Leigh
I have five local history books for the Leigh area they are:-
The Lancashire cotton famine around Leigh by Fred Holcroft
Mining Days in Abram by Richard Ridyard
Early Victorian Abram by Norma Ackers
Memories of Lowton by Richard Ridyard
Silk manufacturing in Leigh by Fred Holcroft
Not knowing the area I think it is important to try to gain some knowledge of local names and history. If anyone is local to that area and can provide me with more information I would be most grateful. I have found the local bus map to be most useful.
Seeing Leigh on census returns I got the impression that was where they were from but (and I am nowhere near being an expert nor perfect) I have a little more understanding now. Sitting on the bus it is quite difficult to visualize what the area must have been like in the 1860s as today it is more or less built up all the way from Salford to Leigh. I sit looking out of the window trying to erase all the 'modern' buildings, seeking out the older terraces and the odd ancient farm buildings, thinking what a journey it must have been on the old roads. There are two bus routes I can take and they both climb out of Salford and eventually run down onto the plain where Leigh is situated with its tall chimneys making it easy to locate from a distance away. It must have been quite a view in the olden days even with cloudy grey skies and modern eyesores it sort of catches my breath. The wide expanse of horizon. The openness after the city confines. Is that what drew Christopher to the area or was it merely the lure of employment - I suspect the later but I can romanticise can't I?
Today I will give you some background information from the first book. On the first page is a useful map of the Leigh Poor Law Union in 1861. The names of interest to us are Westleigh, Golborne and Lowton which all lie on the Western side one under the other. I will return to the subject of the cotton famine at a later date. Here I am going to look for information about the Leigh area.
"In 1861, there was no such place as 'Leigh'. Several townships made up Leigh parish, whilst a similar combination of townships made up Leigh Poor Law Union. In this study, unless a township is specifically named, the word 'Leigh' describes the whole area."10 Townships in all :- Atherton, Westleigh, Pennington, Bedford, Astley, Tyldesley, Golborne, Lowton, Culcheth and Kenyon.
"By 1862 Leigh was a rapidly growing district. The entire district had increased from 17,557 to 37,696, a rise of over 110% since 1801, although there had been accelerated growth during the most recent period." Notably Golborne had increased from 1910 (in 1851) to 2776 in (1861) an increase of 46%, the largest growth in the district. And that this increase came from an influx of workers rather than an increase in the indigenous population.
"As a result of the decline in domestic textiles and the spread of coalmining and factory textile manufacturing, there was population growth over most of the district. By 1861 the 'pit and mill' economy, which was to hold sway for the next hundred years, had already been established. Employment figures for 1861 were: silk weaving 4,134 cotton 3,597 and coal 1,323.
Yet the factory industry had arrived late in Leigh, since there were very few suitable sites, where waterpower couldbe harnessed, ...but with the application of steampower to both the spinning and the weaving processes, widespread cotton mill construction took place across the entire district, so that by 1861, about thirty cotton mills provided employment.
Mill wages were not high by todays standard, but they compared favorably with alternative employment available at the time. They were a lot more reliable than those in domestic textiles. Cotton mills provided employment for both sexes and for all ages, so that an entire family in work could be well off.
Census information for Christopher and his family 1861
Lowton, Leigh
School lane
Christopher Steel 48 Maker up in cotton factory
Ann 50
Jane 16 Cotton factory worker
Martha Alice 12 Cotton factory worker
Richard 10
William 7
James 5
and for James mother :-
Lowton, Leigh
Chapel St?
James Aspinall 27 silk weaver
Sarah Aspinall 27 factory cotton reeler
Elizabeth 2
*Sarah at least must have been in Lowton for the birth of James in about 1856, and I *presume* the family came to Lowton from Blackburn as William was born there in about 1854. So maybe we are looking at 1855. What do you think?
Although the district was dominated by the manufacture of silk, that industry was struggling in one of the frequent slumps, which was to lead to its eventual decline and extinction. Employment prospects in silk were becoming increasingly limited and younger workers were entering the cotton industry."
Today Leigh is a town with I think the main shops for the local area. It took about 20 min (mind you the bus driver was not intent on hurrying) on the bus to get from Leigh to Golborne, Lowton being slightly nearer. I saw the names Pennington (larger nicer houses) and Bedford in Leigh town.
