8 acres ; permanent grass, 

 4,820 acres ; woods and plantations, 653 acres. The 

 following are details : 



Winwick 2,192 247 



Southworth and Croft . . . 1,596 130 



Newton in Makerfield . . . 1,614 4 2 3 



Lowton 960 570 



Haydock I > 2 44 4 11 



Golborne 951 448 



Ashton in Makerfield . . . 3,228 1,210 



Culcheth and Kenyon . . . 4,473 1,381 



I* 

 25 



72 

 16 



433 

 9 



Newton has given the title of baron to the lord of 

 the manor, who has, however, no residence in the 

 parish ; Lord Gerard of Brynn has his principal seat 

 at Garswood. 



Dr. Kuerden thus describes a journey through the 

 parish made about 1695 : ' Entering a little hamlet 

 called the Hulme you leave on the left a deep and 

 fair stone quarry fit for building. You meet with 

 another crossway on the right. A mile farther stands 



WINWICK 



a fair-built church called Winwick church, a remark- 

 able fabric. . . . Leaving the church on the right 

 about a quarter of a mile westwards stands a princely 

 building, equal to the revenue, called the parsonage 

 of Winwick ; and near the church on the right hand 

 stands a fair-built schoolhouse. By the east end of 

 the church is another road, but less used, to the 

 borough of Wigan. 



'Having passed the school about half a mile you 

 come to a sandy place called the Red Bank, where 

 Hamilton and his army were beaten. Here, leaving 

 Bradley park, and a good seat belonging to Mr. 

 Brotherton of Hey (a member of Parliament for the 

 borough of Newton) on the left hand, and Newton 

 park on the right, you have a little stone bridge over 

 Newton Brook, three miles from Warrington. On 

 the left hand close by a water mill appear the ruins 

 of the site of the ancient barony of Newton, where 

 formerly was the baron's castle. 



' Having passed the bridge you ascend a rock, 

 where is a penfold cut out of the same, and upon the 

 top of the rock was lately built a court house for the 

 manor, and near to it a fair re-edified chapel of stone 

 built by Richard Legh, deceased, father to Mr. Legh, 

 the present titular baron of Newton. There stands a 

 stately cross, near the chapel well, adorned with the 

 arms belonging to the present baron. Having passed 

 the town of Newton you leave a cross-road on the 

 left going to Liverpool by St. Helen's chapel. You 

 pass in winter through a miry lane for half a mile ; 

 you leave another lane on the left passing by Bil- 

 linge. . . . 



* Then passing on a sandy lane you leave Haydock 

 park, and (close by the road) Haydock lodge, belong- 

 ing to Mr. Legh, and going on half a mile you pass 



123 



