View source for Aspull

{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.570|-2.586|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Aspull
| population               = 4977
| metropolitan_borough     = [[Metropolitan Borough of Wigan|Wigan]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[Greater Manchester]]
| region                   = North West England
| constituency_westminster = [[Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)|Wigan]]
| post_town                = WIGAN
| postcode_district        = WN2
| postcode_area            = WN
| dial_code                = 01942
| os_grid_reference        = SD611082
| static_image_name        = Aspull Clock.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Aspull Clock
| london_distance          = 
}}
'''Aspull''' is a village in the [[Metropolitan Borough of Wigan]], in [[Greater Manchester]], England. [[Historic counties of England|Historically]] in Lancashire, Aspull, along with [[Haigh, Greater Manchester|Haigh]], is surrounded by greenbelt and agricultural land, separated from [[Westhoughton]], on its southeast side, by a brook running through [[Borsdane Wood]]. The ground rises from south to north, reaching {{convert|400|ft|m|0}}, and has views towards [[Winter Hill (North West England)|Winter Hill]] and the [[West Pennine Moors]]. It has a population of 4,977.

Aspull was once a centre of mining and [[textile manufacture]], though little evidence of this can be seen in the village today. [[Haigh Country Park]] estate lies to the west.

==History==

===Early history===
The earliest notice of Aspull is that contained in the survey of 1212, when, as one plough-land, it formed part of the Childwall fee held by Richard son of Robert de Lathom, under the lord of Manchester. The fee was a composite one of 6½ plough-lands (of which Aspull formed one), held chiefly by Richard de Lathom, and partly by Roger de Samlesbury and Alexander de Harwood.

In 1302 Richard de [[Ince, Cheshire|Ince]], as son and heir of Henry de [[Sefton, Merseyside|Sefton]], and Adam de [[Hindley, Greater Manchester|Hindley]], were found to hold Aspull, as the eighth part of a knight's fee, directly of Thomas Grelley. From this time the lordship has been held with the adjacent Ince by the families of Ince and Gerard in succession; until Aspull was sold to the [[Earl of Crawford]] and [[Earl of Balcarres|Balcarres]], lord of [[Haigh, Wigan|Haigh]].

Hindley Hall, in Aspull, the residence of the Hindleys, became the property of James, a younger son of [[Robert Dukinfield]] of [[Cheshire]]. In the 18th century it was acquired by the Leighs of Whitley Hall, [[Wigan]], and Sir Robert Holt Leigh lived here till his death in 1843. His estates then passed for life to his cousin [[Thomas Pemberton Leigh|Thomas Pemberton]], who took the name of Leigh, and made Hindley Hall his residence; he was raised to the peerage as Baron Kingsdown in 1858.

The hearth tax roll of 1666 shows that 135 hearths were charged. The most considerable houses were those of Richard Green, nine hearths; Peter Orrell and James Dukinfield, eight each; Major Rigby and Thomas Molyneux, seven each; and Edward Gleast, six.

[[Elizabeth of Hungary|St. Elizabeth]]'s [[C of E]] Church was built in 1882 by Roger Leigh. The patronage is vested in trustees. There are two [[Methodist]] chapels. In 1858 the [[Roman Catholic]] church of [[Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception]] was erected.

===Coal===
{{See also|List of mining disasters in Lancashire}}
[[Cannel coal]] was found in Aspull. There were several large collieries dating back to the 18th century, also [[malt kiln]]s and a [[cotton mill]]. In 1896 the Crawford, Kirkless, Moor and Woodshaw Pits in the township belonging the [[Wigan Coal and Iron Company]] employed over 1,000 workers.<ref name=DMM>{{citation |title=Wigan Coal & Iron Co. Ltd. |url= http://www.dmm.org.uk/company/w1002.htm|publisher=Durham Mining Museum |access-date=7 February 2011}}</ref> Aspull's long history of mining left a legacy of old mineshafts, water drainage tunnels ([[sough]]s) and abandoned mine workings.

The [[Great Haigh Sough]] in [[Haigh, Wigan|Haigh]] Country Park discharged iron rich minewater into the Yellow Brook
discolouring the brook and [[River Douglas, Lancashire|River Douglas]] downstream with ochre deposits. In 2004 the [[Coal Authority]] provided a [[passive treatment system|passive treatment plant]] in a scheme costing £750,000. Work was undertaken by Ascot Environmental who built a pumping station, pipelines, settlement lagoons, reedbeds and landscaped the site. The scheme has improved the water quality removing the discolouration and allowed fish to populate the brook.<ref>{{citation|title=Aspull Sough Minewater Treatment Scheme |url=http://www.coal.gov.uk/environmental/england/aspullsoughminewatertreatmentscheme.cfm |publisher=The coal Authority |access-date=7 February 2011 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912140015/http://www.coal.gov.uk/environmental/england/aspullsoughminewatertreatmentscheme.cfm |archive-date=12 September 2010 }}</ref>

The coal-mining tradition lives on in the name of the "Collier's Arms" pub on Wigan Road, which has a date plaque of 1700 [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1045337].

==Geography==
Aspull is on a crossroads. The principal road is to the north-east/south-west, [[Blackrod]] to Wigan. Another road runs north-west/south-east, [[Standish, Greater Manchester|Standish]] to the [[A6 road (England)|A6 road]]. The [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] passes through the western corner of the township. Aspull Moor lies in the northern half of the village.

The nearest railway station is at [[Hindley railway station|Hindley]] although [[Blackrod railway station|Blackrod]] is only a few yards further distant. Hindley has the more frequent service, whilst Blackrod has the faster service to Manchester. Whilst having colliery (goods) railways Aspull has never had a central railway station of its own. There was, however, on the line from Wigan to Chorley (via Hindley), a station named ''Dicconson Lane & Aspull'' some distance from Aspull; that was closed in 1956, before closure of the entire line to passengers in 1960 and to goods in 1966.

==Sport== 

Aspull juniors football club with over 20 teams and 300 children playing from the village, Also has a superb girls section.
The town's [[rugby union]] club, Aspull RFC, currently fields 3 senior teams. The 1stXV plays in the Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire, the 2nd XV plays in the Group 1 of the ADM Combination league and the 3rd XV play in NOWIRUL Simply Lifetime Mortgages Division 3 Central of Halbro NW Leagues.

The town is home to the [[Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club]], known internationally as "The Snake Pit", one of the last gyms to teach authentic catch wrestling. It hosts the [[Snake Pit World Championships]] and other competitions for catch wrestling.

==See also==
{{portal|Greater Manchester}}
*[[Listed buildings in Aspull]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
'Townships: Aspull', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4 (1911), pp.&nbsp;118–22.

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Aspull}}
* {{Genuki|county=LAN|Aspull}}
* [http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/ Wigan World]
* [http://www.aspullrugby.co.uk/ Aspull RFC]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050404221529/http://www.samknows.com/broadband/exchange.php?ecode=LCASL Aspull Broadband]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927124812/http://www.britishsurvey.org/Wigan/Aspull-Standish/ All about Aspull]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/04/school_tables/primary_schools/html/359_3426.stm Aspull Church Primary School]
* [https://www.aspullourladys.wigan.sch.uk/ Our Lady's R.C. Primary School]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050413235850/http://www.wlct.org/Leisure/Halls/aspull.htm Aspull Civic Hall]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051108201428/http://www.wlct.org/Leisure/Haigh/haigh_splash.htm Haigh Country Park]

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[[Category:Villages in Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Unparished areas in Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan]]