Visit Heywood, Greater Manchester Places

Welcome to Visit Heywood, Greater Manchester Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Heywood, Greater Manchester

  

Heywood, Greater Manchester Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Heywood, Greater Manchester

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Heywood, Greater Manchester history

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Evidence attests that human activity in the area extends back to the Mesolithic period; flints have been found in Heywood, in the Cheesden Valley and Knowl Moor areas. Artefacts from the Roman period and Bronze Age have been discovered. A Bronze Age cairn 2 feet (1 m) high and 11 yards (10 m) in diameter was discovered in the 1960s. Excavations by the Bury Archaeological Group revealed beakers associated with human burials. The name Heywood is believed to derive from the Old English word “haga”, meaning hedge or animal-enclosure. In the 12th century, Heywood was recorded as a hamlet in the township of Heap. A family surnamed Heywood can be traced back to the 11th century, and in 1286, Adam de Bury granted the land of Heywood to Peter of Heywood. Heywood Hall, the administrative centre of the manor and the seat of the Heywood family, was built in the 13th century. A member of the family and a resident of Heywood Hall was Peter Heywood, the magistrate who, with a party of men, arrested Guy Fawkes during the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Another member of the family, also called Peter Heywood, was aboard HMS Bounty when its crew mutinied in 1789. During the Middle Ages the area was thinly populated and consisted of several hamlets. Apart from the Heywoods of Heywood Hall, the sparse population of Heywood comprised a small community of farmers, most of whom were involved with pasture but supplemented their incomes by weaving woollens and fustians in the domestic system. During the Early Modern period, the weavers of Heywood had been using spinning wheels in makeshift weavers’ cottages, but as the demand for cotton goods increased and the technology of cotton-spinning machinery improved during the early 18th century, the need for larger structures to house bigger and more efficient equipment became apparent. Industrial textile manufacture was introduced in the town in the late 18th century and the first spinning mill – Makin Mill – was built at Wrigley Brook (later known as Queens Park Road). By 1780 there remained less than 100 hand-loom fustian weavers out of a population of 2,000 and industrialist Sir Robert Peel (father of Prime Minister Robert Peel) converted Makin Mill for cotton production. This initiated a process of urbanisation and socioeconomic transformation in the area and the population moved away from farming, adopting employment in the factory system. The cotton trade in Heywood grew, and by 1833 there were 27 cotton mills. What was described as a period of “extraordinary growth of the cotton-trade” in the mid-19th century, led to “an influx of strangers causing a very dense population”. Urbanisation caused by the expansion of factories and housing meant that in 1885, Rochdale-born poet Edwin Waugh, was able to describe Heywood as “almost entirely the creation of the cotton industry”. In 1905 Plum Tickle Mill began operation as the largest mule-spinning mill in the world under one roof, however, Plum Mill and its sister-mill, Unity Mill, were idled in the 1960s under the government reorganisation of the cotton industry. The last large weaving mill in the town was J. Smith, Hargreaves & Company, towel manufacturers. However this mill was also idled in the 1980s and operations were transferred to W.T. Taylor & Company in Horwich. Most of the cotton mills have now been demolished, mainly to make way for housing. One of the last mills remaining, though not in production since 1986, has recently been offered for redevelopment as flats. The “Mutual Mills”, a complex of four, are Grade II listed buildings. The town also has a history of coal mining. Coal pits were opened in Hooley Clough in the early 19th century by the Lord of the Manor of Rochdale. During the 19th century a colliery at Captain Fold was run by the Heywood Coal Company. Two people were killed at Captain Fold Colliery between 1844 and 1848. When the mine flooded in 1852 two more people were killed and the colliery closed soon after. Mining continued in the town with drift mining in Bamford until 1950. In 1881, the newly created Municipal Borough of Heywood included 67 cotton mills and weaving sheds, 67 machine works and other workshops, 75 cotton waste and other warehouses and 5,877 dwelling houses. It had 22 churches and chapels and 24 Sunday and day schools. The population was estimated at 25,000. The town was originally served by railway, with Heywood railway station to the south of the town. There were services to Bury Knowsley Street railway station and Rochdale, but this line was closed in the 1970s. However, the line has recently been re-opened to Bury, as an extension to the East Lancashire Railway preservation project. The town had its own canal, the Heywood Branch Canal which is now infilled and largely gone. There is a local legend that men from Heywood used to have tails and that public houses had holes in their benches for tails to fit through. The legend led to the town developing the nickname of “Monkey Town”. A more prosaic explanation is that in the 19th Century, the town was based around Heap Bridge, now barely a suburb of the town, when, in the accent (of the locals) and Irish “Navvies” working on the railway, the town was ‘Ape bridge. In the 20th century, the town’s cotton mills went into steep decline, only Glossop in Derbyshire went into sharper recession; in contrast, the spinning capacity of nearby Rochdale shrank more slowly than any other mill town apart from Wigan. The southern wing of St Luke’s Church, well known throughout the area for its beautiful proportions and ornate carvings, is suggested to have been one of Hitler’s high-priority items for acquisition had he won the war. In 2007 plans were announced to shake off an area’s ‘mill town’ image and rejuvenate the town over a 10–15-year period to appeal to a younger generation. The plan involves creating new retail, business and community spaces, demolishing 300 flats and houses and replacing them with 1,000 new homes. Heywood Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1905. The club disappeared at the time of World War Two.

Heywood, Greater Manchester landmarks

Heywood’s only landmark was Heywood Hall, the town’s former manor house which was inhabited by the Heywood family. The parish church of St Luke the Evangelist is the focal point of the town centre. St Luke’s was consecrated on 8 October 1862 following a public subscription appeal.

Heywood, Greater Manchester geography / climate

Heywood is located 169 miles (272 km) north-northwest of central London. The town lies on the south bank of the River Roch, on the west, south and northeast. The larger towns of Bury, Middleton and Rochdale lie to the west.

You can visit Heywood, Greater Manchester places with Walkfo Heywood, Greater Manchester to hear history at Heywood, Greater Manchester’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Heywood, Greater Manchester has 25 places to visit in our interactive Heywood, Greater Manchester map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Heywood, Greater Manchester, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Heywood, Greater Manchester places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Heywood, Greater Manchester & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 25 audio facts unique to Heywood, Greater Manchester places in an interactive Heywood, Greater Manchester map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Heywood, Greater Manchester Places Map
25 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Heywood, Greater Manchester historic spots	Heywood, Greater Manchester tourist destinations	Heywood, Greater Manchester plaques	Heywood, Greater Manchester geographic features
Walkfo Heywood, Greater Manchester tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Heywood, Greater Manchester

  

Best Heywood, Greater Manchester places to visit

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Heywood, Greater Manchester has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Heywood, Greater Manchester’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Heywood, Greater Manchester’s information audio spots:

Taylor Park Taylor Park is located in Norden in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It was originally made into a park because it is situated on a mine shaft for the mine that used to be in operation in the locality.

Sudden Brook Sudden Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester and a tributary of the River Roch. It originates in to the north of Royton, Oldham and flows Northwards through Kirkholt and Sandbrook Park.

Millers Brook Millers Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester. It originates in Heywood and flows through Queens Park to join the River Roch.

Naden Brook Naden Brook is a watercourse in north west England. It rises in the hills above Norden, near the boundary of Lancashire and Greater Manchester. It flows south to Heywood, where it merges with the River Roch.

Municipal Borough of Heywood The Municipal Borough of Heywood was, from 1881 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England, with borough status and coterminate with the town.

Harp Mill, Castleton Harp Mill was a former cotton spinning mill in the Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Th’Harp was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964.

Visit Heywood, Greater Manchester plaques