Prehistoric and Roman Times
As with almost every settlement in Britain, the origins of Newton-le-Willows are lost in the mists of time, with hints of prehistoric activity being uncovered by archaeological and chance discoveries. Prehistoric means before any written evidence, including any recorded dates. In Newton it used to be thought that Castle Hill was a prehistoric burial mound, but now it is believed to have been what its name says, a small castle on a "motte" or small hill, built in the early middle ages. In fact, in Newton there are two burial mounds, one called Lady Hill, to the north of Castle Hill, and another one north of the Sankey Canal, to the west of Common Road.
There was also, until it was broken up in the 19th century, a large boulder stone which stood at the corner of Rob Lane and the High Street. This could have been a prehistoric standing stone, or perhaps a natural boulder deposited in that spot during the Ice Age and used as a landmark from early times.
Julius Caesar led two Roman expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 B.C., but the actual Roman invasion of Britain began nearly 100 years later, in A.D. 43. At first, Roman rule was confined to southern Britain and by A.D. 47 as far as the rivers Severn and Trent. After A.D. 60, the Romans began to conquer what is now Wales and northern England. Between about A.D. 69 and 77 they built a road which crossed the Mersey at Wilderspool, and went on through Newton, Wigan and Preston, to Lancaster and possibly beyond. This is now thought to have been built to help them in conquering what is now Lancashire and Cumbria.
While the Romans ruled Britain, Christianity spread here as it did over all the Roman Empire. It became the official state religion under the Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313.
Anglo-Saxon times, including St.Oswald
In A.D. 409 Britain rebelled against Roman rule, but otherwise life continued much as before. However, with the Roman legions leaving Britain, it left the country open to invaders, from the north, west and east. Those from the east came over the sea from what is now northern Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. These were the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, and together they came to be called the Anglo-Saxons. The strongest of these in number, the Angles, or English, gave their name to England as a whole.
They were Pagans, meaning not Christian, and having their own gods and goddesses. Examples of these can still be seen today in the days of the week, which were named after them, such as Tuesday after the god Tiw, Wednesday after the god Woden, Thursday after the god Thor and Friday after the goddess Freya. Some of the Anglo-Saxons were invited to come as mercenaries, to fight against the invaders from the north who were the Picts, and from the west, the Scots, who came from Ireland (and who gave their name to Scotland after becoming more powerful than the Picts). Many more of the Anglo-Saxons came later as invaders themselves.
They soon established several independent kingdoms, but in time these came together as larger kingdoms, such as Wessex in the south-west (named after the West Saxons), East Anglia in the east (after the East Angles), Mercia in the Midlands, and Northumbria in the north (meaning north of the Humber Estuary).
Place names can also give clues to the history of settlement in an area. It seems that around Newton several places kept their old British or Celtic names, instead of having been given Anglo-Saxon ones. Examples of these Celtic names are Haydock, Culcheth, Kenyon, Penketh, Bryn, Ince and even Wigan. The name Newton is Anglo-Saxon, meaning 'new town'. Other Anglo-Saxon place names in the area include Winwick, Burtonwood (originally just 'Burton'), Sutton, Parr, Ashton, Golborne and Lowton.
Although the Anglo-Saxons were at first Pagan, Christianity stayed in Britain in the places where the original British inhabitants remained in power, especially Wales. In A.D. 597 the Pope in Rome sent a mission, led by St. Augustine, to convert England to Christianity. The full conversion of England took many years. In A.D. 627 King Edwin of Northumbria was converted by Paulinus, another missionary from Rome.
Edwin's successor, King Oswald, tried to spread Christianity in the parts of England which were still Pagan. Penda was king of Mercia, and he was a Pagan. A war broke out between them and in the end Oswald was killed in battle by Penda in the year 642. This happened at a place called Maserfeld. There is still an argument about where this was, but one theory is that it was Makerfield, the area around Newton. Because Oswald was a Christian king who died fighting against a Pagan, he was declared a Saint by the Church. There is a local tradition that at the place where King Oswald was killed, people used to take away a little of the earth because they considered it was holy, and eventually it made a hole in which water welled up. This was lined with stone and became known as St. Oswald's Well. It still exists today and is now a 'listed building'.
