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Coordinates: 53°32'N 2°22'W? / ?53.53, -2.37
Kearsley (or archaically Kersley)[2] is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It lies about 12 km north west of the City of Manchester and about 6 km south of Bolton.
It is bounded on the west by Walkden, the east by Whitefield, the north by Farnworth and the south by Clifton.
Kearsley was once a township in the ancient ecclesiastical parish of Deane, in the Hundred of Salford of Lancashire. Kearsley was an urban district of Lancashire from 1894 until 1974.[3] In 1933, part of Clifton was added to Kearsley Urban District. Part of Outwood of Radcliffe became part of Kearsley in line with the 1933 Lancashire Review.
[edit] History
The area now known as Kearsley was mentioned as an industrial area in 1752, when James Brindley worked on water drainage problems at the Wet Earth Colliery on the borders of Kearsley and Clifton. In 1780, a mill was built at the point where the River Croal meets the River Irwell[4] The first real mention of Kearsley was in 1830[5] when it was described as:
"Kersley, a township in the parish of Deane, Hundred of Salford, 7 miles N.W. from Manchester. Inhabitants 1833. In this township is Kearsley Moor, an extensive common, under the surface of which there are many valuable coalmines".
[edit] Industry
Today Kearsley has little industry, the one remaining mill is now a multi occupancy building housing both retail and light engineering. There are three small industrial estates concerned mainly with the transport industry.
- Europa Industrial Estate, Stoneclough Road
- Fishbrook Industrial Estate, Stoneclough Road
- Lion Industrial Estate, Moss Road
There is a small shopping precinct and some isolated shops along Manchester Road.
In the mid 1800s, the area was busy with the coal mining industry. Several street names such as Moss Colliery Road bear testimony to this. The largest coal mine was the Unity Brook Colliery. On 12 March 1878 an explosion[6] in the mine killed 43 men and boys.[7] Nineteen of the dead were buried in the Parish Church.[8] By 1900 the coal mining industry had all but disappeared from the area.
On the area now known as Nob End, a chemical works was built by Harrison Blair.[9] The works produced vitriol (sulphuric acid).
In the late 1920s a coal fired power station was built. Kearsley Power station used water for cooling taken from the River Irwell. The power station closed, and was leter demolished, on May 12th 1985. The power station had a dedicated rail line,[10] which has since been removed and forms part of a pedestrian trail.
[edit] Transport
Kearsley sprang up on the main A666 from Manchester to Bolton. Today it lies on the A666 at a point where the Kearsley Roundabout connects it and Farnworth to the M61 motorway via the Kearsley Spur Link Road.
Kearsley railway station is located on aptly named Station Road, from here there is a service northbound to Wigan Wallgate and southbound to Rochdale railway station via Manchester Victoria. In 1878, the mineral railway line to Kearsley was opened, at a cost of £100.[11]
It is on the main bus route from Bolton to Manchester. In earlier days, it was on the main tram route. On 3 June 1881, trams ran the full length of the system: Town Hall Square, Bolton to Farnworth & Kearsley.
[edit] Churches
For its size, Kearsley has a disproportionate number of churches.[12] The main church being the parish church of St. Stephens.
[edit] St Stephens
Church of England, located on Manchester Road, St Stephen's Church was the vision of Harrison Blair.[13] who owned the chemical works at Nob End. The church has a graveyard which hold the remains of 19 miners killed in the Unity Brook Colliery disaster, The church was founded in 1870 erected in 1870-71 by the family of the Harrison Blair who died before his vision could be finished. It cost £3,600 and has seating for 538 parishioners.[14] The Bishop of Manchester, Dr Fraser, finally consecrated the newly built Church on 1st July 1871.[15]
[edit] Congregational church
A United Reformed Church, founded before 1890. It is now closed.
[edit] New Jerusalem church
Located on Bolton Rd, founded in 1836, the church has a now disused graveyard.
[edit] St John Fisher
Catholic Church, founded in 1969 on Manchester Road.
[edit] Kearsley Mount
A Methodist Church of Great Britain, built in 1891 on Manchester Road faces the Parish Church of St Stephens.
[edit] Schoenstatt Shrine
After two years in planning and ten months of building, the Schoenstatt Shrine was dedicated on 1 October 2000 by Bishop Terence John Brain of Salford. The opening was attended by visitors from as far away as Mexico, Australia and South America as well as Schoenstatt members from Ireland, Scotland and its native Germany.[16]
[edit] Education
The schools in Kearsley are under the control of Bolton Education Department. The pupil and ID numbers are extracted from the Bolton MBC web site
[edit] Pre school
The area has two nursery schools, Rompers which is a private nursery taking 33 children[17] and Spindle Point School.[18]
[edit] Primary
There are two primary schools both under the direction of Bolton Education, Spindle Point School (pupils 247 Ofsted Id 105/105196, Dfes Number 2075) and the church attached St. Stephens Church of England Primary School (pupils 222, Ofsted Id 105/105240, Dfes Number: 3354)
[edit] Secondary
There is one secondary school in Kearsley, George Tomlinson School on Moss Lane. (Pupils 685, Ofsted Id 105/105268, Dfes Number: 5402).
[edit] Political
Keasley Ward is in the Parliamentary district of Bolton South East. In 2007, the Member of Parliament for the Ward is Dr Brian Iddon (Labour Party)[19]
The local councillors for Kearsley in 2007 are Councillor John Rothwell and Councillor Mrs Margaret Rothwell, Both Liberal Democrats[20]
[edit] Council Tax
For 2006 / 2007, the Council tax was given as[21]
| Council tax band |
Amoount of tax (£) |
| A |
847.37 |
| B |
988.59 |
| C |
1129.81 |
| D |
1271.05 |
| E |
1553.50 |
| F |
1835.96 |
| G |
2118.42 |
| H |
2542.10 |
Kearsley looking north, taken from St Stephens Church tower
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Kearsley looking west, taken from St Stephens Church tower
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Kearsley looking south, taken from St Stephens Church tower
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Kearsley looking east, taken from St Stephens Church tower
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[edit] References
- , 2001 Census -Office of National Statistics
- , (1830) The New Lancashire Gazetteer or Topographical Dictionary
- , Vision of Britain
- , Bolton Organisation [1]
- , (1830) The New Lancashire Gazetteer or Topographical Dictionary
- , This is Lancashire
- , Durham Mining Museum
- , Genuki Kearsley
- , St Stephens official web site
- , "Railway Byelines" (Dec '98 - Nov '99) 4: pages 226,309. Irwell Valley Press.
- , Bolton Revisited
- , Genuki Churches
- , St Stephens official web site
- , Genuki Churches
- , St Stephens official web site
- , Schoenstatt - German site in English
- , Day nurseries UK
- , Spindle Point School web site
- , Bolton MBC web site - Political
- , Bolton MBC website
- , Bolton MBC web site - Council tax
[edit] External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |