The way things were . . . in Westhoughton

George Horrocks is one such local man who has strong links with the town of Westhoughton and keen to share some of his own memories with others.

His parents, George and Mary, ran the Horseshoe Inn in Manchester Road, Wingates before leaving to run the, recently closed, Commercial in Church Street, Westhoughton.

They were well known folk in the Westhoughton area — previously George had worked as a long distance lorry driver for Joe Roscoe who was a haulage contractor and lime merchant based in Wingates Lane and later at the rear of Frank Adshead's Garage.

At this time (around the 1950s), Westhoughton was a bustling town with a life all of its own.

It boasted pubs galore — there were 28 at one time explains George — "four clubs, two major Labour clubs, a British Legion and the Casino Club that became the Gaiety Club and then a snooker hall. It was, originally, the Empire Cinema," he says.

Westhoughton used to have two cinemas, The Empire and The Palace with the Palace being used as The Westhoughton Roller Skating Rink before it became a cinema.

"In those days very few of us had television so entertainment out of the home was really important," says 69-year-old George.

Life for young George involved schooling at Wingates St John Primary and then Westhoughton Secondary Modern School.

George's fascination for the town he lived in is understandable — after all Westhoughton is a very interesting place with a history to match.

Westhoughton's history includes much about the pits where many of its inhabitants would work.

Most people will know the story of the Pretoria Pit Disaster which, on December 21, 1910 was the scene of one of the worst mining disasters the country had ever known.

The explosion, at 7.50am, killed 344 men and boys.

Another — lesser known — pit was Stotts Pit in Church Street.

In March1934 it was revealed that there was a huge lake of water underground at Scot Lane which could break through to Stotts Pit at any time.

This part was closed.

Stotts Pit did, however, flood when water broke into it on November 14, 1936 causing severe flooding. There was a fight to save the pit and the jobs of 500 people.

Cement was rushed to the scene and a giant pump was installed but this did not work.

In 1921 55 per cent of all men living in Westhoughton worked in the mines.

When the pit closed in 1936 it resulted in the worst figures for unemployment in Westhoughton for many years.

In James Street, explains George, was the Royal Navy Gun Works, which later became a boiler factory.

It opened in 1916 as part of the war effort and closed for economic reasons in 1919.

"What I didn't realise is that one of the streets nearby — Jutland Grove— was named after a major battle at Jutland in Denmark to ensure a Naval connection," says George of the little estate of houses that was built in around t1920 and also included Glebe Street and The Avenue.

Other historical facts that George finds worthy of a mention include the burning of Westhoughton Mill in 1812.

This was a Luddite arson attack and resulted in the tragic hanging of a 12-year-old boy who cried for his mother on the gallows. "It is hard to believe that there would be no mercy shown," says George.

The Prime Minister who made the decision to hang the men and the young boy involved was Spencer Percival who was the only British Prime Minister ever to have been assassinated.

While they were waiting to be hanged his position was taken by the Earl of Liverpool who became Prime Minister.

Other fascinating stories include the tale of the White Horse junction — perhaps Looking Back readers can assist George in verifying this story and perhaps assisting with the date it happened? There is reference to this event in a book by Tom Newton.

Apparently there was a chip shop on one of the corners ("I went in there on many occasions," says George) and the shop opposite the White Horse Hotel was a post office.

A newspaper printed in 1939 reported that local people recalled this shop being owned by a Mr George Hunt who dealt not only in groceries but also in gunpowder.

He bought the powder in barrels and then resold it to coalminers who made their own cartridges.

The cartridges, which were made by putting powder into paper bags, were used at the coal face.

Apparently a match was accidentally dropped into one of the barrels of powder and an explosion killed Mrs Hunt as well as injuring two sons and a daughter.

Of course, at one time, anyone visiting this little crossroads of shops at the White Horse junction would be able to continue on to Bolton — but today the motorway has prevented that.

A famous landmark that many Westhoughton folk will be familiar with is the Snydale water tower, explains George which is, today, a family home.

The tower was completed in 1915 and could store 200,000 gallons of water which was available in case of fire or other emergency.

Of course the top of the tower now no longer exists and the home is built from the brickwork of the base. It is an old building constructed following an Act of Parliament in 1878 which obliged the Bolton Corporation Waterworks to supply Westhoughton with between 50,000 gallons of water and 400,000 gallons a day.

It managed a steady pressure of water for the whole of Westhoughton which was a pretty mean feat of engineering by any stretch of the imagination.

"Westhoughton is a fascinating place and I know there are many more interesting places worth mentioning," says George.

Perhaps you would like to add to George's list.

Get in touch with Gayle McBain on 01204 537269 or email gayle.mcbain@nqnw.co.uk if you have an interesting Westhoughton tale to tell.