Hoghton, ENG - Postcode - PR5 0SW

Hoghton, England

Located in the Chorley Borough of Lancashire, England, Hoghton is both a tiny village and a civil parish. There were 802 people living there as of the 2011 Census.  As a parish, Brindle is part of the Brindle and Hoghton ward.

Dating back to the 12th century, the de Hoghton family has called Hoghton Tower, a fortified manor house, their ancestral home.

Hoghton Bottoms and Riley Green are also small communities located within the parish. Gregson Lane and Coupe Green, two neighboring villages, are commonly included in descriptions of Hoghton even though they are technically in the neighboring parish of Coupe Green and Gregson Lane, which makes up the ward of Coupe Green and Gregson Green in the South Ribble area.

History of Hoghton

Hoghton, whose name means "the settlement at the foot of a hill," dates back to the Saxons. A deed from 1160 bears the original spelling of the name, which was then Hoctonam.

The Boar's Head pub, which is located between Quaker Brook Lane and Dover Lane, might be considered the center of Hoghton village, which lacks a true village center. The community runs along an ancient route that has connected Preston and Blackburn for ages, so early travelers would have experienced virtually an exact replica of the landscape we enjoy today: a beautiful pastoral area with a variety of forest and a stream.

Hoghton Tower, a fortified palace constructed in the 16th century, stands 560 feet above sea level and is the most prominent landmark in the area. Numerous accounts detail the lavish feast that Sir Richard de Hoghton hosted for King James I in 1617, whereby the monarch was said to have knighted a particularly tasty piece of meat. Since then, I've been calling the beef I cook sir-loin. After lavishly entertaining the King and his entourage for three days, Sir Richard was thrown into a debtors' prison. The de Hoghton family's motto, "Malgré le tort," which means "despite the evil," seems especially fitting.

The Hoghton war memorial honors the lives lost by locals in the 20th century and stands in front of the grandiose half-mile drive leading up to the Tower. The current drive to the Tower was created in 1901; however, the first drive opened in the 17th century and ran alongside the Royal Oak bar.

Yeoman farmers and their workers made up the bulk of the population in the 18th century, with a few small groups of handloom weavers living in Hoghton Bottoms, Riley Green, and other outlying settlements. Hoghton Bottoms is located at the bottom of a rocky gorge and serves as a reminder of the extent to which weaving and agriculture were once intertwined in the region. Yarn for the weavers who lived and worked in the quaint cottages along Chapel Lane was spun in two mills driven by the river Darwen's water wheels. Cotton was spun in the mills, and then the buildings were converted to weaving sheds until finally closing in 1971. Alum Scar, Alum Wood, and Alum House are all indications that the de Hoghton family, with a royal license, operated an alum mine in Hoghton long before weaving became the town's primary economic activity. While both the Tower quarry and the Duxon Hill quarry were once active, they are now defunct and no longer producing stone for use in construction or for local households or roads.

Hoghton is located on the East Lancashire Railway, and the town is home to a beautiful viaduct that was built in 1826 and soars over the stony riverbed of the Darwen by an impressive 116 feet. In 1960, Hoghton's train station was demolished. The majority of today's working population commutes to urban centers through roadways, with motorway connections facilitating rapid travel from the suburbs and rural areas.

Along Station Road, you'll find another local watering hole with a rich history: the 17th-century inn The Sirloin. Small housing developments with attractively diversified modern houses and bungalows can be found along Station Road, Gib Lane, and Quaker Brook Lane. There are a few newer homes nestled among the older stone cottages in Chapel Lane. After some Roundhead troops were housed here in 1651, these dwellings earned the nickname "The Barracks."

Holy Trinity Parish Church, an Anglican church established in 1823 by Parliamentary Commissioners, received a brand new building thanks to the generosity of the de Hoghton family in 1887. Services for the peasants, many of whom traveled great distances by traps, gigs, or horseback, took place in the chapel or the Grand Hall in the Tower before the church was erected. In a small section of the churchyard, several de Hoghton ancestors are laid to rest. There is a grave nearby with the name "Gatty," honoring the guy who perfected the khaki color used in military uniforms.

In 1883, a de Hoghton family member paid for the construction of a school for Hoghton children to use across the street from the church. Each week, each student was required to pay 1 12 d to cover the cost of school supplies (including books, slates, and pencils). Once upon a time, the institution also provided housing for boarding students. Children in Hoghton now attend schools in nearby Coupe Green and Gregson Lane, while the former school building has been converted into a private residence.

The residents of Hoghton are well-served by the town's post office/shop and gas station/shop. The village hall was constructed in 1976 and is used frequently by both locals and visiting groups. The sports teams in Hoghton are well-supported and have access to a sports field, pavilion, and facilities for cricket, football, bowling, and tennis.