Abram, Greater Manchester
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Abram is a village and electoral ward in the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Greater Manchester, Atherton, Ashton-in-Ma ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England. It lies on flat land on the northeast bank of the
Leeds and 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 branc ...
, west of
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...
, southeast of
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
, and west of
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. Abram is a dormitory village with a population of 9,855. Historically part of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, Abram anciently formed a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
and
chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...
in the parish of Wigan and hundred of West Derby. Abram appears in an entry of an ancient survey of Lancashire in 1212 under the name "Edburgham". The urbanisation and development of Abram largely coincided with the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. Abram is at the centre of a coal district, and industrial scale
coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
was introduced to Abram around the middle of the 19th century with the opening of several collieries. In 1911, Abram was described as "distinctly unpicturesque ... trees are in the minority, and stunted and blackened with smoke", with "collieries, pit-banks, and railway lines" as well as "much pasture land". The Maypole Colliery Disaster in 1908 resulted in 75 deaths and profoundly changed the character of the village. Abram's coal mining industry declined in the mid-20th century, but the village has continued to grow due to its position between Leigh, Manchester,
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
and Wigan. To the south of the village lies Abram Flashes, a area of shallow wetlands and a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
. Abram has historic associations with traditional morris dancing.


History

The village name has been variously recorded as Edburgham in 1212 and Adburgham in 1246. In the 16th century it had evolved into Abraham, and by the 17th century the current name of Abram had become prevalent.. It is suggested that Abram derives from
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
, the surname of the medieval
Lords of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
. The manor was probably part of the larger manor of Newton until it was granted to "Warine son of Godfrey" by
Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
who reigned 1154–1189. The family adopted the name of the settlement, and remained Lords of the Manor until the 17th century. The family was ruined by the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, in which they supported the
Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gover ...
. When the last in male line of the Abraham family died in the 17th century, possession of the manor passed through many hands, and the title of Lord of the Manor was still around at the start of the 20th century although held no manorial rights. Just after 17:00 on 18 August 1908 there was an
explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...
at the No 1, Cannell Mine of the Maypole Coal Pit. A total of 75 men and boys died in this
mining accident A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground mining (hard rock), underground coal mining, although accidents al ...
. Because the explosion occurred deep underground, it was not until November 1909 that all the bodies were recovered. The inquest ruled that the explosion was caused by a combination of a buildup of
coal dust Coal dust is a fine-powdered form of coal which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizer, pulverization of coal rock. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created by mining, transporting, or mechanically handling it. ...
and
gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...
, and the use of
explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
to bring down coal from the ceiling. The physical effects of the disaster on Abram are described as "profound"; the explosion made 44 women widows and killed the fathers of more than 120 children. At the time,
Irish people The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has be ...
were a large ethnic minority in Lancashire, making up between a quarter and a third of the populations of
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...
, St Helens, and
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
. The Irish Catholic immigrants were seeking works on the
Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British Coalfield#Great Britain, coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Rom ...
, as demonstrated by the fact that 13 of the dead were Catholic migrants from Ireland. Many of the families affected by the disaster returned to Ireland shortly afterwards.


Governance

Lying within the historic county boundaries of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
since the early 12th century, Abram anciently constituted a manor, held by
ruling families A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...
who paid tax to the King. Abram during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
formed a
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in the ecclesiastical parish of Wigan, and hundred of West Derby. Following the
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the British Whig Party, Whig government of Charles ...
, Abram formed part of the Wigan
Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...
, an inter-parish unit established to provide
social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
. Abram's first
local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
was a
Local board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...
established in 1880; Abram Local Board of Health was a regulatory body responsible for standards of hygiene and sanitation in the township. Following the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
, the area of the Local Board became the Abram Urban District, a local government district within the
administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...
of Lancashire. The urban district council had 12 members and was based out of the Abram Council Offices, which were designed by Heaton, Ralph and Heaton and completed in 1903. In 1957 there were exchanges of very small areas with
Ashton in Makerfield Ashton-in-Makerfield is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south of Wigan. As of the 2021 census, there was a population of 26,380. Historically part of Lancashire, Ashton-in-Makerfield was a tow ...
and
Golborne Urban District Golborne (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south-south-east of Wigan, north-east of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. Along with the neighbouring village ...
s. Under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, the Abram Urban District was abolished, and Abram has, since 1 April 1974, formed an
unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...
of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Greater Manchester, Atherton, Ashton-in-Ma ...
, a local government district of the
metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...
of
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
. Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council provides the local services. In terms of parliamentary representation, Abram is part of the Makerfield constituency; the Member of Parliament is
Josh Simons Josh Simons (born 24 July 1993) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament for Makerfield since 2024. Early life and education Josh Simons was born on 24 July 1993 to a Jewish father from Bury, Greater Mancheste ...
, a Labour politician.


