Newton-le-Willows

the history of our local area

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Content & Copyright

Most all items in the gallery are scanned from images owned owned by Steven Dowd, a few items in the gallery have been scanned from photos or postcards owned by others, and are shown here with their permission
The content and Images within this website, unless otherwise noted, are the copyright of Steven Dowd ©2001-2009.
Earlestown Market 1938
Written by Steven Dowd   
This article is from a Supplement to the world's fair Magazine, Saturday, November 19th, 1938.

Can a market be successfully removed? No, says the market stall-holder who has suffered from the consequences of a change over. No, echoes the wise administrator and, No is always my verdict.
Yet there are exceptions to every rule, and in our study this week we shall see how the market of Newton-le-Willows was moved from its ancient site to a new situation about two miles away, possibly more, the removal being attended with successful results. But there was a two-fold reason to account for this in that the old market had fallen into disuse and that practically a new town had sprung up beside the old one.
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The Vulcan Foundry Ltd, 5th MAY 1954
Written by Steven Dowd   
A VISIT TO THE VULCAN FOUNDRY LIMITED,
NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS, 5th MAY 1954



A party made up of approximately 50 members of the Manchester Centre arrived by motor coach and car in time to start on a tour of the works of the Vulcan Foundry Ltd. shortly after 6.60 p.m. on 5th May 1954 by kind invitation of the directors.
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St Oswald's, Winwick Church
Written by Steven Dowd   
I recently bought a copy of this old book concerning Winwick Church, It doesnt have a print date, but I believe it was published around the 1930s

THE CHURCH OF SAINT OSWALD, WINWICK, IN LEGEND AND HISTORY.
By JOSEPH P. PEARCE, F.R.I.B.A. : F.R. HIST. S.
With a Foreword by the Bishop of Warrington.
 
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Tales of Old Newton Races
Written by Steven Dowd   
Wm-Rylance
Mr. Rylance is a born raconteur, as the many admirers of his angling yarns and other stories, which have appeared in "The Warrington Examiner," have long realised. These reminiscences of Newton Races, presenting telling word-pictures in minute detail of the sordid, the pathetic, and the seamy side of the racecourse, written by the master-hand of a keen observer of Nature, who is also a clean and unerring humorist, will give permanence to nineteenth century scenes that must inevitably pass before the advent of improvements and inventions that affect even the fair ground entertainer and the racecourse swindler.
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James Muspratt (1793 - 1896)
Written by Steven Dowd   

James Muspratt
James Muspratt, this is the gentleman whome we can directly blame for Newton le Willows having the Mucky Mountains, these mountains are the waste and biproducts from James Muspratts Vitriol works, which was sited beside this lasting Industrial waste dump upto 1850.

James Muspratt was the father of the alkali trade in this country. Losh had preceded him in the same business In the Tyne in 1814, and in 1816 Tennant had settled his business at St. Rollox, on the Clyde; however both their operations were very limited, and Muspratt was the first to establish a soda works to carry out the Leblanc process on a large scale.
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The Viaduct Foundry
Written by Steven Dowd   
On 1st March 1853, the London and North Western Railway, under the direction of Sir Hardman Earle, leased from Messrs. Jones & Potts a small works known as the Viaduct Foundry, so named for its proximity to Stephensons famous viaduct carrying the Liverpool and Manchester Railway over the St. Helens Canal.
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