Another local link with Oswald is the Parish Church at Winwick, which is dedicated to St. Oswald, and the origins of this church do go back to Anglo-Saxon times. The cross-bar of a stone cross from this period was found in the 19th century, and is now inside the church. It was a very large cross, as the cross-bar is 5 feet in length. It is carved with typical Anglo-Saxon decoration. There is also an inscription in Latin on the south side of the church, which can be translated as:
This place of old did Oswald greatly love,
Northumbria' s king, but now a saint above;
Who in Marcelde's field did fighting fall;
O, blest one, hear, when here on thee we call.
(one line here is too badly worn to read)
In fifteen hundred and three times ten
Sclater restored and built this wall again,
And Henry Johnson here was curate then.
Although this inscription was carved in 1530 the first part seems to be a copy of an older one, possibly very old, and might preserve a piece of historical fact about Oswald, his love of the place and his falling in battle at Makerfield (here called Marcelde).
Domesday Book and Newton Hundred
In 1066 King William of Normandy conquered England, having killed King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings. Twenty years after the Norman Conquest, in 1086, King William ordered a survey, in great detail, to be made of the whole of the country he had conquered. No other country in Europe produced anything like it until several hundred years later, and the original book still survives. It was kept for centuries at Winchester and is now at the Public Record Office in London. It was called the Domesday Book (meaning the same as 'doomsday') comparing it with the Day of Judgement which nobody could appeal against. It was written in Latin, which was then the official language for documents (not only in England but all over Western Europe).
Lancashire did not then yet exist (it did not become a county until 1182), and was listed as two separate areas in the Domesday Book, Newton appearing in the part called 'between the Ribble and the Mersey.' Translated into English the entry reads:
"In Newton, in King Edward's time, there were five hides. Of these one was in the demesne. The church of the same manor had one carucate of land, and Saint Oswald of the same vill had two carucates of land free of everything. The other land of this manor 15 men, called Drenghes, held for 15 manors, which were berewicks of this manor; and, among them all, these men rendered 30 shillings. There is a wood there 10 leagues long and 6 leagues and 2 furlongs broad, and there are a hawk's aeries. All the free men of this hundred, except 2, had the same custom as the men of Derbyshire (meaning West Derby Hundred); but in August they mowed 2 days more than they on the King's tillage lands. The two (excepted men) had 5 carucates of land, and had the forfeitures for bloodshed and rape and pannage (in the woods) for their men. The rest were the King's. This whole manor rendered to the King a farm of 10 pounds 10 shillings. There are now there 6 Drenghes and 12 villeins and 4 bordars, who have 9 carucates amongst them. The demesne is worth 4 pounds."
As can be seen, even in an English translation this is still quite difficult to understand, but it is interesting to read what was written about our area almost a thousand years ago. It actually refers to what was then known as Newton Hundred. Newton was the head of an area of local government called a Hundred. These dated back to Anglo-Saxon times, and it is thought that they were so called because originally they were ruled by meetings consisting of a hundred armed men. Later on, Newton became part of West Derby Hundred, which continued as a unit of local government right up until the Local Government Act of 1894.
Before the Conquest, most of Newton Hundred had directly as its lord, King Edward the Confessor (King Harold ruled only for a few months), possibly in succession to Oswald. The land not directly under the King's lordship, 15 'berewicks' or subordinate manors, was held under him by 15 'drenghes' or vassals. Two churches are mentioned, one being St. Oswald's (Winwick Parish Church) and the other is thought to have been Wigan, so in those days perhaps Wigan came under Newton! St. Oswald's was a greatly favoured church, its endowment being two carucates of land, which was double that of Warrington, Walton (the mother-church of Liverpool) or Manchester. Another sign of the favour shown to St. Oswald's Church is that it had its own manor, which was free of all taxes. Only one other church in Lancashire (Whalley) had this tax exemption. The reference to a hawk's aeries, or nesting-places, is interesting, as hawks were considered to be quite a luxury, as they were used in hunting by the nobility.
Fee of Makerfield
After the Norman Conquest, land was usually allocated by King William to his noblemen. In the case of Newton Hundred, it was given to Count Roger of Poictou in return for his services at the Battle of Hastings. Roger later gave the church and village of Winwick to the newly-founded (in 1100) Priory of St. Oswald at Nostell in Yorkshire, and the rest of the Hundred to another Norman, Robert Banastre. This was given, as was the custom of the so-called Feudal System of that time, as a 'fee,' in this case being called the Fee of Makerfield. It was made up of 18 townships altogether: Newton, Wigan, Lowton, Golborne, Haydock, Ince, Pemberton, Billinge, Winstanley, Orrell, Hindley, Abram, Kenyon, Ashton, Southworth with Croft, Middleton and Arbury, Woolston with Martinscroft, and Poulton with Fearnhead. Some of these places to this day are still called 'in Makerfield': Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, as well as Newton-in-Makerfield (the town has been called Newton-le-Willows since 1939, but St. Peter's Church is still called the Church of St. Peter in Newton-in-Makerfield).
Under the Feudal System, Roger de Poictou and Robert Banastre were Lords of the Manor (the area covered by the Fee of Makerfield), otherwise known as Barons. In Newton, there were two courts under the Lord of the Manor: the Court Leet and the Court Baron. The first dealt with general matters of law and order, while the second dealt with cases relating to the Manor.
Early Charters (including Market and Fair)
From time to time the King granted certain rights to individuals, groups of people, or even towns or cities, and these were laid down in the form of charters, which were legal documents written on parchment and bearing the King's Great Seal in green wax, the colour of perpetuity. There were possibly older charters relating to Newton, but the oldest to survive is that granted to Robert Banastre (a descendant of the first Banastre to be Lord of the Manor) by Henry lll. This was in 1257, and was for the right of free warren, or the license to raise and to hunt game. It carried the death penalty to hunt in the royal forest, which covered the area, without permission. In the following year, 1258, another Charter was granted, for a Fair and a Market at Newton. In 1302, Edward l confirmed these two charters, for a Market and Fair and for free warren. Earlestown Market is still held today under this right, from 700 years ago, although the right to a fair was finally abolished in 1916.
In 1284, Robert Banastre obtained from the Prior of the Friary of St. Oswald at Nostell in Yorkshire, (to which Winwick Church had been given in 1100), the privilege of having a chantry in his chapel at Rokeden, on account of the distance of Newton from the mother church at Winwick. This tells us that Newton already had a chapel, at a place called Rokeden. This is sometimes taken to mean the area around the former Dean School in Rob Lane, but other historians say this is more likely to be the site of the present church of St. Peter.
Lords of the Manor and Manorial Courts
Under the Feudal System, Roger de Poictou and Robert Banastre were Lords of the Manor ( the area covered by the Fee of Makerfield ), otherwise known as Barons. In Newton, there were two courts under the Lord of the Manor:
In 1286 the Langton family took over the Manor of Newton. Robert Banastre's heiress, Alice, married John Langton who became the Lord of the Manor, and it was he who obtained the charter of 1301 from Edward I. The Langtons held the manor of Newton for over 300 hundred years, except for a brief time when they were punished for supporting the wrong side in the Wars of the Roses. In 1604 the Langtons were succeeded by the Fleetwoods who only held the Manor for 56 years.
The Legh Family
Richard Legh of Lyme Hall in Cheshire became Lord of the Manor by buying it from the Fleetwoods in 1660. Upon taking over the Manor, Richard Legh granted the town of Newton the crest from his coat of arms. The description is (translated from Norman French, which is still used officially in heraldic descriptions):
"Out of a ducal coronet a ram's head, holding an elm sprig in its mouth."
The title of Lord of Manor of Newton still exists, and Richard Thomas Legh holds the title of Baron Newton, although the ancestral home, Lyme Hall, is now a National Trust property.
Early descriptions of Newton
In 1536, John Leland, on his travels around Lancashire, described our town as:
The Entry for Newton, from a book called 'England Illustrated, a Compendium of the History, Topography, Antiquities, Etc.' published in 1764, reads:
As with almost every settlement in Britain, the origins of Newton-le-Willows are lost in the mists of time, with hints of prehistoric activity being uncovered by archaeological and chance discoveries. Prehistoric means before any written evidence, including any recorded dates. In Newton it used to be thought that Castle Hill was a prehistoric burial mound, but now it is believed to have been what its name says, a small castle on a "motte" or small hill, built in the early middle ages. In fact, in Newton there are two burial mounds, one called Lady Hill, to the north of Castle Hill, and another one north of the Sankey Canal, to the west of Common Road.
There was also, until it was broken up in the 19th century, a large boulder stone which stood at the corner of Rob Lane and the High Street. This could have been a prehistoric standing stone, or perhaps a natural boulder deposited in that spot during the Ice Age and used as a landmark from early times.
Julius Caesar led two Roman expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 B.C., but the actual Roman invasion of Britain began nearly 100 years later, in A.D. 43. At first, Roman rule was confined to southern Britain and by A.D. 47 as far as the rivers Severn and Trent. After A.D. 60, the Romans began to conquer what is now Wales and northern England. Between about A.D. 69 and 77 they built a road which crossed the Mersey at Wilderspool, and went on through Newton, Wigan and Preston, to Lancaster and possibly beyond. This is now thought to have been built to help them in conquering what is now Lancashire and Cumbria.
While the Romans ruled Britain, Christianity spread here as it did over all the Roman Empire. It became the official state religion under the Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313.
Anglo-Saxon times, including St.Oswald
In A.D. 409 Britain rebelled against Roman rule, but otherwise life continued much as before. However, with the Roman legions leaving Britain, it left the country open to invaders, from the north, west and east. Those from the east came over the sea from what is now northern Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. These were the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, and together they came to be called the Anglo-Saxons. The strongest of these in number, the Angles, or English, gave their name to England as a whole.
They were Pagans, meaning not Christian, and having their own gods and goddesses. Examples of these can still be seen today in the days of the week, which were named after them, such as Tuesday after the god Tiw, Wednesday after the god Woden, Thursday after the god Thor and Friday after the goddess Freya. Some of the Anglo-Saxons were invited to come as mercenaries, to fight against the invaders from the north who were the Picts, and from the west, the Scots, who came from Ireland (and who gave their name to Scotland after becoming more powerful than the Picts). Many more of the Anglo-Saxons came later as invaders themselves.
They soon established several independent kingdoms, but in time these came together as larger kingdoms, such as Wessex in the south-west (named after the West Saxons), East Anglia in the east (after the East Angles), Mercia in the Midlands, and Northumbria in the north (meaning north of the Humber Estuary).
Place names can also give clues to the history of settlement in an area. It seems that around Newton several places kept their old British or Celtic names, instead of having been given Anglo-Saxon ones. Examples of these Celtic names are Haydock, Culcheth, Kenyon, Penketh, Bryn, Ince and even Wigan. The name Newton is Anglo-Saxon, meaning 'new town'. Other Anglo-Saxon place names in the area include Winwick, Burtonwood (originally just 'Burton'), Sutton, Parr, Ashton, Golborne and Lowton.
Although the Anglo-Saxons were at first Pagan, Christianity stayed in Britain in the places where the original British inhabitants remained in power, especially Wales. In A.D. 597 the Pope in Rome sent a mission, led by St. Augustine, to convert England to Christianity. The full conversion of England took many years. In A.D. 627 King Edwin of Northumbria was converted by Paulinus, another missionary from Rome.
Edwin's successor, King Oswald, tried to spread Christianity in the parts of England which were still Pagan. Penda was king of Mercia, and he was a Pagan. A war broke out between them and in the end Oswald was killed in battle by Penda in the year 642. This happened at a place called Maserfeld. There is still an argument about where this was, but one theory is that it was Makerfield, the area around Newton. Because Oswald was a Christian king who died fighting against a Pagan, he was declared a Saint by the Church. There is a local tradition that at the place where King Oswald was killed, people used to take away a little of the earth because they considered it was holy, and eventually it made a hole in which water welled up. This was lined with stone and became known as St. Oswald's Well. It still exists today and is now a 'listed building'.
Another local link with Oswald is the Parish Church at Winwick, which is dedicated to St. Oswald, and the origins of this church do go back to Anglo-Saxon times. The cross-bar of a stone cross from this period was found in the 19th century, and is now inside the church. It was a very large cross, as the cross-bar is 5 feet in length. It is carved with typical Anglo-Saxon decoration. There is also an inscription in Latin on the south side of the church, which can be translated as:
This place of old did Oswald greatly love,
Northumbria' s king, but now a saint above;
Who in Marcelde's field did fighting fall;
O, blest one, hear, when here on thee we call.
