Scholes is an
urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
in
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 ...
,
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
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Scholes is immediately to the east of Wigan's town centre; separated from the commercial area by the
River Douglas.
Historically
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
a 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 ...
, Scholes is noted for its council estate and series of tower blocks, which are prominent features in this area of the town.
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...
has several places called Scholes. Some, like Scholes in Wigan, are simply areas within towns, however, some are actual villages in their own right which are totally stand-alone.
Scholes was once a ward of Wigan, east of the town centre. As described in the Victoria Histories of the Counties of England, Lancashire (VCH Lancs, Vol. 4), the district formerly had four wards:
St George and St Patrick, the innermost divided by a street called Scholes, and Lindsay and St Catherine's outside. It is now contained in the Wigan Central ward.
The
Church of St Catherine was consecrated in 1841 and has a small graveyard attached. In October 1864 representatives of James Horrocks of
Spennymoor
Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers Green and Tudhoe. In 2011 the paris ...
, claiming to be the heir of Robert Ford who died in 1772, took possession of the ‘Manor House' in Scholes and were besieged for some days, to the excitement of the town.
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References
Areas of Wigan
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