Westhoughton Local History
Westhoughton Public Library
Westhoughton Local History Group aims to inform the residents present and past about the interesting events that have occurred in the area in the past. This is achieved by doing research and communicating these findings by holding presentations on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 10.30am upstairs in Westhoughton Library or in the adjacent Carnegie Hall. In addition exhibitions on major local historic events are held periodically. NO MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE CHARGED.
The Group also produce publications on local history topics. Presentations are also delivered for local school who wish to know more about their historical heritage.
Trips to historic sites are also organised on a regular basis.
An additional website which complements this one but focuses on the visual aspects of local history is also available at http://www.westhoughtonlocalhistorypresentationsandphotos.com and there is also a facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/WesthoughtonLocalHistoryGroup which features numerous photos and comments that people post.
16th May – Lancashire and the English Civil War by Stephen Irwin.
A general Plague of Madness! This is how Stephen describes this important era in England in the middle of the 17th century.r
A significant part of Westhoughton’s history is determined by the fact that for hundreds of years it was primarily a silk and cotton weaving and a coal mining employer. But in 1936 the last coal mine closed and in 1970 the last textile factory closed.
Four major events occurred in the history of Westhoughton namely the Civil war in 1642, the Burning of Westhoughton Mill by Luddites in 1812, the construction of the Bolton – Leigh Railway in 1828 and the Pretoria pit disaster in 1910.
Contact
We welcome more information and photographs to add to our archive, and also offers to help with research and organisation of our material. To contact WLHG, please email:
Westhoughton Local history 