Clayton Brook is a large residential estate in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, between the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
Preston and the town of
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
. It forms part of the
Clayton-le-Woods
Clayton-le-Woods (Commonly shortened to Clayton) is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerde ...
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
, and is in the Clayton-le-Woods North
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of the borough of
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
. Lying next to the industrial estate of Walton Summit, one-time terminus of a branch of the
Lancaster Canal
The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, a ...
, it also neighbours
Clayton Green,
Hoghton
Hoghton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 802. Brindle and Hoghton ward also includes the parish of Brindle.
Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor hous ...
and
Brindle
Brindle is a coat (animal), coat coloring pattern in animals, particularly dogs, cattle, guinea pigs, Cat, cats, and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger-striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger' ...
, and is not far from the small town of
Bamber Bridge
Bamber Bridge is an urban village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". The population was 13,945 at ...
. Clayton Brook Village as it is often termed, is bounded by the
A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6.
* A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile
* ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to :
** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...
and the
M61 and
M65 motorways, and is conveniently near the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
.
History
The highest land point of the Clayton Brook estate found in the playing fields between Woodfield, Croft Meadow and Carr Barn Brow is the previous summit site of the now defunct Walton Summit stretch of the
Lancaster Canal
The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (historically in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, a ...
. The canal summit was once linked to the Preston terminus of the said canal via the
Lancaster Canal Tramroad
The Lancaster Canal Tramroad, also known as the Walton Summit Tramway or the Old Tram Road, was a British plateway, completed in 1803, to link the north and south ends of the Lancaster Canal across the Ribble valley (Barritt, 2000), pending ...
. The demise of this stretch was brought on by the onset of the M61 that now runs alongside Clayton Brook at its eastern edge.
Reminders of the area's navigable past remain however, with the nearby Tramway Lane linking the estate to junction 2 of the M65 and 9 of the M61. Bridge 10 of the canal stretch also remains, albeit ruined and amongst overgrowth, It ran up behind Woodfield where skate board hill is now, that was the tramway with the terminus at the top near Carr Barn Brow where now stand Briary Court, in nearby farmland across the motorway from the summit.
[H. Potter, ''The Last Boat to Walton Summit'', Pp. 96-98 (Lancashire Canal Trust, 2008) ]
The whole area was once owned by
Hoghton Tower
Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor house east of the village of Hoghton, Lancashire, England, and standing on a hilltop site on the highest point in the area. It takes its name from the de Hoghton family, its historical owners since at le ...
, which was a major landowner in the Chorley and South Ribble areas.
Clayton Brook was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s by the
Central Lancashire New Town Development Corporation
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...
, which also developed the Walton Summit industrial estate nearby. It was affected by the recession in the late 1980s to early 1990s.
May 2013 was when the Clayton Brook pub started to be knocked down. Also in 2013 Clayton Brook/Community House won Community Futures for being the best self developed community out of 39 organisations in the Central Lancashire area.
Transport
Clayton Brook is served by two
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
routes: the frequent 125 service operated by
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
between Preston and
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
and the 114 service between
Leyland and Chorley.
Housing
There is a good mix of residential properties. Approximately half the 4,000 plus properties are rented, with the landlord now being the
housing association
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, Non-profit organization, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "Public housing in the United Kingdom, social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budge ...
group
Places for People
Places for People (PfP) is a property management, development, regeneration company and leisure company based in the UK. History
Places for People was founded by North British Housing Association in 1965. Bristol Churches Housing Association j ...
. Clayton Brook was originally built in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Amenities
It hosts several
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
s, including Clayton Brook Primary School, Westwood Primary School and St Bede's Primary School. Although Westwood Primary School and St Bede's actually fall under
Clayton-le-Woods
Clayton-le-Woods (Commonly shortened to Clayton) is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerde ...
.
There are three churches in the parish of Clayton Brook, one being Clayton Brook Community Church across from the village centre. The other being St Bede's and St John the Evangelist in
Whittle-le-Woods
Whittle-le-Woods (commonly shortened to Whittle) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 5,434.
Whittle-le-Woods lie ...
, The village centre is only 10 minutes walk from the large
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
supermarket in Clayton Green. The local wildlife preserve is Cuerden Valley Park (the grounds of
Cuerden Hall
Cuerden Hall is a country mansion in the village of Cuerden near Preston, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. The Hall was formerly a family home between 1717 and 1906, and used by the Army until the 1960s. In 1985 it became ...
) - and there are several public footpaths within the vicinity taking walkers to a variety of green destinations.
It also hosts the 1st Clayton Brook Scouts, Cubs, Beavers all in the Clayton Brook Village Hall.
References
External links
Places for People Chorley Borough Council
{{authority control
Villages in Lancashire
Geography of Chorley