Little Hulton

Little Hulton
St Pauls, Little Hulton
Little Hulton  Little Hulton shown within Greater Manchester
Population	10,216 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SD719037
- London	170 miles (274 km) SE
Metropolitan borough	Salford
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MANCHESTER
Postcode district	M38
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Worsley and Eccles South
List of places: UK • England • Greater Manchester

Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south of Bolton, 7 miles (11.3 km) west-northwest of Salford, and 9 miles (14.5 km) west-northwest of Manchester. Little Hulton is bordered by Farnworth to the north and Walkden to the east.

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, Little Hulton has a total resident population of 10,216.

History

The ancient district of Hulton, contained three townships, Over, Middle and Little Hulton, it was recorded as Helghtun and Hulton in 1235, Hilton in 1278 and 1292, Hulton in 1292 although Hilton was still used until the 17th century. Historically Little Hulton was a village in the ancient Deane parish with a chapel, sometimes called Peel Chapel. The chief manor was at Hulton Park in Over Hulton.

Wharton was a subordinate manor in a district in Little Hulton that gave its name to the family living there, later it was owned by the Asshetons of Great Lever and the Morts. It was sold to a colliery company, Bridgewater Estates. Wharton Hall was a two-storey farmhouse built of brick, timber and plaster.

In the 13th century Peel or Wicheves, another district in Little Hulton, was owned by the Hulton family who sold it to the Tyldesleys. Later it was owned by Edmund Fleetwood of Rossall who sold it to the Morts. Joseph Yates of Manchester bought it in the 18th century and his descendants sold it to colliery owner, Ellis Fletcher of Clifton. Peel Hall was built in 1840 by Matthew Fletcher, from the designs of Sir Charles Barry. It stands on the site of an older hall which was a stone building with a moat. Peel Hall became a hospital for treating tuberculosis and later a hospital for the elderly until it closed in 1990. It was sold to a development company for refurbishment but despite being a Grade II listed building it was vandalised and became dangerous and was demolished in the mid 1990s.

Another Peel, known as Kenyon Peel Hall, was owned by Alexander Rigby in 1600, he gave it to his son George. It passed to Roger Kenyon of Parkhead through marriage. It was a large timber, stone and brick house which was built in the late 16th century and enlarged in 1617. The house was demolished and the site occupied by a modern housing estate. Kenyon Peel Hall was about a quarter of a mile south of the ancient highway from Manchester to Bolton.

Coal mining and weaving were the major occupations in the mid nineteenth century.

In 1870 the London and North Western Railway opened a line from Roe Green on the Eccles, Tyldesley and Wigan Railway to serve collieries at Little Hulton and in 1874 an extension to Bolton was opened with passenger services commencing in 1875. The line closed in 1965. A ten feet wide Roman road was found when the railway was being cut.

Coal mining and Cutacre

Little Hulton was extensively mined from the mid 19th century, the collieries included Madam's Wood, Brackley, Wharton Hall, Ashton's Field and Peel Hall which were served by mineral railways. Mine spoil was deposited around the early collieries but in the 20th century the Cutacre tip developed in the valley of the Cutacre Clough and was the dumping ground for mine waste from Brackley and neighbouring Mosley Common Collieries.

Walkden Yard or NCB Central Workshops was situated south of High Street, Walkden close to the Ellesmere Colliery was partly in Little Hulton. It was built 1898 by the Bridgewater Trust as a central works depot providing engineering services for the collieries and locomotives used by their colliery railways. The yard closed as a British Coal workshop in 1986 and is now a housing estate.

The Cutacre site was granted planning permission in 2001 for the surface mining of 900,000 tonnes of coal and reworking of the spoil tip. The operation was expected to last for 4 years and began in 2006. The restoration scheme would create over 100 hectares of amenity woodland and wetlands as well as for an area of industrial development. UK Coal is currently working with neighbouring Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council to promote the Cutacre site through the Local Development Framework process. Bolton Council have identified Cutacre as a key strategic site for future development in Bolton and consequently plans have changed. There has been a long campaign against the proposals by residents in Little Hulton.

