Haydock

History

The placename is from Celtic heidd, meaning "barley, wheat" with the suffix -aco meaning "place". An undated source refers to the name as Heidiog. The village is often referred to by the colloquial name of 'Yick', and its inhabitants may be referred to as 'Yickers'.

Haydock was one of the United Kingdom's richest areas in coal and coal mining, Haydock Collieries had up to 13 collieries working at one time. The last colliery in Haydock – Wood Pit – closed in 1971, bringing to an end coal mining in the area. This site had been the scene of a mining accident explosion on 7 June 1878 which a subsequent Report of the Inspector of Mines concluded claimed the lives of 189 men and boys. Among them were forty-five-year-old Nathan Boon and his five sons. According to GenUKI 15 victims were not included in the Inspector's report but their names "appeared in the Coroner's Inquest and in some cases in the burial registers". If included, the final death toll would have been 204.

Surrounded by agricultural farmland, much of the village's expansion was due to mining and canal transport. In the early 1900s Haydock had no fewer than three railway stations - Haydock, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Haydock Park - along the line which passed through from St.Helens to Lowton.

Governance

Haydock was a township in the parish of Winwick before being made a civil parish in 1866. The village was in the poor law union of Warrington in the 19th century before being created an urban district in 1894.

Between 1830 and 1983 Haydock was part of the Newton constituency. In 1983 the Newton constituency containing Golborne Urban District, Irlam Urban District, Newton-le-Willows Urban District, Warrington Rural District (containing Winwick) was divided by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act.

In 1983 Haydock, along with the town of Newton-le-Willows, was incorporated into the St Helens North Constituency.

The traditional Haydock boundary encapsulated part of Blackbrook, Old Boston and part of Haydock Park (the northern perimeter made up by Garswood Park and the course of Clipsley Brook). The western boundary was Blackbrook, downstream of its confluence with Clipsley Brook, while the eastern boundary was composed of Sandy Lane and Newton Lane as far south as Dean Dam and Cowhey Dam. Portions of the old Haydock Parish are now within the modern Newton-le-Willows for the purposes of local administration and postal services, and utilise 01942 dial codes due to their proximity to those local exchanges.

Changing local administrative boundaries in 1933 transferred 16 acres of land to the Ashton-in-Makerfield civil parish which is, today, one of the seven parishes of St Helens.

Further ward profile changes in 2007 to those made in 2004 extended the Haydock ward, reducing the Billinge and Seneley Green Ward. Part of the Haydock Royal Air Force site housing development, including Slag Lane along with a section of Liverpool Road, was appropriated to Haydock and Blackbrook wards respectively, for electoral purposes. Seneley Green Parish Council continue to collect the parish precept and have authority on planning issues.

Community

In 1861 the Haydock Brass Band was formed and is still going strong. It is the oldest community run organisation in St Helens. The band has gained a superb national reputation in performances of brass band music in contests, theatrical productions, performances with choral organisations and corporate events. They hold their rehearsals at Grange Valley Youth Centre, where the band has been based for the last five years - at the heart of Haydock. The band can been seen each year performing the ceremonial fanfares at the start and finish of the world famous Grand National in Aintree. Haydock band has a strong relationship with Haydock Park Racecourse as well as with the whole of the community of Haydock. They hold one of the largest and oldest library's of brass band music in the country which is fast becoming classed as a national resource. More information about the band can be found at www.haydockband.com

Founded in 1923, the Haydock Male Voice Choir (see references below for website) is one of the oldest choirs in North West England with a continuous record, apart from the early years of the Second World War. It has established a reputation as a fine concert choir in the UK as well as in Germany and the USA which the choir have visited on many occasions. The choir also has an enviable record of success over the years in choral competitions which underlines the efforts of its members and music team in regular rehearsals. Current membership of 70 men is drawn from a 25-mile radius of Haydock. This is quite a compliment given the number of other male choirs in the same area.

Before nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947, Haydock's collieries were principally operated by Richard Evans & Co, whose name can be found today in two of the village's schools, Richard Evans Infant School and Richard Evans Junior School, which closed in 2006 due to falling pupil numbers. The school is now used as a music centre by the local Valley Brass Band who take their name from the Grange Valley area of Haydock.

Other schools in the area include Haydock High School, Legh Vale Primary School, St. James' Church of England Primary, Grange Valley Primary School and English Martyrs Primary School. Haydock High School was also previously named Haydock Secondary Modern School. Haydock has many sport facilities including Haydock Park Racecourse, Haydock Cricket Club, Haydock leisure centre. Haydock is also home to Independente Futsal Club the first 5v5 Futsal Club in the county.

Recently, a Tesco supermarket has been built on the former site of the areas coal industry's central workshops. This development led to the demolition of the old Conservative club building but led to the construction of a brand new building, courtesy of the supermarket chain. Nearby are Iceland and Aldi supermarkets and other shops and restaurants. This area of Haydock is now considered the main retail section of Haydock.

Haydock is home to a country park, known as the Lyme and Wood Pits Park. It is situated on the side of the hill that is home to the landfill site. As of 2011 it is in early stages of finishing, with just the visitors' centre and other amenities, still not built. In 2009 local schools from Haydock and Earlestown planted a variety of trees on the hill as part of the plans. The park includes many walks, ponds (some of which you can fish in) and a memorial to the 189 miners who lost their lives in the Wood pit explosion in 1878. Haydock Forest, was awarded Green Flag status in early 2012.

King George V Playing Fields houses a play area, astro-turf pitch and is home to Haydock Juniors and local open age football teams. In 2009, Brazilian Soccer Schools was launched in Haydock for local junior players which grew and became a Football and Futebol de Salao centre for Lancashire and Merseyside.

Haydock is probably best known as the home of the Haydock Park Racecourse. It was built between 1898 and 1899 on 127 acres of the historic Haydock Park land granted by Lord Newton to replace the older Newton le Willows course (home of the Newton Races) which was situated on Newton Common adjacent to Swan Lane and was closed in 1890. The origins of the Old Newton Cup can be traced back to 1752, when racing was taking place on Golborne Heath, not far from the present course. On 16 June that year a £50 Cup was competed for at Golborne, sponsored by the Newton Hunt. The races subsequently moved to Newton le Willows early in the 19th century.

Haydock is home to 7 churches:

Notable people