(one line here is too badly worn to read)
In fifteen hundred and three times ten
Sclater restored and built this wall again,
And Henry Johnson here was curate then.
Although this inscription was carved in 1530 the first part seems to be a copy of an older one, possibly very old, and might preserve a piece of historical fact about Oswald, his love of the place and his falling in battle at Makerfield (here called Marcelde).
Domesday Book and Newton Hundred
In 1066 King William of Normandy conquered England, having killed King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings. Twenty years after the Norman Conquest, in 1086, King William ordered a survey, in great detail, to be made of the whole of the country he had conquered. No other country in Europe produced anything like it until several hundred years later, and the original book still survives. It was kept for centuries at Winchester and is now at the Public Record Office in London. It was called the Domesday Book (meaning the same as 'doomsday') comparing it with the Day of Judgement which nobody could appeal against. It was written in Latin, which was then the official language for documents (not only in England but all over Western Europe).
Lancashire did not then yet exist (it did not become a county until 1182), and was listed as two separate areas in the Domesday Book, Newton appearing in the part called 'between the Ribble and the Mersey.' Translated into English the entry reads:
"In Newton, in King Edward's time, there were five hides. Of these one was in the demesne. The church of the same manor had one carucate of land, and Saint Oswald of the same vill had two carucates of land free of everything. The other land of this manor 15 men, called Drenghes, held for 15 manors, which were berewicks of this manor; and, among them all, these men rendered 30 shillings. There is a wood there 10 leagues long and 6 leagues and 2 furlongs broad, and there are a hawk's aeries. All the free men of this hundred, except 2, had the same custom as the men of Derbyshire (meaning West Derby Hundred); but in August they mowed 2 days more than they on the King's tillage lands. The two (excepted men) had 5 carucates of land, and had the forfeitures for bloodshed and rape and pannage (in the woods) for their men. The rest were the King's. This whole manor rendered to the King a farm of 10 pounds 10 shillings. There are now there 6 Drenghes and 12 villeins and 4 bordars, who have 9 carucates amongst them. The demesne is worth 4 pounds."
As can be seen, even in an English translation this is still quite difficult to understand, but it is interesting to read what was written about our area almost a thousand years ago. It actually refers to what was then known as Newton Hundred. Newton was the head of an area of local government called a Hundred. These dated back to Anglo-Saxon times, and it is thought that they were so called because originally they were ruled by meetings consisting of a hundred armed men. Later on, Newton became part of West Derby Hundred, which continued as a unit of local government right up until the Local Government Act of 1894.
Before the Conquest, most of Newton Hundred had directly as its lord, King Edward the Confessor (King Harold ruled only for a few months), possibly in succession to Oswald. The land not directly under the King's lordship, 15 'berewicks' or subordinate manors, was held under him by 15 'drenghes' or vassals. Two churches are mentioned, one being St. Oswald's (Winwick Parish Church) and the other is thought to have been Wigan, so in those days perhaps Wigan came under Newton! St. Oswald's was a greatly favoured church, its endowment being two carucates of land, which was double that of Warrington, Walton (the mother-church of Liverpool) or Manchester. Another sign of the favour shown to St. Oswald's Church is that it had its own manor, which was free of all taxes. Only one other church in Lancashire (Whalley) had this tax exemption. The reference to a hawk's aeries, or nesting-places, is interesting, as hawks were considered to be quite a luxury, as they were used in hunting by the nobility.
Fee of Makerfield
After the Norman Conquest, land was usually allocated by King William to his noblemen. In the case of Newton Hundred, it was given to Count Roger of Poictou in return for his services at the Battle of Hastings. Roger later gave the church and village of Winwick to the newly-founded (in 1100) Priory of St. Oswald at Nostell in Yorkshire, and the rest of the Hundred to another Norman, Robert Banastre. This was given, as was the custom of the so-called Feudal System of that time, as a 'fee,' in this case being called the Fee of Makerfield. It was made up of 18 townships altogether: Newton, Wigan, Lowton, Golborne, Haydock, Ince, Pemberton, Billinge, Winstanley, Orrell, Hindley, Abram, Kenyon, Ashton, Southworth with Croft, Middleton and Arbury, Woolston with Martinscroft, and Poulton with Fearnhead. Some of these places to this day are still called 'in Makerfield': Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, as well as Newton-in-Makerfield (the town has been called Newton-le-Willows since 1939, but St. Peter's Church is still called the Church of St. Peter in Newton-in-Makerfield).