20th century

Before 1949 Little Hulton was a village of around 8,000 people. The land was developed into council housing overspill estates by Salford Council to accommodate residents moved there from the slum clearance areas of post war Salford. By the end of 1956 over a thousand families had moved to the overspill estate being built at Little Hulton and by 1962 3,060 houses had been built as a result of mass slum clearance in Salford. Little Hulton aimed to create a suburb that would improve the standard of living and create private space, greenspace and a sense of community for the new residents. Some streets in Little Hulton adopt the names of places in Salford.^{[citation needed]} This was an attempt by town planners of the time to make the people moving to Little Hulton feel more at home, and is confirmable within modern A-Z Street Atlases.^{[citation needed]}

Governance

Historically a part of the hundred of Salford in the county of Lancashire, until the 19th century, Little Hulton was a township and chapelry in the ecclesiastical parish of Deane, in Lancashire. In 1837 Little Hulton along with neighbouring townships (or civil parishes) became part of the Bolton Poor Law Union which took responsibility for the administration and funding of the Poor Law in that area. In 1872 a Local Board of Health was established for the township, and in 1894 Little Hulton Urban District was created, however, it was abolished in 1933 and merged into Worsley Urban District

Since 1974 Little Hulton has been an electoral ward of the City of Salford. As of 2009 all three councillors for the Little Hulton ward represent the Labour Party.

Little Hulton's MP is Barbara Keeley who won the parliamentary seat for Worsley at the 2005 General Election.

Geography

Further information: Geography of Greater Manchester

Little Hulton is the most easterly of the Hulton townships, it covers an area of 1,707 acres (6.91 km²) rising from 200 feet (61 m) in the south east to 380 feet (120 m) in the north west. The main Manchester to Chorley road, the A6, crosses the town. Much of the area was pasture and meadow on good soil. Sandstone was quarried at Peel quarry and the underlying rocks are largely coal measures.

Demography

Population change

Population growth in Little Hulton from 1881–1961
Year	1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931	1951
Population	5,714	6,693	7,294	8,103	7,910	7,874	9,997
Little Hulton Ch/CP

Education

Further information: List of schools in Salford

School	Type	Ofsted	Website
Bridgewater Primary School	Primary school	105912	website
Dukesgate Primary School	Primary school	105920
Peel Hall Primary School	Primary school	105913	website
St Edmund's R.C. Primary School	Primary school	105958
St Joseph's R.C. Primary School	Primary school	105959
Wharton Primary School	Primary school	105897

Religion

See also: List of churches in Greater Manchester

The old Wharton Chapel had its origins in the Act of Uniformity 1662 which led to Great Ejection of clergy. Reverend James Wood (the elder) of Chowbent Chapel in Atherton had to leave the chapel but continued to hold services in private houses, including that of the Mort family at Wharton Hall. A Presbyterian church was rebuilt in 1723 and after 1755 used by different denominations until it was restored to the Presbyterians in 1860. A new church was built in 1901.

The first Peel Chapel was situated slightly to the north of St Paul's over the vaults of the Kenyon & Fletcher families. It was built by the Yates family and consecrated in 1760 as a Chapelry in the Parish of Deane. In March 1874 Peel Chapel became a parish, the Chapelry of St. Paul, Peel. A foundation stone for a new Church was laid by Lord Kenyon in August 1874 and the church, built in locally quarried sandstone, consecrated in December 1876. Its spire was built in 1898 and is 165 feet (50 m) high. It is a Grade II Listed building.

Notable people

Further information: List of people from Salford

• Mark Barry - singer in pop group BBMak
• Christopher Eccleston - actor, one-time star of Doctor Who also appeared in the films 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film), Let Him Have It and Shallow Grave.
• Jimmy Hampson - former professional footballer and Blackpool F.C.'s record goalscorer.
• George Maddison (footballer born 1902)- professional footballer.
• Paul Ryder - bass guitarist in rock group Happy Mondays
• Shaun Ryder - lead singer of rock group Happy Mondays

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Manchester Evening News Syndication (2008), Salford Past, At Heart Ltd, p. 12, ISBN 1-84547-165-2 
• Sweeney, D.J. (1997), A Lancashire Triangle Part Two, Triangle Publishing, ISBN 0-9529333-2-2 

External links

• GENUKI: Little Hulton, Lancashire genealogy
• Mort Family Wharton Hall
• Little Hulton Local History