:Westhoughton

The name Westhoughton is derived from the Old English, halh (dialectal "haugh") for a nook or corner of land, and 'tun' for a farmstead or settlement – meaning a "westerly settlement in a corner of land". It has been recorded variously as Halcton in 1210, Westhalcton in 1240, Westhalghton in 1292, Westhalton in 1302 and in the 16th-century as Westhaughton and Westhoughton.{{citation |editor1-last=Farrer |editor1-first=William |editor2-last=Brownbill |editor2-first=J |title=Westhoughton |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52993 |series=Victoria County History |work=A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5 |publisher=British History Online |pages=20–25 |year=1911 |access-date=31 August 2010 |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024165110/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=52993 |url-status=live }}Billington, W.D. (1982). From Affetside to Yarrow : Bolton place names and their history, Ross Anderson Publications ({{ISBN|0-86360-003-4}})

The people of Westhoughton are sometimes known as "Howfeners" (from Houghton) or "Keaw-yeds" (cow heads) or "Keawyedners" (a combination of the two), and the town is known as "Keawyed City". Supposed folklore ("re-invented" in the Edwardian period) describes a farmer who found his cow with its head stuck in a five barred gate, and, rather than damage the gate, cut the cow's head off, as the cow cost less than the gate.{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/boltonmuseums/3084979432/ |title=Westhoughton Keaw Yed (cow head) re-enactment circa 1919 |author=Bolton Museum & Archive Service |date=January 1919 |publisher=flickr.com |access-date=11 May 2013 |archive-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109052046/https://www.flickr.com/photos/boltonmuseums/3084979432/ |url-status=live }} The village of Tideswell in Derbyshire shares this same legend.{{cite news|title=A Derbyshire Poem: The Drunken Butcher of Tideswell|url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/a-derbyshire-poem-the-drunken-butcher-of-tideswell-c3029.html|newspaper=Peak District Online|access-date=10 September 2011|archive-date=9 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809082624/http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/a-derbyshire-poem-the-drunken-butcher-of-tideswell-c3029.html|url-status=live}}

In 1315, a group of men led by Sir William Bradshaigh of Haigh Hall, Sir Henry Lea of Charnock Richard and Sir Adam Banastre met at Wingates to plan a campaign of violence against Sir Robert de Holland of Upholland, chief retainer of the powerful Earl of Lancaster. The campaign came to be known as the Banastre Rebellion and ended with the deaths of most of the main protagonists.{{cite web| url =http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/History/Mabs_Cross.htm| title =Mabs Cross Legend and Reality| access-date =24 September 2011| archive-date =6 February 2012| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120206000120/http://www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk/content/History/Mabs_Cross.htm| url-status =live}}

On 15 December 1642, during the English Civil War, the Battle of Warcock Hill was fought on Westhoughton Common between Lord Derby's Cavalier forces and Parliamentarians. The site of the battle was off the Manchester Road where Wayfaring is today. The Parliamentarians under Captains Bradshaw, Venables and Browne ran into a force of some thousand Royalists from the Wigan garrison under Lord Derby and were forced to surrender. The three captains and 160 men were taken prisoner.

It is believed that Prince Rupert of the Rhine gathered his troops in Westhoughton before the attack and ensuing massacre at Bolton in 1644. Civil War activity is also known to have occurred around the site of Hunger Hill and a sword claimed to be from the time of the Civil War was discovered in the garden of one of the cottages at Pocket Nook in Chew Moor during the 1950s.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}

