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Coordinates: 53°28′33″N 2°35′39″W / 53.4758°N 2.5943°W / 53.4758; -2.5943

Golborne
High Street, Golborne
Golborne  Golborne shown within Greater Manchester
Population	23,119 (2001 census)
OS grid reference	SJ606978
Metropolitan borough	Wigan
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WARRINGTON
Postcode district	WA3
Dialling code	01925
	01942
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Leigh
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Golborne is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south-southeast of Wigan, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) northeast of Warrington and 13.8 miles (22.2 km) to the west of the city of Manchester. It has a population of 23,119.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Golborne owes most of its growth to the mining and textile industry. There was also significant agricultural activity in the village, and many farms still belong to the families who originally owned them.

History

Toponymy

The name Golborne derives from the Old English golde and burna, and means "stream where marsh marigolds grow". The earliest settlements in the village were on banks of the Millingford Brook- hence the name of the village being taken from a water course where calendula grew.^[1] Golborne has been recorded in ancient documents as Goldeburn in 1187, Goldburc in 1201, Goseburn and Goldburn in1212 and Golburne in 1242. Golborne and Gowborne were 15th century spellings.^[2]

Early history

The town was referred to in the Domesday book. The town owed most of its early growth to the mining industry. In one form or another Golborne has existed for many centuries. According to the official guide book this township, situated close by the west coast route from North to South, has seen people of many nationalities during its history; Ancient Britons, Phoenician Tin and Salt traders, Roman legionaries, Saxons, Danes and Normans. This may well be true because of Golborne's position and its proximity to the ancient townships of Wigan and Warrington.

Here legend says, lived a knight who won fame by battling with, and slaying, a fearsome dragon. For this valiant deed he was granted land and a manor, which some say was that of Goulbourne, to give the place its ancient spelling. In the old fields near the golf club stands a large tumulus, known as Castle Hill, where tradition says Alfred, the wise king, buried his treasure, although to date it has never been found.

The old Manor of Golborne stood to the north side of the village, giving its name to a public house on Church Street (now demolished). The manor and its lands extended as far as St Luke's church in Lowton, and also gives its name to Manor Avenue and Manor Court. The Venerable Bede wrote in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum of the well near Golborne sacred to St. Oswald's memory.^[3] This well, in a field beside the ancient winding way from Golborne Dale to Winwick, possibly marks the spot where Penda, the pagan king of Mercia, slew the Christian King Oswald, later St Oswald, in the Battle of Maserfield, in 642. It is more generally accepted though that the site of that battle was some considerable distance to the southwest, near Oswestry.

Of the local places of interest Holcroft Hall, which is now a farm, was once the home of one of the most audacious criminals in history. This was Colonel Blood, who during the reign of Charles II attempted to, and very nearly succeeded in stealing the Crown Jewels. King Charles was so amazed and amused by Blood's audacity that he pardoned him. Blood was married to Maria the daughter of Mr. Holcroft of Holcroft Hall. The marriage took place at Newhurch Church, much against the will of Maria’s father.

One notable battle in 1648 was that of Red Gap fought on ground close by the old road south from Golborne. (Probably the Red Bank area of Newton le Willows) This battle was part of the campaign known as the 2nd Civil War. For this campaign the Scots had come over to the side of Charles I and had rapidly advanced into England. Oliver Cromwell,(left) the leader of the Roundhead Army, whose statue now stands at Bridge Foot in Warrington, intercepted the Scots at Preston and, in a series of running battles between Preston, Wigan and Warrington, of which Red Gap was one, he defeated the Scots even though his army was outnumbered by 10 to 1. It was after the battle of Red Gap that Cromwell resolved to bring the king to trial and shortly afterwards "that man of blood" as the Roundheads called the king, was tried and finally executed on the 30 January 1649.

Recent history

Much of the population growth occurred in the 1970s and 1980s^{[citation needed]} when the town largely developed as a satellite town for the nearby towns of Warrington, Leigh, St Helens and Wigan. In addition many inhabitants moved in from the nearby cities of Liverpool and Manchester^{[citation needed]}

On 18 March 1979 there was a methane explosion at the town's colliery, caused by an electrical spark, which took the lives of 10 of the miners.^[4] Of the 11 present, only one survived. The colliery closed around 10 years later in 1989. The location of the former colliery is known locally as the 'Bonk'or 'bonkin' (slang for bank, as in railway embankment), and is now used as a business park. The closure of the colliery led to the loss of employment for a large proportion of Golborne's population as well as people from nearby towns such as Abram, Lowton and Ashton. These unemployment problems have been mostly eradicated in recent years with the introduction of new industries to the area which have created new jobs, for example, the creation of Stone Cross Industrial Park.

For some years there has been an ongoing campaign to reopen the town's former railway station,^[5] which could potentially enable passengers to reach Wigan and Warrington in as little as 10 minutes. The plans seem recently to have been shelved, in favour of further development of residential areas. However, as part of Greater Manchester's Transport Initiative Fund package, a station at Golborne would be reinstated,^[6] likely to be relocated on the site of the former (closed) station off the A573 in the centre of town.

Like many places, Golborne's town centre has declined over recent years due to people preferring to travel to larger towns such as St.Helens, Warrington or Wigan and also preferring to use supermarkets instead of shopping in their own local shops. This has also meant that a once weekly market held on the town centre car park no longer takes place.

Governance

Civic history

Under the Local Government Act 1972, in force from the 1 April 1974, the urban district of Golborne, established in 1894 (and expanded in 1933 by adding part of Leigh Rural District) was split, with the parts of Culcheth and Newchurch becoming the civil parish of Culcheth and Glazebury in the Warrington district in Cheshire, and the rest of the district becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan of Greater Manchester.

Demography

Population change

Landmarks

A monument in memoriam to those people who worked and died as part of the local coal mining industry

• The parish church of Golborne is St Thomas Church, in the Deanery of Winwick, Diocese of Liverpool. Founded in 1829, the church building has a clock tower that is still in operation and is still heard chiming on every hour. There is also a graveyard surrounding the building.
• Peter Kane Square and memorial clock is situated in the town centre and is named in honour of Peter Kane.

On Sunday, 19 March 2006 the Rector of Golborne, the Rev Robert Williams, officiated at a service in Kidglove Road at what was the entrance to Golborne Colliery. The service was attended by ex-miners and their families, and was the fruition of two years of fund-raising to erect the 6 feet (2 m) by 3 feet (1 m) stone, commissioned in memory of the men and women who worked and died at Golborne Colliery between its opening in 1880 and its closure in 1989.

The memorial was conceptualised by the Golborne Ex-Miners Association who staged a series of concerts to help towards the cost of the stone. Funding was also received from a community chest grant from Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, Alpla (UK) Ltd of Golborne, and The Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. Former miner Dean Mitchell landscaped the memorial site.

Haydock Park Racecourse is nearby, located in Haydock, next to Golborne. The park is edged by a tall wall which forms the boundary between Haydock, Ashton in Makerfield, Golborne and Newton le Willows.

Notable people

References

External links

• The death of mining in Wigan