Leigh, Greater Manchester

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Leigh

Coordinates: 53.4975° N 2.515° W Leigh shown within Greater Manchester
Population	43,006
OS grid reference	SD655005
Metropolitan borough	Wigan
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LEIGH
Postcode district	WN7
Dial code	01942
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Leigh
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Leigh a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, is nine miles (14.5 km) west of the City of Manchester, and ten miles (16 km) southeast of Wigan.

Historically part of Lancashire, Leigh has a total population of around 44,122 according to the 2001 Metropolitan Borough of Wigan census survey.^[1]

1 Etymology
2 History
3 Communications
- 3.1 Canals
- 3.2 Railways
4 Re-development
5 Sport
6 Notable residents
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Etymology

The name Leigh is attributed as deriving from the old english word lea or the middle english word of legh. The meaning of the earliest version of the word, lea, varies between meaning a woodland clearing or a meadow depending on the source of its definition.^[2]^[3]

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

In the 12th century the town of Leigh was made up of six townships, including Chowbent, Lowton and Pennington, where weekly markets were held and a cattle fair held twice-yearly.

Leigh was divided in its allegiance during the English Civil War, some of the population supporting the Royalists cause while others supported the Parliamentarians. A battle was fought in the town on December 2, 1642, when 3,000 Chowbenters beat back and then routed Cavalier troops under the command of James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby. The Earl of Derby passed through Leigh again in 1651, when he spent his last night in the King's Arms, before going on to his execution in Bolton.

Before the Industrial Revolution, Leigh was famed for its dairy industry and production of Lancashire cheese - reputed to be the best toasting cheese in the world. The marooned pirate Ben Gunn, a character in the Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island, craved Leigh Toaster during his three-year exile.

[edit] Civic history

In 1875 the Leigh Local board of health was established, consisting of the areas of the former Bedford, Pennington and Westleigh Local Boards of Health; and a Poor Law Union (administering the Workhouse). In 1894 the area of the Local Board, together with part of Atherton township, became the Leigh Urban District of the administrative county of Lancashire. In 1899 the Urban District became a municipal borough. In 1974 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.

In 1998, an area (Lately Common) was further ceded to the Warrington borough - one of the few parts of England to have been in three different counties in the last 35 years; Lancashire, then Greater Manchester, followed by Cheshire.

[edit] Textile industry

In the 18th century Leigh had a thriving domestic textile industry, mostly as a result of the large number of by hand-loom weavers manufacturing in their own homes, however one or two factories also existed. Over time more factories opened, so that by the latter part of the 19th century there were at least a dozen mills in the town. Silk and rope-manufacture were also among local industries.

It is a tradition in the town that a local man, Thomas Highs, was the inventor of a spinning jenny and the water frame in the 1760s, the latter invention being pirated by Richard Arkwright, who subsequently made a fortune from the patent royalties. The link is commemorated in the town's Spinning Gate Shopping Centre and the town centre bypass known as Spinning Jenny Way.

[edit] Coal mining

In the second half of the 19th century coal began to be an important industry and coal mining became the largest user of labour after the textile industry in Leigh. Parsonage Colliery was one of the deepest mines in the country going down to over 3000 feet. The entire Lancashire coalfield is now closed to deep mining, althogh several open-cast mining activities are still in operation.

[edit] Other industry

The tractor factory of David Brown Limited was located in Leigh following the acquisition by David Browne in 1955 of Harrison, McGregor and Guest Ltd. who produced their Albion range of farm machinery products in Leigh.

British Insulated Callender's Cables (BICC), formerly Anchor Cables and later renamed Balfour Beatty, also had one of its largest factories in Leigh.

[edit] Education

Leigh once had separate boys and girls grammar schools, which thrived until they were abolished by the then Secretary of State for Education, Shirley Williams in the 1976 Education Act. Leigh Boys Grammar School educated many of the famous people in the famous residents list, including Pete Shelley and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies for whom a mini grand piano was specially purchased.