File:Pretoria Pit Memorial.jpg

On 25 March 1812, a group of Luddites burned Rowe and Dunscough's Westhoughton Mill. Twelve people were arrested on the orders of William Hulton, the High Sheriff of Lancashire.[http://spartacus-educational.com/PRluddites.htm Spatacus schoolnet – The Luddites] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915160625/http://spartacus-educational.com/PRluddites.htm |date=15 September 2017 }} URL accessed 22 May 2007.[http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/luddo02.htm Cotton Times – Luddites: War against the machines – Page 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725065634/http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/luddo02.htm |date=25 July 2008 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007. James Smith, Thomas Kerfoot, John (or Job) Fletcher and Abraham Charlston, were sentenced to death for their part in the attack. The Charlston family claimed that Abraham was only 12 years old; but he was not reprieved. The men were publicly hanged outside Lancaster Castle on 13 June 1812.[http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/1800.html Capital Punishment U.K. – Public executions 1800–1827] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121093212/http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/1800.html |date=21 November 2008 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007. It was reported that Abraham cried for his mother on the scaffold. By this time, however, hanging of those under 18 was rare and of those under 16, in practice, abolished.[http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/child.html The execution of children and juveniles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810151154/http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/child.html |date=10 August 2013 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007. Nine others were transported to Australia.[http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/history.html Westhoughton Calendar of Events] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927225828/http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/history.html |date=27 September 2007 }}. Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks. URL accessed 22 May 2007. The riots are commemorated by a blue plaque on the White Lion public house opposite the mill site.

In 1891, the Rose Hill Doubling Mill had 8,020 spindles and Higson and Biggs' Victoria Mill had 40,000 spindles.

Bolton Road Mill housed 564 looms weaving shirtings and Perseverance Mill had 600 looms manufacturing twills, sateens and plain cotton cloth. The looms in John Chadwick's Silk Mills produced broad silks, tie silks, scarves and handkerchiefs. The Lancashire Hosiery Company produced vests. Thomas Welch was a calico printer at the Green Vale Print Works.{{citation|title=Westhoughton. 5 miles W.S.W. from Bolton (p73)|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Cotton_Mills_in_Bolton_1891#Westhoughton._5_miles_W.S.W._from_Bolton_.28p73.29|publisher=Grace's Guide|access-date=22 November 2013|archive-date=2 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230253/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Cotton_Mills_in_Bolton_1891#Westhoughton._5_miles_W.S.W._from_Bolton_.28p73.29|url-status=live}}

The family of William Hulton of Hulton Park owned many small collieries from the 16th-century. After 1828 the pits at Chequerbent were served by the Bolton and Leigh Railway. The Hulton Colliery Company sank Chequerbent Colliery in 1892 and Bank Pit Nos 1–4 between 1897 and 1901. The company mined the Trencherbone, Plodder and Arley seams. Bank Pit No 3, known as the Pretoria Pit, was the site of one Britain's worst coal-mining disasters when on 21 December 1910, 344 men and boys died in an explosion of firedamp.[http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/Pretoria/index.html The Pretoria Pit Disaster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726042004/http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/Pretoria/index.html |date=26 July 2009 }}. Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks. URL accessed 22 May 2007. The Pretoria Pit Disaster was the third worst in British mining history, after the 1866 Barnsley Oaks Disaster in Yorkshire, which killed 361 miners,[http://public-art.shu.ac.uk/pmsa/barnsley/0000003a.htm The Barnsley Oaks Colliery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004153556/http://public-art.shu.ac.uk/pmsa/barnsley/0000003a.htm |date=4 October 2008 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007. and the 1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster in Glamorgan, which killed 439.[http://www.south-wales.police.uk/fe/master.asp?n1=8&n2=253&n3=491 The Senghenydd Coal Mining Disaster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040531233540/http://www.south-wales.police.uk/fe/master.asp?n1=8&n2=253&n3=491 |date=31 May 2004 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007. A memorial erected in 1910 is Grade II listed.{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1162905|desc= Memorial to those killed in the Pretoria Pit Disaster approx. 127m north west of St. Bartholomew's Church|access-date= 10 November 2013 |mode=cs2}}

In 1896, the Wigan Coal and Iron Company's Eatock Pits employed 484 underground and 89 surface workers whilst the Hewlett Pits, at Hart Common, employed 981 underground and 182 on the surface.{{citation |title=Wigan Coal & Iron Co. Ltd. |url=http://www.dmm.org.uk/company/w1002.htm |publisher=Durham Mining Museum |access-date=7 February 2011 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923215805/http://www.dmm.org.uk/company/w1002.htm |url-status=live }}

Lying within the boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th-century, Westhoughton was a chapelry and township in the ecclesiastical parish of Deane, in the Salford hundred. In 1837, Westhoughton joined with other townships (or civil parishes) to form the Bolton Poor Law Union and took joint responsibility for the administration and funding of the Poor Law in that area.{{Citation|url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Bolton/|title=Workhouse|publisher=workhouses.org.uk|access-date=28 November 2010|archive-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629230243/http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Bolton/|url-status=live}} In 1872, a Local board of health was established for the township, but was superseded in 1894 by the creation of Westhoughton Urban District which shared local government responsibilities with Lancashire County Council. In 1898, most of Over Hulton became part of the urban district.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10077692/boundary Westhoughton UD: Historical Boundaries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915160712/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10077692/boundary |date=15 September 2017 }}. Vision of Britain. URL accessed 26 February 2008. Westhoughton Town Hall was built in 1903 to a plan by Bradshaw and Gass, architects of Bolton replacing the Local Board Offices at the junction of Market Street and Wigan Road.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/westhoughton/pages/placesofinterest.aspx |title="Places of interest" at bolton.gov.uk |access-date=1 January 2012 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320005942/http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/westhoughton/pages/placesofinterest.aspx |url-status=live }}

Under the Local Government Act 1972, Westhoughton Urban District was abolished in 1974 and its area became a civil parish of the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester.{{cite web|url=http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzt2w.htm|title=Greater Manchester Gazetteer|access-date=22 May 2007|publisher=Greater Manchester County Record Office|at=Place Names T to W|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144311/http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzt2w.htm}} It is represented by six councillors elected in two borough wards – Westhoughton North and Chew Moor and Westhoughton South – on the metropolitan borough council.[http://www.democracy.bolton.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/Members.aspx Bolton Metropolitan Borough Councillors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210155819/http://www.democracy.bolton.gov.uk/cmiswebpublic/Members.aspx |date=10 February 2007 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007.

Westhoughton civil parish gained town council status in 1985, and has 18 town councillors elected from six town council wards – Central, Chequerbent, Daisy Hill, Hoskers and Hart Common, White Horse, and Wingates.[http://www.bolton.gov.uk/portal/page?_pageid=147,154547&_dad=portal92&_schema=PORTAL92 Town Council Election Results 2007 – Blackrod, Horwich, and Westhoughton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927172437/http://www.bolton.gov.uk/portal/page?_pageid=147,154547&_dad=portal92&_schema=PORTAL92 |date=27 September 2007 }}. URL accessed 22 May 2007. Each year the town council elects a town mayor.

For 98 years between 1885 and 1983, the Westhoughton constituency represented the town. Although, since 1906, always returning a Labour candidate, the elections were, after 1950, a close run contest, due to the working class conservatism found in Westhoughton and surrounding areas and the inclusion of more rural (Conservative) areas in boundary revision. At the 1906 general election, the birth of the modern Labour Party, William Tyson Wilson was one of 29 successful Labour Representation Committee candidates.

The constituency had by-elections in 1921, 1951 and 1973 due to the retirement, ill-health or death of the sitting MPs. The last MP for Westhoughton was Roger Stott (Labour) who, on abolition of the Westhoughton constituency, was elected MP for Wigan in 1983.

The 1983 redistribution of seats reflected local government reforms made in 1974. In September 2011, the Boundary Commission for England proposed recreating a Westhoughton constituency to incorporate Westhoughton, Blackrod, Hindley, Atherton, and parts of Horwich and Leigh[http://rr-bce-static.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Westhoughton-CC.pdf?9d7bd4 Westhoughton map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402111821/http://rr-bce-static.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Westhoughton-CC.pdf?9d7bd4 |date=2 April 2012 }} Boundary Commission for England[http://consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/whats-proposed/north-west/greater-manchester/ Initial Proposals – Greater Manchester] {{Webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121029103354/http%3A//consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/whats%2Dproposed/north%2Dwest/greater%2Dmanchester/ |date=29 October 2012 }} Boundary Commission for England

