Ashton-In-Makerfield
Ashton-In-Makerfield photos (6 available)
Ashton-In-Makerfield maps (2 available)
Map of Lancashire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Lancashire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Ashton-In-Makerfield books (4 available)
Did You Know? Bury - A Miscellany
Hardback
Manchester Photographic Memories
Paperback
Ashton-In-Makerfield memories
Read and share memories of Ashton-In-Makerfield and Lancashire inspired by Frith photos
Good Yimes
Lived on Windsor Rd... Ashton Heath... 68 to 81 when I first got married. Good times in the Eagle and Child .. Hingemakers .. Commercial .. pubs etc. Are they still there?
Bill Harrison, Canada.
Contributed by bill harrison
Lancashire memories
Good Yimes
Lived on Windsor Rd... Ashton Heath... 68 to 81 when I first got married. Good times in the Eagle and Child .. Hingemakers .. Commercial .. pubs etc. Are they still there?
Bill Harrison, Canada.
A memory of Ashton-In-Makerfield contributed by bill harrison
Re Comment by John Morris on Wigan Clogs
Wigan-made clogs always did have a reputation even way back when - so it's nice to have this confirmation of their quality holding up even to today. I've even discovered that one of my ancestors made his living as a Boot and Clog Repairer having been Apprenticed to a Clogger at a very young age by to-days standards. I unfortunately never did get to own a pair - but oh! how I envied my school friends who did wear them, and could make sparks as they walked along the pavement!!
I do remember however getting a few demerit marks for my House at school in Essex because of clogs - thanks to a few extra notes I added to ...read more here
A memory of Wigan contributed by Thelma Hurly
The Plantations
Well not just for the 1930's but for twenty years after as well. Memories come flooding back - not just for this picture but for Wigan itself. I was born there in 1931 - in my grandparents home 38, Dicconson Street - a section no longer in existence although others that belonged to my gt Uncles do remain intact but in a sorry state compared to the days that I recall. What I don't remember however is being removed from my pram - outside either Woolworths or Marks & Spencers (can't identify which from any of the photo's I've seen) when I was a few months old, by one of the Mill girls returning home from the Mill. Apparently after many ...read more here
A memory of Wigan contributed by Thelma Hurly
Extracts From Ashton-In-Makerfield & Lancashire books
This aerial view of the swing bridges at Barton again shows them swung to let a large cargo ship through. Note that the cargo ship has tugs fore and aft to guide it through this section of the canal. Barton Monastery stands just to the right of the swing bridges; it was formerly All Saints RC Church, Barton. The area at the top of the picture was the wood seasoning area for one of the large timber firms using the canal, and is now a housing estate.
An extract from from"Manchester Photographic Memories".
This view shows the two bridges at Barton upon Irwell both swung to let the paddle steamer ‘Ivanhoe’ pass. When the Ship Canal first opened (our view is only twelve months after that opening on 1 January 1894), many people wanted to travel, and see the wonders of this new waterway. A Ship Canal Pleasure Steamer Company was formed, and weekends and Bank Holidays would see two or three of these paddle steamers taking passengers on sight-seeing trips up and down the canal.
An extract from from"Manchester Photographic Memories".
When the Duke of Bridgewater planned his canal into Manchester in 1760, the original plan was to stay on the Salford side of the Irwell. Because he could not purchase the land he wanted, he was forced to cross the River Irwell and go into Manchester via Stretford. He was given permission to skirt the Trafford Park Estate, but his big problem was crossing the Irwell, which he did with a beautiful stone aqueduct designed by James Brindley. This aqueduct lasted over one hundred and twenty years, until the emerging Ship Canal needed it out of the way for the large vessels to pass. This swing aqueduct that carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal was the answer to their problem.
An extract from from"Manchester Photographic Memories".
When the docks first opened, it took a while for them to reach their potential, but by 1900 they had started to show that they could be successful and profitable. Moves were then made to enlarge the dock, and the land belonging to the Manchester Racecourse Co was purchased ready to build No 9 dock. This dock, the largest of all the docks, was officially opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on a royal visit on 13 July 1905.
An extract from from"Manchester Photographic Memories".
When the Ship Canal opened in 1894, traffic really was a mixed bag of sailing ships, steam ships and motor vessels. Here we see the docks with a mixed array of vessels just a year after opening. Our photographer is looking from the very spot where the Lowry Centre on Salford Quay is today.
An extract from from"Manchester Photographic Memories".