The River Douglas, also known as the River Asland or Astland, is a river that flows through Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the north-west of England. It is a tributary of the River Ribble and has itself several tributaries, the major ones being the River Tawd and the River Yarrow.
Castlefield is an inner city conservation area of Manchester in North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mamucium or Mancunium which gave its name to Manchester. It was the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal, the world's first industrial canal, built in 1764; the oldest canal warehouse opened in 1779. The world's first passenger railway terminated here in 1830, at Liverpool Road railway station and the first railway warehouse opened here in 1831.
Leigh is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, 7.7 miles (12 km) southeast of Wigan and 9.5 miles (15.3 km) west of Manchester, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss.
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town and former county borough, Wigan and includes the towns and villages of Leigh, part of Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Orrell, Standish, Atherton, Tyldesley, Golborne, Lowton, Billinge, Astley, Haigh and Aspull. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an amalgamation of several former local government districts and parishes. The borough has three civil parishes and lies directly to the west of the City of Salford and southwest of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. The local authority is Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council.
Wigan Pier is an area around the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of the town centre. The name has humorous or ironic connotations since it conjures an image of a seaside pleasure pier, whereas Wigan is in fact an inland and traditionally industrial town.
The Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed in 1845 and opened on 28 November 1848. The line ran from Liverpool Exchange first using a joint line with Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway before branching off to proceed via Kirkby then Wigan and Bolton to Bury.
Wigan North Western railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.
First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major cities of Northern England as well as Scotland.
Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward. Adding on this area brings the total in 2011 to 15,664.
Whittle-le-Woods is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 5,434.
Duxbury Woods is an area of woodland and parkland situated in Chorley, Lancashire, at the foot of the West Pennine Moors. The area originally existed as a township with the council meeting at the Yarrow Bridge pub; this was absorbed into Chorley Rural District in the early 20th century.
Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The village is two miles from Chorley and on the western fringe of the West Pennine Moors. In 2001 the population was 955, increasing to 1,001 at the 2011 census.
The Douglas Navigation was a canalised section of the River Douglas or Asland, in Lancashire, England, running from its confluence with the River Ribble to Wigan. It was authorised in 1720, and some work was carried out, but the undertakers lost most of the share money speculating on the South Sea Bubble. Alexander Leigh attempted to revive it eleven years later, and opened it progressively between 1738 and 1742. Leigh began work on a parallel canal called Leigh's Cut to improve the passage from Newburgh to Gathurst, but progress was slow and it was unfinished in 1771.
The Lancaster Canal Tramroad, also known as the Walton Summit Tramway or the Old Tram Road, was a plateway, completed in 1803, to link the north and south ends of the Lancaster Canal across the Ribble valley, pending completion of the canal. The canal link was never constructed.
Trencherfield Mill is a cotton spinning mill standing next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1907. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The mill was driven by a 2,500 hp triple-expansion four-cylinder engine built by J & E Wood of Bolton in 1907. The two halves of the engine were called Rina and Helen. They drove a 26-foot flywheel with 54 ropes at 68 rpm. The engine was stopped in 1968. The mill is now part of the Wigan Pier redevelopment area and is used for other purposes.