Westhoughton covers an area of {{convert|4341|acre}} and has an average breadth of over {{convert|2|mi}} from north-east to south-west, and an extreme length of nearly {{convert|3.5|mi}} from northwest to south-east. The highest ground at over {{convert|480|ft}} is to the north east with the land sloping downwards to the south-west. The lowest point at about {{convert|120|ft}} is in the extreme southerly corner. Borsdane Brook separates the township from Aspull, another brook divides it from Hindley joining a stream which rises on the northern edge of Westhoughton and flows south through Leigh to Glazebrook. The town incorporates several former villages and hamlets including railway stations including Wingates, White Horse, Over Hulton, Four Gates (or Fourgates), Chequerbent, Hunger Hill, Snydale, Hart Common, Marsh Brook, Daisy Hill and Dobb Brow.

Local Nature Reserves are located at Hall Lee Bank Park, Cunningham Clough, and Eatock Lodge at Daisy Hill.{{cite web| url= http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/special/lnr/lnr_search.asp| title= Local Nature Reserves| access-date= 17 August 2011| archive-date= 7 August 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110807084426/http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_search.asp| url-status= live}}

{{Geographic Location

|title = Neighbouring towns, villages, and places

|Northwest = Standish

|North = Horwich

|Northeast = Bolton

|West = Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Wigan

|Centre =Westhoughton

|East = Farnworth

|Southwest = Abram

|South = Leigh

|Southeast =Atherton

}}

{{Historical populations

|title = Population changes in Westhoughton since 1801

| align = centre

| shading = off

| pop_name = Population

| percentages = on

| cols = 3

| 1801 | 3,059

| 1811 | 3,810

| 1821 | 4,211

| 1831 | 4,500

| 1841 | 4,527

| 1851 | 4,547

| 1861 | 5,156

| 1871 | 6,609

| 1881 | 9,197

| 1891 | 11,077

| 1901 | 14,377

| 1911 | 15,046

| 1921 | 15,592

| 1931 | 16,018

| 1939 | 14,636

| 1951 | 15,004

| 1961 | 16,260

| 1971 | 17,761

| 2001 | 23,056

| 2011 | 24,974

| align-fn=center

| footnote = Sources:{{cite book|last=Tatton|first=Pauline|title=Local population statistics 1801–1986: abbreviated tables compiled from census statistics for Bolton|publisher=Bolton Libraries}}{{cite web|author=Great Britain Historical GIS Project|title=Westhoughton Ch/CP/Tn: Total Population 1881–1961|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10356088/cube/TOT_POP#tab02|website=A Vision of Britain through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=13 September 2017|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223054922/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10356088/cube/TOT_POP#tab02|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author=Great Britain Historical GIS Project|title=Westhoughton USD: Population 1891|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10211270/cube/TOT_POP#tab02|website=A Vision of Britain through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=22 May 2007|archive-date=14 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914034310/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10211270/cube/TOT_POP#tab02|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author=Great Britain Historical GIS Project|title=Westhoughton UD: Population 1901–1961|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10077692/cube/TOT_POP#tab02|website=A Vision of Britain through Time|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=26 February 2008|archive-date=20 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820222737/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10077692/cube/TOT_POP#tab02|url-status=live}}The 1939 population is estimated from the number of identity cards issued to the inhabitants of Westhoughton in that year, which were required under the National Registration Act 1939. The 1941 census did not take place because of the Second World War.{{cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=790583&c=westhoughton&d=16&e=15&g=349474&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |title=Area: Westhoughton (Parish), Key Figures for 2001 Census: Key Statistics |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=22 May 2007 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182653/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=790583&c=westhoughton&d=16&e=15&g=349474&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130443&c=Westhoughton&d=16&e=62&g=6340789&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1451905661532&enc=1|title=Area: Westhoughton (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=4 January 2016|archive-date=9 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109052045/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130443&c=Westhoughton&d=16&e=62&g=6340789&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1451905661532&enc=1|url-status=dead}}

}}

{{See also|List of schools in Greater Manchester}}

The long established St John's, Wingates CE Primary & Fourgates County Primary schools were closed in 2004 following amalgamation to form The Gates CP School. Westhoughton CP School closed in 2008. An earlier round of reorganisation saw the closure of Hart Common Primary School and opening of St George's on The Hoskers, and the closure of the tiny County Primary at White Horse which is now a private nursery.

