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The Parish of Ashton in Makerfield
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Industry in Ashton in Makerfield

 
A transcription of an Apprentice’s Indenture to a Hingemaker dated 6th July 1776

In the 18th Century hinge and file making were important cottage industries which then became industrialised as part of the Industrial Revolution that took place in Great Britain. Ashton in Makerfield became the geographical centre of the metal-working district of south-west Lancashire which led to a concentration of dealers in this relatively small town. The majority of Peter Stubs, File-Makers of Warrington’s output was produced in Ashton in Makerfield, where they employed many of the town’s men to make files. On the right is a transcription of an Apprentice’s Indenture to a Hingemaker dated 6th July 1776. An example of how the town accepted its responsibility to the less fortunate.

Coal Mining and Weaving were also very important. The Ordnance Survey Map Circa 1845 shows spinning cotton factories at Downall Green and Steam Engine and a factory at Town Green is also marked as cotton. There were coal pits at Seneley Green, a colliery at Ashton Pier, just west of the town, and an old coal pit at North Florida. In the centre of the town there was a brewery as well as a gas works. Finally there was a corn mill at Ashton Heath.

There was a military barracks at Haydock Lodge which housed various regiments over the years. By 1845 the regiments had left and the Lodge is identified on the map as a lunatic asylum.

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