Duxbury Woods is an area of woodland and parkland situated in Chorley,

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 ...

, at the foot of the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separat ...

. The area originally existed as a township with the council meeting at the Yarrow Bridge pub; this was absorbed into

Chorley Rural District Chorley Rural District was a rural district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894 as the successor to the Chorley Rural Sanitary District. It comprised an a ...

in the early 20th century. Duxbury today is home to Duxbury Jubilee Park, Duxbury Golf Course, the woods and the River Yarrow. It was also home to

Duxbury Hall Duxbury Hall was a 19th-century country house in Duxbury Park estate in Duxbury Woods, Lancashire that has been demolished. The hall was a plain two-storey building faced in millstone grit ashlar standing in a well-wooded park 1½ miles (2.5&n ...

, the seat of the Standish family. The estate and grounds still exist with the gardens, stables, coachhouse, 16th century barn and Lodges on Bolton Road and Wigan Lane remaining. The Hall itself was built in the 17th century, and was demolished to make way for housing in 1957. Many consider the great barn (which remains) to be the original home of the pilgrim father Myles Standish.

History

Duxbury has existed with this name (Deuksburie, Dokesbirie, etc.) since an Angle named Deowuc settled there in 600-900 AD, before the arrival of Vikings at the latter date. He is believed during the rule of

King Offa Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æ ...

to have set up a fortified farm known as a burh on land near the present day Saw Mills on Wigan Lane. The first Old Hall was in the south of Duxbury (many believe on the site of Bretters Farm near to the

Leeds-Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small bran ...

) and the Elizabethan Hall in the centre of the manor was built c. 1600 (many think this was the home of Myles Standish). Other buildings include game preserves, stables and coachhouses. A peel tower was constructed in the north of Duxbury during the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

where in 1322, Chorley was raided by the Scots. The peel tower was thought to have been built soon afterwards, although documents suggest that it was prier to 1319. The rectangular hall pictured was first built in the 17th century, with many later modifications, but was demolished in the 1950s. The site of the manor is now home of Duxbury Jubilee Golf Course. The Great Hall (known as the barn) is now home of Dodd architects and the stables and coachhouses are home to Glendale Managed services. A conservatory and various other buildings within the manor wall were built for Chorley Rural Council but are now used as staff blocks for the Golf course staff. Dux hhal

The woodland was home to Duxbury Mill which ground corn. Today only traces can be found deep into the woodland at the edge of Red Bank Lane off Carr Lane on the grounds of the Vertex Centre. The weir and mill race which powered the mill still exist and can be seen from the

Yarrow Bridge Yarrow Bridge is a small road bridge which crosses the River Yarrow in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The bridge carries the A6 road over the river. There is also a pub and garage next door to bridge which carries the same name. The bridge ha ...

. As well as the mill four

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s existed; Duxbury Park, Duxbury, Carr and Yarrow Collieries existed. Duxbury Park's old railway bridge ruins can still be seen on Wigan lane. This means there are many tunnels underneath Duxbury with many now disappeared. The latter three collieries were all located around the grounds of the Marconi factory and Vertex Centre whilst Duxbury Park was located near to Wigan Lane. Some of Duxbury is now part of the

Yarrow Valley Park Yarrow Valley Country Park is a country park managed by Chorley Borough Council in Lancashire, England. It follows the River Yarrow for about . It contains much woodland and includes nature reserves, the best known being Birkacre and Duxbur ...

which also includes the nearby Birkacre lodges and the large Burgh estate which was once owned by Duxbury Hall. Today the parkland is home to the Chorley Red Bank Scout Group, who meet at the (St Georges) Red Bank Mission. This building was formerly used to serve the workers of the collieries of Carr Lane.

External links

Red Bank Scout Group Bonfire Website
* {{Borough of Chorley geography Parks and commons in Chorley West Pennine Moors