The Lancashire cotton famine around Leigh by Fred Holcroft
Mining Days in Abram by Richard Ridyard
Early Victorian Abram by Norma Ackers
Memories of Lowton by Richard Ridyard
Silk manufacturing in Leigh by Fred Holcroft
Not knowing the area I think it is important to try to gain some knowledge of local names and history. If anyone is local to that area and can provide me with more information I would be most grateful. I have found the local bus map to be most useful.
Seeing Leigh on census returns I got the impression that was where they were from but (and I am nowhere near being an expert nor perfect) I have a little more understanding now. Sitting on the bus it is quite difficult to visualize what the area must have been like in the 1860s as today it is more or less built up all the way from Salford to Leigh. I sit looking out of the window trying to erase all the 'modern' buildings, seeking out the older terraces and the odd ancient farm buildings, thinking what a journey it must have been on the old roads. There are two bus routes I can take and they both climb out of Salford and eventually run down onto the plain where Leigh is situated with its tall chimneys making it easy to locate from a distance away. It must have been quite a view in the olden days even with cloudy grey skies and modern eyesores it sort of catches my breath. The wide expanse of horizon. The openness after the city confines. Is that what drew Christopher to the area or was it merely the lure of employment - I suspect the later but I can romanticise can't I?
Today I will give you some background information from the first book. On the first page is a useful map of the Leigh Poor Law Union in 1861. The names of interest to us are Westleigh, Golborne and Lowton which all lie on the Western side one under the other. I will return to the subject of the cotton famine at a later date. Here I am going to look for information about the Leigh area.
"In 1861, there was no such place as 'Leigh'. Several townships made up Leigh parish, whilst a similar combination of townships made up Leigh Poor Law Union. In this study, unless a township is specifically named, the word 'Leigh' describes the whole area."10 Townships in all :- Atherton, Westleigh, Pennington, Bedford, Astley, Tyldesley, Golborne, Lowton, Culcheth and Kenyon.
"By 1862 Leigh was a rapidly growing district. The entire district had increased from 17,557 to 37,696, a rise of over 110% since 1801, although there had been accelerated growth during the most recent period." Notably Golborne had increased from 1910 (in 1851) to 2776 in (1861) an increase of 46%, the largest growth in the district. And that this increase came from an influx of workers rather than an increase in the indigenous population.
"As a result of the decline in domestic textiles and the spread of coalmining and factory textile manufacturing, there was population growth over most of the district. By 1861 the 'pit and mill' economy, which was to hold sway for the next hundred years, had already been established. Employment figures for 1861 were: silk weaving 4,134 cotton 3,597 and coal 1,323.
Yet the factory industry had arrived late in Leigh, since there were very few suitable sites, where waterpower couldbe harnessed, ...but with the application of steampower to both the spinning and the weaving processes, widespread cotton mill construction took place across the entire district, so that by 1861, about thirty cotton mills provided employment.
Mill wages were not high by todays standard, but they compared favorably with alternative employment available at the time. They were a lot more reliable than those in domestic textiles. Cotton mills provided employment for both sexes and for all ages, so that an entire family in work could be well off.
Census information for Christopher and his family 1861
Lowton, Leigh
School lane
Christopher Steel 48 Maker up in cotton factory
Ann 50
Jane 16 Cotton factory worker
Martha Alice 12 Cotton factory worker
Richard 10
William 7
James 5
and for James mother :-
Lowton, Leigh
Chapel St?
James Aspinall 27 silk weaver
Sarah Aspinall 27 factory cotton reeler
Elizabeth 2
*Sarah at least must have been in Lowton for the birth of James in about 1856, and I *presume* the family came to Lowton from Blackburn as William was born there in about 1854. So maybe we are looking at 1855. What do you think?
Although the district was dominated by the manufacture of silk, that industry was struggling in one of the frequent slumps, which was to lead to its eventual decline and extinction. Employment prospects in silk were becoming increasingly limited and younger workers were entering the cotton industry."
Today Leigh is a town with I think the main shops for the local area. It took about 20 min (mind you the bus driver was not intent on hurrying) on the bus to get from Leigh to Golborne, Lowton being slightly nearer. I saw the names Pennington (larger nicer houses) and Bedford in Leigh town.
posted by Steele-Golborne | 9:55 AM
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