[edit] Communications

[edit] Canals

The Bridgewater Canal was extended from Worsley to the middle of Leigh in 1795, and in 1819 the Leigh branch canal was cut from the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Poolstock, Wigan to meet the Bridgewater at Leigh Bridge, giving access from Leigh to all parts of Lancashire, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

[edit] Railways

Leigh was the southern terminus of the Bolton and Leigh Railway (7.5 miles: 12 km). George Stephenson carried out the survey for the line. It opened for freight on August 1st 1828 and for passengers on June 13th 1831. The first locomotive on the line was an 0-4-0 called The Lancashire Witch. The town station was at West Leigh. Later the line was extended southwards to Pennington. The line was closed to passenger traffic on March 29, 1954, and later closed completely.

The second railway to serve the town was a branch line from the Manchester - Eccles - Wigan line. It joined the earlier railway at Pennington: there was a station, originally named Leigh and Bedford to serve the town. It was closed in May 1969, leaving the town without a passenger railway. Numerous freight-only lines crossed the town, but with the closure of the collieries these were no longer required.

Today the nearest railway station is at Atherton, three miles to the north. Leigh is the fifth largest town in Great Britain without a railway station.^{[citation needed]}

The large bus station is now the town's main public transport link.

[edit] Re-development

In modern times the former site of the Parsonage colliery has been re-developed and a retail estate and supermarket now provide local employment as well as shopping opportunities.

A major development in the town is gradually taking shape with the development of the Leigh Sports Village, which will include a 10,000 capacity stadium to be shared by Leigh RMI and Leigh Centurions, while there will also be a new athletics arena for Leigh Harriers athletics club, new facilities for Leigh East Amateur Rugby League Club, a new college campus along with leisure and business facilities for the community.

[edit] Sport

Leigh has a professional rugby league team - Leigh Centurions - whose main claim to fame is beating Leeds 24-7 in the 1971 Challenge Cup Final. More recently they played in the Super League in the 2005 season. It also has a semi-professional football team, Leigh RMI, who play in the Conference North division as of the 2006/07 season, with both Leigh RMI and Leigh Centurions sharing the town's Hilton Park stadium. Another football team is Leigh Athletic (see below)

Leigh Athletic [4] is the premier amateur football club in Leigh and currently play in the Manchester Football League. The reserve team is currently managed by Richard Wilson Jnr. who is a former regular 1st team mid-fielder with 650 appearances and 200 goals under his belt.[5]

Leigh also has a athletics club Leigh Harriers AC , wich was founded in 1909 and has been providing athletic oppertunities for people from Wigan and Leigh ever since.

[edit] Notable residents

Leigh's notable residents have included and include:

John Woods, Great Britain rugby league player
Geoffrey Unsworth, Awarded O.B.E. Won Academy Awards for cinematography on CABARET and TESS. Also worked on 2001, SUPERMAN & SUPERMAN II as well as other major motion pictures. Superman I is dedicated to the memory of Geoffrey Unsworth.
Darryl Clark, actor
Oliver Lee, actor
Leah Hackett, actress
Tracie Bennett, actress
Tom Burke, opera tenor
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer
Sarah Jayne Dunn, actress
Georgie Fame, singer
Andy Prior, bandleader, singer and trombonist
Harold Hassall, footballer
James Hilton, author
Shaun Keaveny, radio presenter
Harry Pennington, 1926 British Champion of Catch Wrestling
Joe Reid, Commonwealth Games medallist for Wrestling in 1930 & 1934
Lynda Lee Potter, newspaper columnist
Pete Shelley, lead singer and songwriter of the Buzzcocks
Nigel Short, chess player
Dangerous Damon Leigh, European Professional Wrestling Champion
Colin Welland, BAFTA winning actor, Playwright & Oscar winner in 1981 for the multi award-winning, box office smash Chariots of Fire.
Ronnie Irani, English Test and ODI cricketer. Currently plays for Essex CCC. Holds the record as the 1st englishman to take 5 wickets and score 50 runs in a single ODI for England.

[edit] See also

Pennington Flash, a country park on the outskirts of Leigh.

[edit] References

^ www.wigan.gov.uk [1] Retrieved on 2007-03-22
^ en.wikipedia.org [2] Retrieved on 2007-03-22
^ www.ivillage.co.uk [3]Retrieved on 2007-03-22

[edit] External links

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