Doffcocker is a mostly residential district of

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 weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, lying about 3½ miles from the town centre on the northwest edge of the suburbs on the lower south facing slopes of the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separated from the main ...

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

within

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 Lancash ...

, it is bounded by Markland Hill and Heaton to the south and

Halliwell Halliwell is a surname. It may refer to: People * Bryn Halliwell (born 1980), English football goalkeeper * Danny Halliwell (born 1981), rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s * David Halliwell (1936–2006), British dramatis ...

to the east. Coal was mined at Doffcocker Colliery in the 19th century from the thin Mountain Mine (seam) of the lower coal measures. Its most prominent feature is Doffcocker Lodge, a former

mill lodge A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the com ...

(created in 1874) and now a local nature reserve for wildfowl. The history of the name is not certain but it is believed to be formed from the Celtic ''dubh'' meaning dark or black, and ''cocr'' meaning a winding stream, giving "dark winding stream", the stream that fed Doffcocker Lodge. Another version is that it was named after a

Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...

who was passing through the area and had to cross the stream. Its waters were exceptionally high following heavy rain, so to keep his stockings (cockers, as they were known in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

) dry the man was obliged to "doff" them. A similar version appears in an old book A Glossary of North Country Words, in Use: With Their Etymology, John Trotter Brockett, E. Charnley 1829 ::COCKERS, or COGGERS, properly half-boots made of untanned leather, or other stiff materials, and strapped under the shoe; but old stockings without feet, used as gaiters by hedgers and ploughmen, are often so called. Cockers occurs in Bishop Hall's Satires. In

the word is often used for stockings. There is a small place not far from Bolton, called Doff-Cocker, where, my friend, Mr. Turner, informs me, it used to be the fashion for the country people who came from church or market to pull off their stockings and walk barefoot home.

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