Image:St. Bartholomew, Westhoughton.jpg

Westhoughton's old chapel of 1552 was replaced by a brick-built church in 1731 and the parish church in 1869–70. Dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, it had an east window depicting the twelve apostles. In 1990, the church was gutted by fire, but the tower was saved,[http://lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/stbartholomew/stbartholomew.html St Bartholomew's Church, Westhoughton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421201338/http://lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/stbartholomew/stbartholomew.html |date=21 April 2008 }} (Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project). URL accessed 26 October 2006. and is Grade II listed.{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1356786|desc= Tower of Church of St Bartholomew, School Street |access-date= 10 November 2013 |mode=cs2|fewer-links=yes}}{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1067274|desc= Sundial approx 17 m to south of Church of St Bartholomew|access-date= 10 November 2013 |mode=cs2|fewer-links=yes}} A new church, designed by architects Dane, Ashworth & Cottam, was built at a cost of about £1 million,[http://www.bghbolton.co.uk/projects/?action=6&project=5&menu=1 Bradshaw Gass & Hope website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508222031/http://www.bghbolton.co.uk/projects/?action=6&project=5&menu=1 |date=8 May 2008 }}. URL accessed 26 October 2007. and consecrated in 1995 by the Bishop of Manchester.{{cite news|url=http://archive.theboltonnews.co.uk/1995/10/30/864512.html|title=Blessing for church that's risen from ashes|work=The Bolton News|date=30 October 1995|publisher=Newsquest Media Group|access-date=26 October 2007|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223054955/https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/archive/1995/10/30/864512.html/|url-status=live}} Nicholsons of Malvern built its two manual organs with 1,256 pipes, ranging from 1/2 inch to {{convert|16|ft}} made of tin, spotted metal and hammered lead.[http://www.nicholsonorgans.co.uk/portfolio/st-bartholomews-church-westhoughton-bolton/ Completed Projects Archive: St Bartholomew's Church, Westhoughton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915213900/http://www.nicholsonorgans.co.uk/portfolio/st-bartholomews-church-westhoughton-bolton/ |date=15 September 2017 }}. Nicholsons of Malvern. URL accessed 26 October 2006.

Other Anglican churches include St John the Evangelist, in the Parish of Wingates, and St James the Great, in the Parish of Daisy Hill. St James' is a Grade II* listed building.{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1067273|desc= Church of St James|access-date= 10 November 2013 |mode=cs2|fewer-links=yes}}

The Roman Catholic Sacred Heart parish church fell into disrepair; it was demolished and replaced by a new building incorporating a church hall.

File:Wesley Stone.jpg

John Wesley preached a sermon at Barnaby's Farm in Wingates in 1784. Services were held in cottages opposite the farm before the first Methodist church was built in 1835. Another Methodist Church was built in Dixon Street in 1871. Houses occupy the site of Westhoughton Independent Methodist Church, where Wesley once stood, but the stone, from which he preached, was moved to Grove Lane Chapel, now Westhoughton Methodist Church's church hall. The final service was held by the Independent Methodist Church in 2001 and the church was subsequently demolished.{{Cite web |url=http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/westhoughton/pages/placesofinterest.aspx |title="Places of interest – John Wesley in Wingates" at bolton.gov.uk |access-date=1 January 2012 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320005942/http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/westhoughton/pages/placesofinterest.aspx |url-status=live }} Daisy Hill Methodist Church was closed and demolished in the late 1980s. The new, Methodist church was built adjacent to Grove Lane Chapel, which now serves as church hall.{{Cite web |url=http://homepages.tesco.net/~anthony_lee/Churches/westhoughton.htm |title="Westhoughton Methodist Church, Bolton Methodist Circuit" at homepages.tesco.net |access-date=1 January 2012 |archive-date=20 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120215940/http://homepages.tesco.net/~anthony_lee/Churches/westhoughton.htm |url-status=live }}