Under the Feudal System, Roger de Poictou and Robert Banastre were Lords of the Manor (the area covered by the Fee of Makerfield), otherwise known as Barons. In Newton, there were two courts under the Lord of the Manor: the Court Leet and the Court Baron. The first dealt with general matters of law and order, while the second dealt with cases relating to the Manor.
Early Charters (including Market and Fair)
From time to time the King granted certain rights to individuals, groups of people, or even towns or cities, and these were laid down in the form of charters, which were legal documents written on parchment and bearing the King's Great Seal in green wax, the colour of perpetuity. There were possibly older charters relating to Newton, but the oldest to survive is that granted to Robert Banastre (a descendant of the first Banastre to be Lord of the Manor) by Henry lll. This was in 1257, and was for the right of free warren, or the license to raise and to hunt game. It carried the death penalty to hunt in the royal forest, which covered the area, without permission. In the following year, 1258, another Charter was granted, for a Fair and a Market at Newton. In 1302, Edward l confirmed these two charters, for a Market and Fair and for free warren. Earlestown Market is still held today under this right, from 700 years ago, although the right to a fair was finally abolished in 1916.
In 1284, Robert Banastre obtained from the Prior of the Friary of St. Oswald at Nostell in Yorkshire, (to which Winwick Church had been given in 1100), the privilege of having a chantry in his chapel at Rokeden, on account of the distance of Newton from the mother church at Winwick. This tells us that Newton already had a chapel, at a place called Rokeden. This is sometimes taken to mean the area around the former Dean School in Rob Lane, but other historians say this is more likely to be the site of the present church of St. Peter.
Lords of the Manor and Manorial Courts
Under the Feudal System, Roger de Poictou and Robert Banastre were Lords of the Manor ( the area covered by the Fee of Makerfield ), otherwise known as Barons. In Newton, there were two courts under the Lord of the Manor:
- The Court Leet.
- The Court Baron.
In 1286 the Langton family took over the Manor of Newton. Robert Banastre's heiress, Alice, married John Langton who became the Lord of the Manor, and it was he who obtained the charter of 1301 from Edward I. The Langtons held the manor of Newton for over 300 hundred years, except for a brief time when they were punished for supporting the wrong side in the Wars of the Roses. In 1604 the Langtons were succeeded by the Fleetwoods who only held the Manor for 56 years.
The Legh Family
Richard Legh of Lyme Hall in Cheshire became Lord of the Manor by buying it from the Fleetwoods in 1660. Upon taking over the Manor, Richard Legh granted the town of Newton the crest from his coat of arms. The description is (translated from Norman French, which is still used officially in heraldic descriptions):
"Out of a ducal coronet a ram's head, holding an elm sprig in its mouth."
The title of Lord of Manor of Newton still exists, and Richard Thomas Legh holds the title of Baron Newton, although the ancestral home, Lyme Hall, is now a National Trust property.
Early descriptions of Newton
In 1536, John Leland, on his travels around Lancashire, described our town as:
- Newton on a Brooke a little poore Market, whereof Mr. Langton hath the Name of his Barony. Syr Perse Lee (or Legh) of Bradley hath his place at Bradley in a Parke a ii (2) Miles from Newton.
- Entering a little hamlet called 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 a fair-built church called Winwick church, a remarkable 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 Billinge....
Then passing on a sandy lane you leave Haydock park, and (close by the road) Haydock lodge, belonging to Mr. Legh, and going on a half a mile you pass by the chapel and through the town of Ashton, standing upon a rocky ground, which belongeth to Sir William Gerard, bart., of Brynn, who resides at Garswood, about a mile to the east (although this is in fact to the west). Having passed the stone bridge take the left hand way, which though something fouler is more used. You then pass by Whitledge Green, a place much resorted to in summer by the neighbouring gentry for bowling. Shortly after you meet with the other way from Ashton bridge by J. Naylor's, a herald painter and an excellent stainer of glass for pictures or coats of arms. Through a more open coach-way passing on upon the right leave the Brynn gate, a private way leading to the ancient hall of Brynn, and upon the left another road by Garswood to the Hall of Parr, a seat belonging to the Byroms, and to St. Helen's chapel; and thence past Hawkley to Wigan.
