APPLEY BRIDGE

''Not to be confused with Apperley Bridge which is also a small village on the Leeds - Liverpool canal just north of Bradford on the other side of the Pennines in West Yorkshire''
'Appley Bridge' is a small village in West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. It is located off Junction 27 of the M6 motorway and is nestled in the Douglas valley alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

Contents

About Appley Bridge

Etymology

Recreation

Skull House Lane

Appley Bridge meteorite

Famous People

External links

About Appley Bridge

Its location is unique because the village is in West Lancashire whilst Shevington Vale, the large modern housing developments which lie adjacent to the village, are in Greater Manchester.
Once a busy industrial village, with a paint and linoleum works, several quarries and clay pits for the Wigan brick company, today the village still has several factories including a weigh bridge manufacturer and carvan factory, but is rather more sleepy, its main purpose providing housing to the many commuters who work along the M6 corridor.
Appley Bridge has a railway station sitting on the Southport to Manchester line, some bus stops, a few convenience shops, a football ground, two churches (Methodist and CofE), several country pubs, and a post office. In the adjacent village of Shevington Vale there is a row of shops including a spar convenience store,a Chinese takeaway, Hair Dressers and a Pharmacy. There is also a small children play area and football pitch opposite the Shevington Vale primary school. The garden centre "Golden Days" is located just outside the main village on 'Back Lane' near the junction for the M6 Motorway. A waste paper recycling yard is also present on Appley Lane North offering free diposal of cardboard and paper as well as other services.

Etymology

The name ''Appley Bridge'' apparently comes from a large apple tree which was next to the bridge used to gain access to the village from the south over the River Douglas and apart from a few houses the tree and bridge were only main feature of the village for early settlers. The bridge has been replaced several times and is currently a flat stone bridge, the tree however is no longer there. It has also been suggested that the apple tree was cut down and used to build the first bridge but there are no official records to back up either version but it is widely accepted that one of those explanations is the correct one.

Recreation

There are many open spaces in Appley Bridge were the local population play football, cricket and rugby etc. The organized football team are called Appley Bridge FC and play matches on the football pitch opposite 'Sams Bar' near the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The Appley Bridge FC Junoir have team within the age range of 8 to 13, there are two Senior open age teams. The Senior team enjoys a good support from the locals despite the team being near the bottom of the league, the U8 team is probably the most successful out of all the Appley Bridge teams.
The local Scout movement, 1st Appley Bridge/53rd Ormskirk, has three section the Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and the tradition Scouts. There are also Guides and Brownie groups as well as a local youth group

Skull House Lane

In between Appley Lane North and Miles Lane is a road called Skull House Lane. The lane takes its name from a cottage known as Skull House, which is located about halfway down Appley Lane North.
The story goes that in the time of the war between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers, Oliver Cromwell ordered that the monks of England should be driven out of their monasteries and killed, with their monasteries then razed to the ground. One canny monk fled from his monastery and took refuge in a large cottage in Appley Bridge. To try and avoid discovery by Cromwell's Roundheads, the monk hid in a small cubby-hole halfway up the house's chimney. He hid there for some time, until the Roundheads eventually discovered him, and tried to drive him out. They lit a blaze in the fireplace, and the searing heat and thick smoke eventually forced the monk out, whence he was killed. Ever since then, the monk's discoloured skull has remained on the mantlepiece of the house, in the living room.
The inhabitants of Appley Bridge tell that, throughout the history of the house, there have been many residents who have tried to get rid of the skull, and all have experienced disastrous results from doing so. According to legend, one threw it into the River Douglas at the bottom of Appley Lane North. Shortly after, the skull returned to the house and the offending resident drowned in the river. Another tried to get it as far away from the house as possible, and shortly after, the skull returned once again and this time, the house's inhabitant fell down the stairs and severely injured himself. Others have tried many ways to banish the skull, and all have met with misfortune or fatality -- sickness, the death of a loved one, bad luck... the list goes on and on. The house's current residents have, unsurprisingly, never tried to remove the skull.

Appley Bridge meteorite

At around 8.45 on Tuesday evening of October 13th, 1914, the inhabitants of Appley Bridge (indeed Lancashire and Cheshire too) were treated to a sudden and spectacular illumination of the night sky, caused by a meteorite that was subsequently found in a farmers field in the village the following day. Found just 18 inches below the surface of the field, with the appearance of burnt iron the small rock weighed almost 33lb (15 kg). An article in the "Scientific News" (No. 2588, Oct 30th 1914) stated "a small fragment which had been detached from the larger mass was put on view in a shop-window at Appley Bridge."

Famous People

★ Darren Almond Artist.

★ Russell Parry Author

External links

★ Photographs of the Leeds Liverpool Canal at Appley Bridge towpathtreks.co.uk 2006

★ All Saints CofE Church - Appley Bridge

★ Shevington Parish Council

★ Wigan Borough Council

★ Wrightington Parish Council