The industrial north west was a focus for non-conformism, and until the 1990s the Church of the Nazarene stood in Church Street. The Quaker Meeting House is now a Christian fellowship,{{Citation|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Westhoughton/|title=Westhoughton|publisher=GenUKI|access-date=6 February 2012|archive-date=18 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018185306/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Westhoughton/|url-status=live}} and a tin tabernacle was situated off Bolton Road. There is a Pentecostal church, a United Reformed Church, The Bethel, and an independent church on Tithbarn Street.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ukchurch.org/churchdetails.php?churchid=4584 |title="Westhoughton Pentecostal Church" at ukchurch.org |access-date=1 January 2012 |archive-date=26 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426083544/http://www.ukchurch.org/churchdetails.php?churchid=4584 |url-status=live }}

File:Water Tower, Snydle - geograph.org.uk - 91971.jpg

Snydle water tower was built by Westhoughton Council in 1914 and lay derelict for many years with its tank removed and the tower open to the sky. It has been restored and converted into a private dwelling that is visible from the M61 motorway.

The Church of England School built in 1861, opposite St Bartholomew's church, is a Grade II listed building{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1162908|desc= Westhoughton Church of England Primary School|access-date= 10 November 2013 |mode=cs2|fewer-links=yes}} as are houses at 110 and 112, Market Street.{{National Heritage List for England |num= 1162880|desc= 110 and 112 Market Street|access-date= 10 November 2013 |mode=cs2|fewer-links=yes}} The school, which was known as Westhoughton Parochial School, has been renamed St Bartholomew's Church of England, Primary School.

The red brick and terracotta town hall and Carnegie library were built between 1902 and 1904 to the designs of Bradshaw & Gass.

The M61 motorway passes through the north of the town which it serves by junctions 5 and 6. The A58 and the A6 cross the town as do the B5236, the B5235, and the B5239. The motorway separated the townships of Hunger Hill and Chew Moor from the rest of Westhoughton and the Bolton Road was completely severed. A new link road, Snydale Way, was built between Chequerbent and a spur to the old Bolton Road, via a roundabout at M61 junction 5. Snydale Way, a broad, dual carriageway, was built to full four lane motorway standard, with a broad centre verge allowing widening to six lanes. The original intention was that it would form the beginning of a new motorway, running southwest, linking the M61 with the M6. Although the route was fully allocated and all planning and public consultation completed, the project was shelved due to financial constraints.

Westhoughton railway station and Daisy Hill railway station are served by Northern trains between {{rws|Wigan Wallgate}} and Manchester. Westhoughton is served by 2tph westbound to Southport via Wigan, 1tph eastbound to Stalybridge via Manchester Victoria and 1tph eastbound to Manchester Oxford Road. Daisy Hill is served by 2tph westbound to Wigan Wallgate (with 1tph continuing to Headbolt Lane) and 2tph eastbound to Todmorden via Manchester Victoria with 1tph continuing to Blackburn and 1tph continuing to Leeds via Brighouse. Trains from Daisy Hill run via Atherton, trains from Westhoughton run via Bolton. Formerly there were stations at {{rws|Chequerbent}} (closed 1952){{Cite web |url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/c/chequerbent/index1.shtml |title=Subterranea Britannica: SB-Sites: Chequerbent Station (2nd site). |access-date=18 January 2008 |archive-date=2 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902101727/http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/c/chequerbent/index1.shtml |url-status=live }} Dicconson Lane and Hilton House both closed in 1954.{{cite book |last1=Daniels |first1=Gerald |last2=Dench |first2=Les |date=10 November 1980 |title=Passengers No More |publisher=Littlehampton Book Services Ltd |edition=Third |isbn=0711009511 }}