The Entry for Newton, from a book called 'England Illustrated, a Compendium of the History, Topography, Antiquities, Etc.' published in 1764, reads:
- Newton is distant from London 187 miles, and is an ancient borough, by prescription, governed by a steward, bailiff, and burgesses. This town once had a market; but that is disused; and is now remarkable only for chusing two members of parliament, who are returned by the steward of the lord of the manor, and for a charity school, founded in 1707, by one Hornby, a yeoman of this place, and endowed with 2000 l (£) where children are taught to read, write, and cast accompts, and allowed a dinner every school day; and there are ten boys and ten girls lodged in a neighbouring hospital, where they are provided with all sort of necessaries till they are fourteen years old.
NEWTON in MACKERFIELD a borough (formerly a market town) and chapelry, in the parish of WINWICK, hundred of WEST DERBY, county palatine of LANCASTER, 47 miles (S. by E.) from Lancaster, and 192 1/2 (N. W. by N.) from London, containing 1643 inhabitants.
During the parliamentary war, and about the month of August, 1648, some Highlanders having been defeated and made prisoners by the parliamentary forces, at Red Bank, near this place, were hanged in an adjacent field, which still retains the appellation of Gallows Cross. The town consists chiefly of one broad street; and there are an ancient court-house, and a handsome assembly-room. The manufacture of fustians is the principal branch of business, and spinning and dyeing cotton is also carried on. The market has long been discontinued, but the cross is standing. Fairs are held on May 17th and August 12th for horses.
Newton, anciently the head of a barony, is a borough by prescription, and has returned two members of parliament ever since the first year of the reign of Elizabeth; the right of election is in the free-holders to the value of forty shillings and upwards: the number of voters is about sixty: the steward of the borough, and the bailiff of the manor, are the returning officers; and the influence of Thomas Legh. Esq., is predominant. Courts leet and baron are held three times a year, at which small debts are recoverable. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, endowed with £200 private benefaction, £400 royal bounty, and £600 Parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of Richard Legh Esq.: the burial-ground has been recently enlarged, and enclosed with a stone wall and palisades, by the patron. A free school is kept in the court-house for the instruction of poor children; the average number is from seventy to one hundred: the master receives about £55 per annum, arising from the proceeds of certain enclosures of Leyland common, and the rental of a messuage called Dean school. Upwards of four hundred children are instructed in the Sunday schools, which were established in 1823.
About half a mile northward of the town are the remains of an ancient barrow, called Castle Hill, the sides and summit of which are crowned with venerable oaks; it is from eight to nine yards high, and twenty-five in diameter. A whetstone, encased in wood, was discovered in sinking a coal-pit in this neighbourhood, in 1822, about thirty yards below the surface of the earth.
- NEWTON-in-MAKERFIELD, a market-town, and parish, in the union of WARRINGTON, hundred of WEST DERBY, S. division of LANCASHIRE, 4 miles (N.) from Warrington, 15 miles (E. by N.) from Liverpool, 47 (S. by E.) from Lancaster, and 192 1/2 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing 3126 inhabitants. This place was at a very early period of sufficient importance to give name to one of the hundreds of the county, but the distinction has been lost for many centuries. During the civil war, and in or about the month of August 1648, a skirmish took place at Red Bank, near the town, between the parliamentary forces and a party of Highlanders, the latter of whom being defeated and made prisoners, were hanged in a field (through which the turnpike-road now passes) that retains to this day the name of the Gallows Croft.
