Newton-le-Willows
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  Map sources for Newton-le-Willows at grid reference SJ5895
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Newton-le-Willows is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in the metropolitan county of Merseyside and the historic county of Lancashire in North West England.
[edit] Location
It is to the east of the town of St Helens and the north of Warrington. A parliamentary borough from the 16th century until 1832, the developing industrial town became an Urban District in 1894 under the name Newton in Makerfield. The name of the U.D.C. was changed in 1939. In 1974 it became part of St Helens Borough [1] and also became part of Merseyside due to county boundary changes.
The old centre of Newton is on the A49 road (formerly the Warrington-Wigan Turnpike Road) and has a number of Georgian buildings, and is an attractive residential area. The suburb of Earlestown grew up during the 19th century based on engineering and coal mining. The Vulcan Foundry locomotive works were the major employer. Earlestown contains the Town Hall, Market Place, Police Station and Bus Station.
The St Helens Canal (the oldest canal in England) and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (the oldest inter-city railway in England) both pass through Earlestown and the railway crossed the canal at Sankey Viaduct - locally known as the Nine Arches. Newton and Earlestown both have railway stations. Earlestown's is a triangular junction with platforms on all three sides. Newton-le-Willows station is situated further east.
Parkside is the scene of the fatal accident at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 when the MP William Huskisson was killed. It was also the site of a coal mine that opened in 1962 but which was closed only 30 years later and demolished in 1994.
2005 has seen proposals, opposed by some local residents, to build a new rail freight terminal on the site of the former Parkside coal mine.
[edit] Well known residents
- Pop star Rick Astley
- Playwright & author Colin Welland
- Nobel Prize winner Rodney Robert Porter
John Cooper - Broadcaster on Radio in Liverpool
[edit] External links
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