In the late 1980s, a railway station was planned for Dobb Brow but never built.{{cite news|url=http://archive.theboltonnews.co.uk/2000/10/28/708192.html|title=BEN OPINION: Top priority on the trains|work=The Bolton News|date=28 October 2000|publisher=Newsquest Media Group|access-date=17 September 2008|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223054924/https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/archive/2000/10/28/708192.html/|url-status=live}} {{rws|Lostock}} and {{rws|Horwich Parkway}} stations, to the north, also serve the town. The annual usage of Daisy Hill and Westhoughton stations was more than 500,000 passengers in 2013/14, greater than many major UK towns.{{Cite web |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/ |title=Network Rail |access-date=9 August 2008 |archive-date=7 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107014125/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}

Electric trams to Bolton served Westhoughton until 1947 after 23 years of service. On 19 December 1924, the Bolton to Deane service was extended to Westhoughton.

All bus services in Westhoughton are part of Transport for Greater Manchester's Bee Network. Go North West operates service 520 between Bolton and Westhoughton via Ladybridge, then operating as a circular service to Wingates and Westhoughton before returning to Bolton, as well as the most frequent service 607 (formerly 7) from Bolton to Wigan via Hindley. The remainder of services are operated by Diamond North West, those being service 516 between Leigh and Horwich via Atherton and Middlebrook, service 521 between Little Lever and Blackrod via Farnworth and Royal Bolton Hospital, and service 559 between Bolton and Ashton-in-Makerfield via Daubhill, Hindley and Platt Bridge. Services 520, 559 and 607 serve Bolton Interchange for further bus and rail connections to areas such as Bury, Preston, Manchester and Chorley.

File:Westhoughton Library.jpg

The weekly Horwich and Westhoughton Journal was published (by The Bolton News) from 1925 until 1980, and had an editorial and revenue office in Market Street.{{cite web |title=Bolton Newspapers |url=http://www.boltonlams.co.uk/archives/archives-indexes/bolton-newspapers |author=Bolton Library and Museum Services |website=boltonlams.co.uk |access-date=28 August 2011 |archive-date=23 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223224504/http://www.boltonlams.co.uk/archives/archives-indexes/bolton-newspapers |url-status=live }}

The town's Carnegie library is at the rear of the Town Hall.{{cite web |url=http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/pages/WesthoughtonLibrary.aspx |title=Westhoughton Library |author=Bolton Council |website=bolton.gov.uk |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=30 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131130100256/http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/pages/WesthoughtonLibrary.aspx |url-status=live }} Its Carnegie Hall is used for meetings and other activities.{{cite web |url=http://www.westhoughtonhistorygroup.org.uk/Westhoughton_History_Group/Events.html |title=Meeting Place: Westhoughton Library |author=Westhoughton Local History Group |website=westhoughtonhistorygroup.org.uk |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165235/http://www.westhoughtonhistorygroup.org.uk/Westhoughton_History_Group/Events.html |url-status=live }} A small museum has exhibits that relate to the Pretoria Pit Disaster and a large, encased model, of the original St Bartholomew's Parish Church, built from match-sticks.

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Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the nearby Winter Hill TV transmitter situated north of the town. {{cite web |url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Winter_Hill |title=Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter |date=May 2004 |publisher=UK Free TV |access-date=11 July 2024}}

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Manchester, Heart North West, Smooth North West, Greatest Hits Radio Bolton & Bury, Capital Manchester and Lancashire and Bolton FM, a community-based radio station which broadcast from its studios in Bolton.{{Cite web |url=https://www.boltonfm.com/|title= Bolton FM|access-date=11 July 2024}}