The TOWN consists chiefly of one broad street with some respectable houses, and many important works are carried on in its vicinity. Two large foundries for locomotive-engines and iron-work of almost every description, employ between 700 and 800 hands. The extensive alkali-works of Messrs. James Muspratt and Sons employ nearly 300 hands; and this firm also, commenced here in 1845 the manufacture on a considerable scale of Baron Liebig's patent manure. Messrs. Ackers and Company have establishment for the manufacture of crown-glass. A large hotel has been built adjoining the Liverpool and Manchester railway station at this place, which is about halfway between those two towns; and the North-Union and Birmingham railways form a junction near the town, with the Liverpool and Manchester line. It was at the Parkside station, in the parish, on the occasion of opening the last-mentioned railway, in Sept. 1830, that the Rt. Hon. William Huskisson met with the accident which caused his death; and a tablet to his memory has been erected near the spot.
Races annually take place, in July, on a large common within a short distance of the town; a fine course has been formed at the cost of Thomas Legh, Esq., lord of the manor, and owner of five-sixths of the parish, and that gentleman has also built a grand stand of elegant design besides which, is a range of substantial stands of brick, commanding a view of the whole course. A branch from the Birmingham railway, directly to the course, affords facility for visiters to it, from the neighbouring towns and almost any part of the kingdom. A market-house was erected in 1840, by Mr. Legh. Fairs are held on May 17th and August 11th for horned cattle, and on May 18th and August 12th for horses. Newton, the head of a barony, and formerly a borough by prescription, returned two members to parliament from the first year of the reign of Elizabeth to the 2nd. of William 1V., when it was disfranchised. Courts leet and baron for the ancient fee of Makerfield are held three times a year, at which small debts are recoverable.
The parish comprises 3101 acres, whereof about 697 are arable, 1958 meadow and pasture, 28 wood, and the remainder villages, roads, and waste or common. The district is delightful and healthy, and the land very fertile, the soil being one-third clay loam and two-thirds loam, with a substratum of the new red-sandstone formation, of which there are excellent quarries. Newton Hall, a venerable building of lath and plaster, stands on the south side of the town; the vestiges of a moat, formerly visible, have merged in the adjacent brook, and the ancient mount or tumulus, with its subterraneous passages and walls, now forms part of the embankment of the Liverpool and Manchester railway. The late John Blackburne, Esq., M.P. for Lancashire, sold this Hall and estate to Mr. Legh. Oak-tree House at the northern extremity of the town, is another fabric of frame-work; the Brotherton family were the ancient proprietors, and sold it to the Leghs. Hey, in Newton, consists of two farms; Old Hey was the mansion of the Brothertons, by whom the property was sold to the Leghs at the beginning of the present century.
Newton was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Winwick, but was erected into a district parish, by act of parliament, in 1844. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of the Earl of Derby: the tithes have been commuted for £300, and there are two acres of glebe land, and a glebe-house. The parish church, situated at Wargrave, and dedicated to Emmanuel, was built in 1841, and is a neat stone structure in the early English style, with a spire, forming a commanding object in the scenery: the cost of its erection was defrayed by the rector of Winwick. The old chapel, which was dedicated to St. Peter, was built in 1682, by Richard Legh, Esq., and rebuilt in 1834; it is also in the pointed style, and of red-sandstone. After the creation of the Parish of Newton, it was made a district church. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £114; patron, Mr. Legh. The burial-ground has been extended, and inclosed with a stone wall and iron palisades, by the patron; it contains an obelisk formed of one very large block of stone (brought from Lyme Park, in Cheshire), in lieu of an ancient cross. There is a free school, the master of which receives about £50 per annum, arising from proceeds of certain inclosures of Leyland common, and the rent of a messuage called Dean-school; and national schools, adapted for 400 children, have been built by government grants and private subscription, on a site given by Mr. Legh, from the designs of his agent, Mr. Mercer.
About half a mile northward of the town are the remains of a barrow, supposed to be of great antiquity, named Castle Hill; it is from eight to nine yards in height and about 25 in diameter, and beautifully situated on a high bank near the confluence of a small brook with the river Dean; the sides and summit of this barrow are covered with venerable oaks. At the distance of about a quarter of a mile south of the town, in the footpath of the turnpike-road leading to Warrington, is a large stone laid in the pavement, called the Bloody Stone, on which the peasantry of the surrounding country invariably spit when passing. The legend is, that on this stone, the Welsh knight who had married Lady Mabel Bradshaigh, of Haigh Hall, on the supposed death of her husband, Sir William, in the Holy wars, fell murdered by the latter, who had been taken prisoner in Palestine, and returned after a long captivity.