Geography

At (53.508°,-2.588°) and northwest of
central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
, Abram lies on mostly flat ground, with slightly undulating land at its southern end. The larger towns of
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
and
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...
lie to the northwest and east respectively. For purposes of the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
, Abram forms part of the Wigan Urban Area. Suburban localities in and around Abram include Bamfurlong, Bickershaw, Bryn Gates and
Platt Bridge Platt Bridge is a settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south of Wigan town centre along the spine of the A573 road. Historically part of the Hindley Urban District, in Lancashire, the area is now a re ...
. The land around Abram is generally flat and used for coal mining and
arable farming Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...
. As a result, collieries were scattered across the landscape. The local geology consists of coal measures in the north and sandstone in the south; the soil is clayey and as a result, the area is susceptible to flooding. To the south of the village lies Abram Flashes a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI). The site lies adjacent to the
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...
Branch Canal and is part of
Wigan Flashes Wigan Flashes are an area of open water, lakes, and wetlands created due to mining subsidence in Wigan and Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. The subsidence occurred around 1902, and the name "flashes" derives from the resulting flash flooding t ...
an area of wetland stretching for between Wigan and Leigh. The flashes are shallow bodies of water that originate from flooding due to the subsidence caused by shallow mining. Abram flashes was designated an SSSI in 1990 due to its biological interest which includes various habitats such as open water,
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
, tall herb
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
and wet marshy
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...
.


Demography

According to the
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...
, at the time of the
United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organise ...
, Abram had a population of 9,855. The 2001 population density was , with a 100 to 99.7 female-to-male ratio. Of those over 16 years old, 30.3% were single (never married) and 43.2% married. Abram's 4,037 households included 27.2% one-person, 40.0% married couples living together, 9.5% were co-habiting couples, and 12.5% single parents with their children. Of those aged 16–74, 42.2% had no academic qualifications. At the 2001 UK census, 84.7% of Abram's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 0.9% Muslim, 0.2% Buddhist and 0.1% Sikh. The census recorded 6.5% as having no religion, 0.1% had an alternative religion and 7.5% did not state their religion.


Landmarks

The parish church of St John in Abram was constructed in 1935–1937, and is one of the works by Austin and Paley. There are two
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s in the village, both of which are Grade II; they are Brookside farmhouse, dating from the early-18th century, and a mid-18th century detached house on Warrington Road.


Transport

Public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
in Abram is co-ordinated by
Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a local government body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), ...
. A roads link Abram with other settlements, including the A573 road which bisects the town from north to south, and connects it to Wigan and
Golborne Golborne (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south-south-east of Wigan, north-east of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. Along with the neighbouring village ...
. 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 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
runs to the southwest of the area, near
Ashton in Makerfield Ashton-in-Makerfield is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, south of Wigan. As of the 2021 census, there was a population of 26,380. Historically part of Lancashire, Ashton-in-Makerfield was a tow ...
, and is accessed via the A58 at junction 24 of the M6. Bickershaw and Abram railway station was a station on the now closed Wigan Central to Glazebrook line. It opened along with six other stations on 1 April 1884. It closed on 2 November 1964. There are frequent buses running through Abram with services to a variety of destinations in Greater Manchester, including services to Wigan, Leigh and Manchester. The
Leeds and 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 branc ...
passes Abram to the southwest.


Culture and community

The village has historic associations with traditional
Morris dancing Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A band or single musi ...
and is home to Abram Morris Dancers. A plot of land by Park Lane in the southwest of Abram is known as the Morris Dancers' ground, and is popularly supposed to be held by the Abram Morris Dancers on condition that a Morris dance be celebrated there once every 20 years. The Abram Circle is a dance native to Abram and is "renowned to morris dancers". The Abram Morris Dancers' logo appears on the boundary signs for the village. Abram has one main
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
: St John's Church of England Primary School.


Notable people

John Elisha Grimshaw Lieutenant-Colonel John Elisha Grimshaw VC (20 January 1893 – 20 July 1980) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Com ...
was an Abram-born recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British and Commonwealth forces.
Jenny Meadows Jennifer Brenda "Jenny" Meadows (born 17 April 1981) is a retired British athlete. Her main event was the 800 metres although earlier in her career she also competed over the 400 metres. In the 800 m she won a bronze medal at the 2009 Wor ...
is a British athlete. She attended Abram C of E Primary School on Simpkin Street and still lives in Abram today. Her main event is the 800 m, where she was European Indoor Champion in 2011. Mick Burke was a well-known mountaineer and rescuer who lived in Abram. He lost his life on Mount Everest in 1975 whilst working as a cameraman for the BBC.


See also

* Listed buildings in Abram, Greater Manchester *
List of mining disasters in Lancashire This is a list of mining accidents in the historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire at which five or more people were killed. Mining deaths have occurred wherever coal has been mined across the Lancashire Coalfield. The earlies ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * *


External links


www.abramchurch.co.uk
website of Abram St John the Evangelist Parish Church.
www.abram-morris-dancers.org.uk
website of the Abram Morris Dancers, with a history of the Abram Morris Dancers Ground. {{Authority control Villages in Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan