Chorley, where did you lost the chimneys?
It is a misconception that small little towns, like Chorley, have nothing to offer for a tourist visit. There are treasures scattered around the country waiting to be discovered. We believe in it and we believed that Chorley would reveal one for us as well.
Squeezed between M61 and M6, one of the little towns of the North-West, with populations of around 35,000, Chorley can be walked through the main street and its area pretty much in half an hour.
Up until the 1970s, the skyline here was dominated by many factory chimneys, now demolished.
There are some remnants of the industrial past but we could not spot a single one. It is a shame that towns like this lose their unique character.
Instead, we found some peculiar figures near Chorley bus station. They won't be here for long, as well, hopefully, in this case.
Located on the edge of the Lancashire Coalfield, Chorley had been immersed in coal mining for decades. There had been a number of pits around, the last one was closed in 1987. Cotton mills accompanied the landscape and life alongside. Chimneys of the many mills were demolished between the 1950s and 2000s. The last mill to stop producing textiles here was in 2009.
Chorley is equipped with quite a few churches - an understandable tradition in small, remote communities of hard-working miners and other industrial, hazardous occupations.
St Laurence's Church is the oldest building in Chorley. According to historical records, it was consecrated in 1362. It is named after an Irish saint, who died in the 12th century and whose bones could still rest there.
The Church of England parish church of St George built 1822, is an important example of the work of architect Thomas Rickman, a major figure in the Gothic Revival.
The look through the attractive gateway leads to St Mary's Roman Catholic Church. It is based in the town centre at Mount Pleasant. It is described as "a jewel in the Liverpool Roman Catholic Archdiocese". They are one of the biggest set of bells in a Catholic church.
Behind St Mary's in a back alley, we discovered a picturesque building of Chorley Theatre. Then a monster of a building appeared. It turned out to be the local Police Station. Ouch.
How one would be able to find the strength to chase down the criminals, facing every working day entrance into one of the most horrible buildings we have seen - we wondered. We felt depressed by just looking at this aberrant architecture. Perhaps this is part of hardening the police force character, we decided and turned quickly away.
Opposite the ugly headquarters of Chorley Police is contrasting in Victorian elegance and style, even from its back, Chorley Town Hall. There was a small plaque mentioning where the local Suffragettes first met.
Town Hall, in a classic Victorian style, from 1879. Market Street from about 1990s.
St George Quarter is becoming more up-to-date with the requirements of modern hipster life-style. There are many individual shops and cafes, to every taste, though it is compact in space.
Chorley Market was empty due to Covid restriction but we did not regret it.
Our attention was drawn towards small Christmas trees stuck diagonally from the first-floor buildings along the streets. What a curious thing to do, we wondered. A sad and desperate look, rather. The decorations were sparse and scarce, apart from those sad little green trees, what a waste.
People need a special incentive to live and work anywhere. In Chorley, there are several big companies serving this purpose. Leyland Trucks and BAE Systems are the largest. FedEx has its North West depot here.
"Choose Chorley" was a campaign by Chorley Council in the last decade or so, to invite big business to the town and its surrounds. Whether it has been successful, we do no know.
What we know for sure, that a town, to look homely and been looked after, needs a lot of small, family-run businesses, to invigorate the local spirit.
The town has its own newspaper, Chorley Guardian. It is also the home of the Chorley cake.
On this occasion, there is Chorley Cake Street Fair in October each year; local bakeries compete to make the largest one.
In the north of the town, where we did not reach this time, is the Mormon temple that has become a local landmark, as being the largest in Europe. There is also a huge training centre where missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are expedited on assignments all over Britain and Europe.
We associate Mormons with 19th century United States, so it was a surprise to find out they are alive and kicking in this unassuming little town. A treasure yet to be counted in.
Other interesting places to visit next time when the lockdown is finally down, will be the historic country houses:
Astley Hall, the most known, with a splendid exhibition of rooms, art gallery and landscaped park.
Bank Hall in Bretherton, a Jacobean mansion house, home to Lancashire's oldest Yew tree and one of the two fallen sequoia in the UK.
Heskin Hall, one of the best examples of Tudor Architecture in Northern England.
Before the arrival of the heavy industry in the 19th century, Chorley was rural, beautifully located at the foot of the West Pennine Moors.
There are plenty of outdoor spaces to enjoy: Yarrow Valley Country Park, Worden Country Park, Duxbury Park, White Coppice, Great Hill, Healey Nab and the most notable Rivington Pike Country park and nearby Winter Hill.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs parallel to Chorley. There are several marinas and locks nearby.
The principal river in the town is the Yarrow.
So, there are plenty of treasures to be discovered in and around Chorley.
Instead of chimneys, we found little colourful benches across the town; the warm local spirit is inviting.
