Standish is a village 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. Within the boundaries of the historic county 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 ...

, it is on the

A49 road The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...

between

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

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 ...

, near Junction 27 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 population of the town was 13,278 in the 2011 census. Formed around a crossroads, the town has grown as urban expansion between Manchester and Liverpool extends outwards. St Wilfrid's Church is a

Grade I listed 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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

History

The name Standish is derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''stan'', meaning stone, and ''edisc'', a park or enclosure. It has been variously recorded as Stanedis in 1206, Stanediss in 1219, Standissh, Stanedich and Stanedissh in 1292 and Standisch in 1330. The adjoining village of Langtree was recorded as Langetre in 1206 and Longetre in 1330. A

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

passed through the township. Standish and Langtree were part of the

Penwortham Penwortham () is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road ...

barony in the 12th century, and between 1150 and 1164, Richard Bussel, Lord of Penwortham gave them to his brother-in-law Richard Spileman. In 1212 Thurstan Banastre held them and later they were held by William de Ferrers Earl of Derby, and then by 'the lords of Leylandshire'. The tenants adopted the local surnames, Standish and Langtree. From the 13th century, the Standish family were

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 ...

of Standish and owned the

Standish Hall Standish Hall was an estate and country house, built in 1573, owned by the Standish family in the south-west of Standish, Wigan. No standing structures of the hall remain on the former estate, however, some of its wooden-panel interiors have ...

and estates. The male line ended in 1755 with the death of Ralph Standish, and the estate was passed down through female lines until it was broken up in 1920. Standish Hall, whose oldest part dated from 1574, was demolished in stages during the 20th century. However, several of its wood-panelled interiors survive, most of which were transported to the US. The Standish family were the main coal owners in the area, with their estate being mined since the 14th century. Coal mining in the area increased during 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 ...

. During 1865–66, the Standish collieries were merged into the Wigan Coal and Iron Company. By 1896, Wigan Coal & Iron owned the Broomfield, Giant's Hall, Gidlow, John, Langtree, Robin Hill, Swire and Taylor Pits. The largest of these was the Langtree Pit with over 540 employees. In 1900 the two 20 ft shafts of Wigan Coal's Victoria Colliery were sunk. This would continue to operate until its closure by the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

in 1958. It is now a housing estate.

Geography

Standish is north-by-northwest of Wigan, 19 miles north-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 ...

, and 18 miles north-east 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 ...

. The A49 trunk road passes through the centre of the town, on its way from Wigan to

. Standish is served by Junction 27 of the

, which is to the west of the town. The

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

is on the eastern side of the town, around a mile from the centre. The River Douglas and Bradley Brook form the boundary on the eastern side of Standish. Mill Brook, which flows into the Douglas, forms the western boundary. Standish is situated on a ridge of high land which rises to 370 feet and runs north to south across the township, near the river the land is between 120 and 160 feet. In the village, the area of Standish lies to the south (covering 1,696 acres), and the area of Langtree to the north (covering 1,568 acres) – historically some considered them to be separate townships. Standish-with-Langtree is a total of . Locally, the village of Shevington is to the west, with the area of Shevington Moor to the north-west (near Langtree), and Standish Lower Ground, a distinct and separate community, is to the south-west. Standish has soil and subsoil of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and the underlying rocks are 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 ...

Demography

Standish has a population of 13,278 people, based on the 2011 census, this represents 4.2% of the population of Wigan Borough. There is a higher than average number of residents over the age of 65, representing 19.9% of the population. It is an affluent community with seven out of the nine areas appearing within the top 30% most affluent in England. 80% of residents own their homes or have a mortgage; only 10% of households live in

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

Governance

Standish with Langtree Urban District Council

Lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire since the early 12th century, Standish emerged as 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

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 ...

but by the mid-19th century was united with neighbouring Langtree, as

Standish-with-Langtree Standish-with-Langtree was, and to a limited extent remains, a local government district centred on Standish, Lancashire, in North West England. Historically it was an ancient township in the hundred of West Derby and county of Lancashire. ...

. The township was in the larger Standish

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. 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 ...