{{see also|List of people from Bolton}}

• Robert Shaw (1927–1978)– actor, born at 51 King Street on 9 August 1927.{{cite news |title=Mayor to unveil plaque in honour of Jaws star |url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/6200654.Mayor_to_unveil_plaque_in_honour_of_Jaws_star/ |date=19 July 1996 |access-date=18 June 2018 |newspaper=The Bolton News |publisher=Newsquest |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175256/http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/6200654.Mayor_to_unveil_plaque_in_honour_of_Jaws_star/ |url-status=live }} Shaw appeared in From Russia With Love, A Man for All Seasons, The Sting and Jaws.{{cite news |title=Town council claims Jaws star 'not a true Howfener' |url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/4543098.No_statue_for_Jaws_star_Robert_Shaw/ |date=13 August 2009 |access-date=18 June 2018 |newspaper=The Bolton News |publisher=Newsquest |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175243/http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/4543098.No_statue_for_Jaws_star_Robert_Shaw/ |url-status=live }}
• Rev. Peter Ditchfield – historian and author.
• Bill Farrimond – cricketer, played for England.{{cite web| url= http://stats.thecricketer.com/Players/0/568/568.html| title= TheCricketer| access-date= 17 August 2011| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120324202952/http://stats.thecricketer.com/Players/0/568/568.html| archive-date= 24 March 2012| df= dmy-all}}
• Ethel Johnson – sprinter, represented England at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics{{cite web|url = http://www.westhoughtonhistorygroup.org.uk/Westhoughton_History_Group/20th_Century.html|title = History of Westhoughton|access-date = 26 October 2013|archive-date = 29 October 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194702/http://www.westhoughtonhistorygroup.org.uk/Westhoughton_History_Group/20th_Century.html|url-status = live}}
• Jack Bruton (1903–1986) – footballer for Bolton Wanderers, Burnley and England.{{cite web|url = http://englandstats.com/players.php?pid=174|title = John Bruton|publisher = englandstats.com|access-date = 14 November 2013|archive-date = 28 September 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130928010355/http://www.englandstats.com/players.php?pid=174|url-status = live}}
• Francis Lee – footballer for Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City, Derby County and England (27 caps).
• Nicky Hunt – footballer for Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and Accrington Stanley.
• Dick Pollard – cricketer, played for England.{{Cite book | title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack | edition = 1986 | publisher = Wisden | chapter = Obituaries| page = 1218}}
• Maxine Peake - actress, was born in Westhoughton on 14 July 1974.
• Sir Harry Kroto (1939-2016) - chemist, Nobel Prize winner in 1996.
• Houghton Weavers – a folk group who had a BBC Television series, Sit thi' Deawn, in the 1970s, and a radio show.
• Wingates Band - one of the best-known brass bands in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1873.

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Parish of Westhoughton.

{{Expand list|date=December 2020}}

• Peter L. Finch: 5 March 2019, Former Mayor of Westhoughton and Mayor of Bolton.{{cite news|url=https://www.horwichadvertiser.co.uk/news-article/4693/Freedom-of-town-for-long-serving-Peter|title=Freedom of town for long-serving Peter|newspaper=Horwich Advertiser|access-date=28 January 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520040905/https://www.horwichadvertiser.co.uk/news-article/4693/Freedom-of-town-for-long-serving-Peter|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.bolton.gov.uk/westhoughton/awarding-civic-medal-honorary-freedom-parish-westhoughton/1 |title=Awarding of the Civic Medal and The Honorary Freedom of the Parish of Westhoughton – Bolton Council |access-date=27 December 2020 |archive-date=3 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803235819/https://www.bolton.gov.uk/westhoughton/awarding-civic-medal-honorary-freedom-parish-westhoughton/1 |url-status=live }}

{{portal|Greater Manchester}}

• Listed buildings in Westhoughton
• Chequerbent railway station
• Chequerbent railway station (1831)
• Borsdane Wood
• Daisy Hill F.C.
• Westhoughton Greyhound Track
• List of mining disasters in Lancashire

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.westhoughtoncommunitynetwork.co.uk Westhoughton Community Network]
• [http://www.swanonline.co.uk SWAN (Save Westhoughton Act Now)]
• [http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Westhoughton/index.html Parish of Westhoughton]
• [http://www.bolton.org.uk/westhoughton.html More information and photos of Westhoughton]
• [http://www.westhoughtononline.co.uk Westhoughton Online]

{{Greater Manchester}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Greater Manchester

Category:Civil parishes in Greater Manchester

Category:Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton