In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Atherton like this:
ATHERTON, a town, a township, a chapelry, and a subdistrict, in the parish and district of Leigh, Lancashire. The town stands about a mile E of the Bolton and Kenyon railway, 2 miles NNE of Leigh, and 13 WNW of Manchester. It bears also the name of Chowbent; and it has a station of the name of Atherton on the railway, and a post office‡ of the name of Chowbent under Manchester. ...
The inhabitants are employed variously in cotton factories, iron works, nail factories, and collieries. Pop., 2,692. Houses, 683. The township includes also part of the town of Leigh, and is partly rural. Acres, 2,323. Real property, £23,638; of which £8,920 are in mines. Pop., 5,907. Houses, 1,222. Atherton Hall stands near the site of a quondam seat of the Athertons; and is the property of Lord Lilford. The chapelry is a p. curacy in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £100. Patron, Lord Lilford. The church was rebuilt in 1810. There are Baptist and Unitarian chapels, and a national school. The subdistrict includes Tyldesley-cum-Shakerley. Pop., 11,936.
Atherton through time
Atherton is now part of Wigan district. Click here for graphs and data of how Wigan has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Atherton itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Atherton, in Wigan and Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/116
Date accessed: 16th April 2024
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