, Standish-with-Langtree 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 administer the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

which made use of premises on Frog Lane, Wigan and Hindley. Standish-with-Langtree became 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 1872; Standish-with-Langtree 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 an urban 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. 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 Standish-with-Langtree Urban District was abolished, and Standish 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

, 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 ...

. For electoral purposes, the village is within the Standish With Langtree Ward. The residents' group ''Standish Voice'', was formed in July 2014. In May 2015, it was designated as the Neighbourhood Forum for Standish, with the aim of creating a Neighbourhood Plan for the village. Following a Neighbourhood Referendum on 18 July 2019, Standish Neighbourhood Plan 2015–2030 was adopted into the development plan for Wigan borough (with 94.5% voting in favour). The legally-binding document covers the use and development of land; and guides future development, regeneration and conservation of the area.

Landmarks

There are 22 Listed buildings in Standish, including one with a Grade I listing and two at Grade II*. St Wilfrid's Parish Church is the only building with a Grade I listing in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. In the Market Place in front of the church is a late medieval

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

, stone

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

and a 14th-century well. Standish has the 22-acre Ashfield Park which contains a mixture of woodland, open green-space and recreational facilities. Part of Ashfield is designated locally as a historic park and garden. The village has three Grade II listed

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

s; the Peace Gate at St Wilfrid's Church, a memorial cross at the St Marie's Catholic Church, and Standish Pillar War Memorial in the Victoria Jubilee Memorial Garden (near ''the Globe'' pub). The Pillar War Memorial, unveiled in 1920, was dedicated to the men of Standish lost in the First World War; with further inscriptions added after WWII. In the south of the village is Gidlow Cemetery, which was founded in 1948.

Transport

Standish is on the Wigan to Chorley bus route, with the Bee Network 632 stopping every 20 minutes. It is also served by the hourly Wigan to Preston

Stagecoach Manchester Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654

111 bus and the hourly 640 and 641 Standish Circular busses operated by Bee Network. The village was formerly served by two railway stations: Standish railway station to the north and Boar's Head railway station to the south. Both were on the

and closed in 1949. Standish was also historically served by trams, run by Wigan Corporation Tramways, which ceased operation in 1931. Standish has a number of footpaths and cycling routes, such as the Standish Mineral Line. Locally known as 'The Line', it underwent a significant upgrade in 2018 as part of the Standish Cycleway project. The Line follows the route of a disused railway, running from the village centre to the former Robin Hill Colliery near Shevington Moor.

Education

Standish has one

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, Standish Community High School, which has approximately 1,250 students aged 11–16. Standish also has three

primary schools 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. Wilfrid's Church of England Primary Academy, St Marie's Catholic Primary School, and Woodfold Primary School. Standish has a library in the village centre.Standish Library Wigan.gov.uk
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Notable people

* Henry Standish (–1535), priest * William Leigh (1550–1639), clergyman * Ralph Brideoake (–1678), clergyman * Henry Finch (1633–1704), Presbyterian minister ejected from Church of England; born in Standish * Edward Dicconson (1670–1752), bishop * Charles Walmesley (1722–1797), Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Rama; born in Langtree * Leonard Calderbank (1809–1864), priest * Nathaniel Eckersley (1815–1892), mill owner and MP; born at Standish Hall, Standish * Thomas Kershaw (1819–1898), pioneer in creating imitation marble; born in Standish * Charles Appleton (1844–1925), cricketer * Thorley Smith, (1873–1940), politician *

Brian Finch Brian Finch (25 July 1936 – 27 June 2007) was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. His longest relationship was with the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989. He also helped t ...

(1936–2007), scriptwriter * Michael Everitt (born 1968), priest * Sam Darbyshire (born 1989), actor * Ashley Slanina-Davies (born 1989), actress * Mark Waddington (born 1996), footballer * Richard Skelton, musician *

Jack Barton Jack Barton (birth unknown – death unknown) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played between 1901 and 1910. He played at club level for Wigan as a forward. Playing career Born in Standish, Barton started his career w ...

, rugby player

References

External links

Standish Voice

Coppull and Standish Brass Band

Historic images of Standish

Lancashire Genealogy – Standish
{{authority control Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Villages in Greater Manchester