Orrell is a suburb 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 ...

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. The population of the ward had fallen at the 2011 Census to 11,513. The area lies to the west of

town centre. The area is contiguous with Pemberton. Historically in

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 ...

, Orrell was a centre of the coal mining industry, though today no evidence of the area's industrial past is present. The

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Orrell has a population of 11,203, however, the ward covers a larger area also containing parts of Billinge and Winstanley.

History

Orrell derives from the Anglo Saxon ''ora'' and ''hyll'', a hill where ore is dug. It has been variously recorded as Horul in 1212, Orel in 1292, Orhull in 1294 and Orul in 1307 and subsequently known as Orrell-in-Makerfield. It was the extreme north-west berewick of the manor of Newton-in-Makerfield before the

Norman Conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. In 1212 the manor was held by Richard de Orrell but became divided and was acquired by the Hollands of Upholland and descended to the Lovels and subsequently to the Earls of Derby. After several changes of ownership it belonged to Roger Leigh of Aspull. Orrell was the family name of a number of landowners in the area and branches of the Orrell family held small estates here for centuries. There are records from 1558 showing William Orrell living at Orrell Hall.

Industrial history

The coal measures of 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 ...

were mined extensively at the Orrell Collieries between 1740 and 1850. A tramroad modelled on John Blenkinsop's railway at Middleton was built in 1812 from the pits to 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 ...

at Crooke. Robert Daglish was its engineer. A cottage nail making industry flourished at the same time. Another employer was the Sandbrook

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

where raw cotton was spun into thread. No significant industry is present in the area which is primarily a residential suburb for commuters.

Post war

Divided by the M6 and M58 motorways, the area has developed two unofficial 'sections': the southern section with

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and Orrell Rugby Union Club's former ' Edge Hall Road; and Orrell Post, at the northern side of the M58. The original Orrell 'post', signifying a halt on the turnpike road, is still outside the Stag public house at a crossroads. The area's proximity to

town centre and its position at a junction of the M6, make it an attractive location from which to commute.

Governance

From 1894 to 1974, Orrell formed its own local government district; Orrell Urban District, and lay 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. With the coming of local government reforms in 1974, Orrell's urban district status was abolished and the area was amalgamated into the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester. Orrell forms part of the Makerfield parliamentary constituency, which is represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

by Labour Member of Parliament, Yvonne Fovargue, replacing Ian McCartney who retired at the 2010 election.

Geography

The area's northern section surrounds junction 26 of 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 ...

. The M6 motorway passes north-south through the area and the section of Orrell to the east of the M6 directly adjoins the district of Pemberton. Orrell and Pemberton form one contiguous residential area. Orrell is one of twenty five

s that make up the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. It is the most westerly ward in Greater Manchester. Orrell is part of the Wigan Urban Area.

Education

St John Rigby College is situated at the northern edge of the Orrell area. St Peter's Catholic High School consistently top of the Wigan schools' league table is located on the adjacent road to Orrell Library. Dean Trust Wigan is located on the eastern side of the M6 Motorway.

Community facilities

Orrell Library used to be located on Orrell Road but was closed in March 2010 and moved to the new nearby Abraham Guest High School, despite local attempts to keep the original site open. The former Orrell Library building on Orrell Road is now home to the local branch of 'Book Cycle', a volunteer-run community facility that allows users to exchange books for a small donation. To the south of the area is Orrell Water Park, a disused water storage reservoir, which has now been turned to leisure use and attracts walkers, fishermen and picnickers. The broadcasting studios of Wish FM, radio for the Wigan/St Helens area, were located in the area. on the eastern side of the M6. Wish FM discontinued its broadcast in 2020 when it merged with a number of other local stations to form Greatest Hits Radio North West. Its former studio building is now home to a training company, Expanse Learning.

Transport

The area's principal road is the A577- Boothstown to

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

. The

runs north-south through the area. The easily accessible East Lancashire Road and M62 give access to

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

and

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 ...

. The M58 provides the

area with a link to West Lancashire and the

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on Local Government Act 1972, 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, ...

and the areas to the north the City of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. It was proposed that the Orrell area (Junction 26 of the M6) be the starting point of the A5225 Wigan and Hindley bypass road linking the M6 and the M58 with the M61 at Bolton. Orrell railway station is located at the southern section of the area providing services eastbound to

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England, is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was c ...

(passing through Wigan Wallgate) and westbound to Headbolt Lane, Kirkby (passing through Upholland and

Rainford Rainford is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England, north of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the population was 7,7 ...

stations) connecting with Merseyrail Northern Line services.

Sport

The area is the home of South Lancashire & Cheshire Division 2 side Orrell Rugby Union Football Club. The senior and junior academy sides of Wigan RLFC rugby league club play their home games at Edge Hall Road. Orrell left Edge Hall Road at the end of the 2006–07 season and began playing at St John Rigby College. The Orrell Otters Football Club currently ply their trade in the South Lancs Counties Second Division after winning the Third Division championship in their debut season, and are also the current Houghton Memorial Cup holders after winning the trophy in 2010.

Gallery

File:Orrell - The Mount.jpg, The Mount Public House File:The Post at Orrell Post - geograph.org.uk - 42618.jpg, The Post at Orrell Post File:St Luke's Church, Orrell (1).JPG, The Parish Church of St. Luke's File:Newfold C.P. School, Orrell.JPG, Newfold C.P. School

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

UK & Ireland Genealogy - Orrell
Genealogy and Gazetteer webspace about Orrell.
Orrell, Billinge, Winstanley Township
Wigan MBC website. {{Greater Manchester Areas of Greater Manchester Unparished areas in Greater Manchester Former civil parishes in Greater Manchester Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan