The town of Bolton or Bolton le Moors to give its full-name is a town that grew out over the centuries from Little Bolton, a town that dates back to at least medieval times and probably beyond. The old town of Little Bolton was just north of the current “Town Hall Square”, which is generally assumed to be the centre of Bolton.
One of Lancashire’s most prominent cotton towns during the industrial revolution, Bolton, despite it’s numerous “dark, satanic mills”, did get a few solutions to the problems of sustaining a large, working population that non-industrial places had to wait a while for. Now part of the Greater Manchester conurbation the central business district is said to be suffering a decline with many stores vacant.
The town and surrounding villages it consumed as it expanded have many interesting features from historic buildings to underground rivers and a number of local legends that ‘might’ have some truth in them.
Bolton image by munki-boy
Barrow Bridge is a small village that was built to house the workforce of the Dean Mills
Delph Hill is a little area located on the lower southern slopes of Winter Hill, on the outskirts of Bolton on the old toll road from Bolton to Chorley. Once the site of houses, a mine and associated fireclay works, quarries and more.
Doffcocker Colliery seems to have come into existence sometime between the 1850s and 1890s. In 1896 the mine was owned by Samuel Rothwell and managed by James Herbert Rothwell. The colliery worked at least two known shafts, situated behind what was the Sportsman’s Arms pub on Chorley Old Road and worked the Lower Mountain Mine seams.
The area surrounding Delph Hill was quarried out sometime before the mid-19th Century, the site was used later as a reservoir and there are some very interesting wells in the area.
There are a number of buried streams, underground water sources and wells in the Doffcocker and Delph Hill area.
A standing stone of uncertain age located in a field near Harwood.
Moses Gate Country Park is located to the southeast of Bolton, not far from the centre of town. Easy for a quick visit with ample parking and all the usual park features, play area for kids, pleasant lodges to stroll around and a bunch of extended walks following the River Croal and the disused but partially restored Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal.
An area of north Bolton, site of the historic Smithills Hall and parkland, some great industrial archaeology and a small nature trail.
Some of the best looking reservoirs in the area are here, historic monuments, wide open moorland vistas and at least a couple of prehistoric monuments.
