Wingates

Wingates is a small settlement located in the town of

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. The name is believed to mean 'a gate for the wind', and it seems likely as this is in an exposed position above

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.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 ...

part of

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 Lancas ...

, it lies mainly along the A6 road between

Blackrod Blackrod is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, northeast of Wigan and west of Bolton. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, it had a population of 5,001. Historically part of Lancashire ...

and

Walkden Walkden is a town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, northwest of Salford, and of Manchester. Historically in the township of Worsley in Lancashire, Walkden was a centre for coal mining and textile manufacture. In 20 ...

. In 1315 a group of men led by Sir William Bradshaigh of

Haigh Hall Haigh Hall is a historic country house in Haigh, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Built between 1827 and 1840 for James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres, it replaced an ancient manor house and was a Lindsay family home until 1947, when it was ...

, Sir Henry Lea of

Charnock Richard Charnock Richard is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,748. History The village was named in the early 13th century by the local ...

and Sir Adam Banastre met in the village to plan a campaign of violence against Sir Robert de Holland of Upholland, chief retainer of the powerful

Earl of Lancaster The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.) King Henry ...

. The campaign came to be known as the

Banastre Rebellion The Banastre Rebellion was an uprising in Lancashire, England in 1315 against the Earl of Lancaster and his supporters. It took place in 1315 when a group of disaffected knights decided to revenge themselves on the Earl of Lancaster by attacking h ...

and ended with the deaths of most of the main protagonists. Wingates is the home of the championship-winning Wingates Band, one of the best-known brass bands in the United Kingdom.

St John the Evangelist's church was consecrated in 1859 and the churchyard contains many graves of the victims of the 1910 Pretoria Pit Disaster

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

, the co-founder of the Methodist church, preached a sermon at Barnaby's Farm at Wingates in April 1784, an occasion commemorated by a memorial plaque on the side of the A6.. From Wingates the A6 leads north-west to

and south-east to

. From the church Wingates Lane leads to Lostock and Church Street to the centre of