Walton le Dale History
Extracts from The Victoria County History (VCH)
Waleton, xiii cent. ; Waleton in le (la) Dale, usual since a.d. 1300.
The township lies on the south side of the River Ribble to the south-east of and almost opposite to the town of Preston ; to the west and south it is bounded by the hundred of Leyland, the River Lostock and the tributary Clayton Brook forming the division on the latter side for some distance. The River Darwen flows through the north-eastern part of the township before falling into the Ribble, the two waters inclosing the village of Walton-le-Dale in a long peninsula. Ordinary tides flow a short distance above the point where the north-western boundary terminates in the River Ribble. The greater part of the township does not exceed 100 ft. in elevation above the ordnance datum ; the highest ground reaches 300 ft. in the southernmost point. The area is 4,683 acres, and the population in 1901 numbered 11,271 persons, of whom the larger part were at Bamber Bridge and Higher Walton. In the greater part of the township the subsoil consists of the Bunter pebble beds, but on the eastern side there are small areas of the Millstone Grit, Lower Coal Measures and Permian rocks. The soil is a rich loam.
Two main roads converge at the village and cross the river by Ribble Bridge, a stone bridge of three arches built in 1782, 50 yds. above the site of an older erection ; the road from Manchester and Chorley crosses the River Lostock at Bamber Bridge and passes through the village of that name and Brownedge ; that from Blackburn passes through Higher Walton. An inferior road connects with the main road from Preston to Clitheroe at Samlesbury. The Liverpool, Blackburn and Accrington line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company passes through the southern part of the township, with stations at Lostock Hall and Bamber Bridge ; from the latter place a branch line called the Bamber Bridge and Preston extension runs through Preston Junction to Preston, and from it a branch line passes over Walton Moss to connect with the main line of the London and North Western Railway Company ; a branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal terminates on Walton Summit, and used to be connected with Preston by a tram line which passes through the village of Bamber Bridge.
The land consists principally of meadow and pasture ; there is some arable, and in the lower ground a considerable amount of market gardening is carried on ; there is a fair amount of woodland scattered over the township.
A local board was formed in the year 1877, but under the provisions of the Act of 1894 the township is now governed by an urban district council of twelve members, and for urban purposes is divided into four wards. The Working Men’s Institute was erected in 188 I at the charge of Mr. Richard Calvert, who also fur- nished it with books and fittings. The principal industry is cotton-spinning, carried on at Flats Mill in the village ; there is also a water corn-mill.
Bamber Bridge is a populous village distant 2 miles south from Walton-le-Dale ; it contains three extensive cotton manufactories. The hamlet of Brownedge, where there are iron-works, is a mile north on an eminence. School Lane is another hamlet. The village of Lostock Hall, formerly called Cuerden Green, is 2 miles west of Bamber Bridge. There is a cotton-spinning factory there
also.
Higher Walton, formerly called Moon’s Mill, is a village situated a mile east from Walton-le-Dale on the Blackburn road. There are two cotton factories, also yarn and piece dyeing works. Darwen Bank, standing in its own grounds of 70 acres, occupies an eminence near the village from which extensive and beautiful views of the neighbourhood may be obtained. Prospect Hill, the residence of Mr. William Gent, occupies a similar position.
Traces of a Roman station of minor importance were found here in 1855 by men employed in the repair of the highways during excavation for gravel of a large mound known as the ‘ Plump,’ and two or three years later during excavations made in a garden 150 yds. to the south-west of the mound. A variety of miscellaneous articles were found, including pottery
and coins. It has been suggested that the station was the Rigodunum of Ptolemy.
In 1253 the boundaries of Walton against the township of Brindle, and in 1283 against Cuerdale, were for the first time properly defined by perambulation.
In answer to their petition pontage for five years was granted in 1302 to the bailiffs and good men of ‘ Walton-in-la-Dale ‘ for building and repairing the bridges of Ribble and Derwent, to be collected from goods intended ‘for sale passing over or under them.’ A similar grant for two years was made to the commonalty of Blackburnshire in 1339 for the repair of Ribble Bridge. Again in 1400 pontage was granted for three years, renewed in 1403 for a similar period, for the repair of Ribble Bridge and for the construction of a stone bridge by the old one which had been
broken by floods and ice.
The Victoria County History (VCH) was founded in 1899 as a national project to write the history of every county in England. At its inception, the project was dedicated to Queen Victoria, which is how it derives its name.
Townships: Walton-le-Dale
A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 was originally published by Victoria County History, London, in 1911. It was edited by William Farrer and J. Brownbill
‘Townships: Walton-le-Dale’, in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill (London, 1911), British History Online
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp289-300
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Historical Buildings
Of the larger family houses in Walton-le-Dale none had more historic association with the village than Walton Hall. The building, demolished about 1840, was successively the home of the Banastres, the Langtons and the Hoghtons. From a description given by a renowned historian of the time it evidently possessed great charm. Set as it was amid a wealth and variety of evergreen and deciduous treees, proved the fondness for natural beauty and privacy that imbued the owners when selecting a site for their home. The original entrance to the park was at the junction of Hennel Lane, on the Chorley Road, along a delightful avenue to the Hall, the front of which was lighted by thirteen windows with a cornice running the full length. The doorway was embellished with two lonic columns. In the dining room were fifteen portaits of the Hoghton family, including two of Sir Henry Philip and Lady Hoghton. The Hall was brick built in the square style with quadrangular courtyard, in the centre of which stood a full-length leaden statue of King William III; this was removed about 1834 before the Hall was demolished, and now stands in the grounds of Hoghton Tower, the residence of Sir Cuthbert and Lady de Hoghton. Stucco ceilings and other elaborate decorations adorned the interior. the whole being very tastefully conceived.
Some years after the demolition of this mansion a very charming building was erected on the same site in the year 1865 (pictured here), the designer being the estate steward. Mr. Flowerdew. Evidence of his work proved him to be a very accomplished architect.
The ornamental gardens and tennis courts were enclosed by a wrought iron fence. The kitchen garden lay to the west of the house surrounded by a high brick wall, the artificially-heated broad cavity providing the temperature necessary for the propagation of sub-tropical fruits. In the grounds immediately behind Walton Hall Farm may still be seen one of the finest cedar trees in this part of the country.
The triple-span, steeply-pitched roofs with the northern extension embracing the clock tower gave a very pleasing appearance. Double bay windows on the south and east sides allowed the maximum sunlight.
Whilst the building was in effect a typical example of Victorian architecture, the Jacobean touch in the tall ornate chimneys gave a charming, if unorthodox contrast to the adopted style.
It is interesting to note that when Sir Henry Bold Hoghton was in residence at Walton Hall a pack of hounds was kept, and the gentlemen hunters of the village appeared in bright scarlet coats; the village parson, however, always retained his canonical black, a severe and striking contrast. Whether the vicar intended to maintain his dignity or be a cynosure to the villagers by retaining his clerical garb is not known.
Prior to the Hall being vacated in 1931, it was occupied by several different families. It remained untenanted for about ten years, during which time the structure fell into decay, so much so that during the years 1940 and 1941 it was finally demolished. Several of the outbuildings were allowed to remain and are now in the occupation of the Walton Hall Farm.
On the hillside, some two-hundred yards south-west from the Hall, may be seen the remains of a very unusual relic of former days: a game larder or, as the local people like to refer, the ice house. This forerunner of our modem refrigerator, a sunken well. brick lined with a domed roof, was used by the residents of the Hall to store perishable food. It would seem an admirable place for the purpose, the temperature being uniformly cool in all seasons. The well has now been filled in, all that remains today is the domed brick roof.
The previous paragraphs contain extracts from ‘Walton le Dale A History of the Village’
by Frank Coupe. The publication date was 1954 and the publisher was Guardian Press.
https://archive.org/details/historyofvillage0000fran/page/164/mode/2up?view=theater
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Cooper Hill House
Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, visited the home of General John Burgoyne, Preston M.P. 1768-92, at Cooper Hill in 1771 and 1775. It is believed that he fixed the first lightning conductor in England to the wall of this house. Cooper Hill was off Church Brow in Walton-le-Dale.
The house was later occupied by Charles Swainson. It was identified as ‘The Seat of Charles Swainson Esq.’ in the book entitled ‘The History of the Borough of Preston and Its Environs in the County of Lancaster’, By Charles Hardwick that was published in 1857.
The Unicorn Inn
The Unicorn Inn, a 17th century building (now known as Pinocchio’s Restaurant) was the posting station used by Parliamentary troops during the English Civil War. The Unicorn Inn was said to be the headquarters of Oliver Cromwell during the battle of Preston. It was later the meeting place of the Jacobites in the area. Thomas Cowpe, a Walton man who joined the Jacobites in 1715, was later hanged at Gallows Hill in Preston. His grave is in St Leonard’s churchyard.
Image credit: Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library (The Harris)
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/old-darwen-bridge-walton-le-dale-236803
Other Historical Buildings in and Around Walton le Dale area, including Old Lemon House, Osbaldeston House and Todd Hall, are discussed on the Historical Buildings page.
Walton le Dale History Pages
The following is a list of Walton le Dale History pages that are currently included on the site.
- Historical Buildings
- English Civil War
- The Cuerdale Hoard
- Joseph Livesey
- Joseph Livesey – the poor’s friend
- Urban District Council
- The Domesday Book
- The Turnpike Road from Balderstone to Burscough Bridge
- Old Tram Road
- Walton Hall
- Saint Ursula Pilgrim Badge
- Historical Photographs
- Roman Walton le Dale
- St Leonard’s Church
There are also a number of articles about history related to Walton le Dale in the ‘Articles‘ section.