VILLAGE VOICE
Village Voice is the place on the Heapey and Wheelton website where YOU can post your news, views and notices.
Have Your Say works like a ‘Letters to the Editor' page in the local paper. Here you have your chance to have your say on just about anything you wish. If you've got an opinion to air, or an announcement to make, send us an email, and we'll post it here for you (subject to suitability of course!).
HAVE YOUR SAY
This section works like a 'Letters to the Editor' page in the local paper. Here you have your chance to have your say on just about anything you wish. If you've got an opinion to air, or an announcement to make, just send us an e-mail , and we'll post it here for you. Please include your name and e-mail address and contact address or phone number. E-mail and contact addresses will not be published but are required to ensure that all submissions are genuine. Names will be published unless you request otherwise.
Remember that anyone can view this message board and anyone can post to it.
NO item of any nature which is deemed offensive will be placed on this website.
Click here to send us your article.
RECENT ARTICLES
(received 20th April 2011)
This is not really a news item – more an awareness raising note!
I stable my horse on Heapey Road and to get to bridle paths we need to hack
along Heapey Road. We try and do at quiet times rather than in rush hour. My
horse is very good in traffic and I have taken my riding and road safety exam
as well as having a vehicle licence. Over the past month more and more cars
have been double parking along Heapey Road which makes is almost impossible
for other traffic to pass a horse whilst its walking past double parked cars.
Unfortunately some drivers do try to push through which is very dangerous.
I wondered if there were any plans to curb this parking issue as with the best
will in the world a horse cannot go as fast as a car and there is quite often
hold ups through no fault of the horse rider. Most of the houses after the
sea cadets hut have their own pieces of land opposite so there should really
be no need to double park.
I will also inform the highways department of the council but was hoping that
you would look into this issue for me too.
Regards
Maria.
Help (received 3rd August 2008)
Dear Heapey and Wheelton,
I am looking for someone to assist with family history research, particularly
my ancestor Thomas Pilkington, whose will dated October 1823 states he was "of
Wheelton". As you can probably imagine there are hundreds of Pilkingtons!
We have found an entry in the LDS IGI for Thomas P. christened 1751 at Leyland
St. Andrew (father Evan, mother Ellin) and we are looking for more information
on him. Do you still retain lists of residents or records of any type that
could help? He later lived at Fogg's Farm in Anglezarke and Rivington area.
I live in the Midlands but hopefully will soon be visiting Lancashire to bring
my mother who was born in Bolton. Any pointers you can give would be greatly
appreciated, apart from obviously visiting the Church and Records Office in
Preston.
Thank you in anticipation.
Linda Moss
- email
SCHOOLS (received 8th March
2008)
Dear Heapey and Wheelton,
We have lived in the village for 4 years and my daughter is due to start school
in September. This weekend we received notice of her allocated school place.
We were more than surprised that we had been allocated a school 2 miles away from
home and there are 15 schools closer to our house. We only live 0.3 miles away
from the closest School, St Chad's.
I find it incredible that our daughter did not meet the criteria for all 15
schools nearer to our home.
The local school, St Chad's, is a catholic school and so gives priority to
baptised catholic children. Again I find it difficult to believe that all the
places this year have been taken up with baptised catholic children and
siblings of those within the school already. Especially as I believe 2 years
ago the whole school only contained 6% of catholic children.
I was wondering how many other parents have found themselves in this situation
this year from the Wheelton and Heapey area, and whether it would be a good
idea to pool our resources / meet together. This would help in making appeals;
finding out who has been allocated where in order to develop the children's
social networks and maybe to invite education down to state what the problem
has been and how some of the practical problems of a school so far away can
be addressed (school bus from the village?).
There are other parents in the village in the same situation and it would be
good to meet up and find the extent of this issue.
Nicola
from Ryecroft, Heapey
History (received 7th Feb 2008)
Dear Heapey and Wheelton,
I am a post graduate at Oxford University studying for a masters in English local history. Over the next 15 months I have to write a dissertation on a local history subject. I am considering the life and works (in a mill owning
/village building sense) of Peter Todd but I am unsure if any work has been
done in the past and if there is any documentary evidence about him and the mill apart from the census. If any of your community have any information about
him and the village I would be very interested to hear of it. My interest in Wheelton is that I used to live at 220 Blackburn Road in the early 70's and then at 37 Kenyon Lane. Peter Todd has intrigued me ever since, but I can find almost nothing about him beyond George Birtill's and Ken Hodkinson's writings.
Do you have a local history society?
Best wishes
Roger Barnes - email
4 Pound Close, Ducklington, Witney, OX29 7TH
TRAFFIC (received 7th May 2007)
Dear Voice,
Why can’t we introduce a parking permit scheme in wheelton, like they have
in other parts of chorley, permitting 2 cars per household. This will solve
the problem of parking within the village.
Name and email address provided.
RUINED BULDINGS WITHIN WHEELTON PLANTATION (received 4th October 2006)
I have often walked the circular route from White Coppice, over the moor
towards Briscall, and returning through Wheelton Plantation. I am trying
to find information about the extensive ruined buildings within Wheelton
Plantation between Edge Gate Lane and the footbridge over the Goit that
heads back to White Coppice. It looks like a small mining community to me,
or possible the remains of a country dwelling. There is certainly mine
levels marked on the map, but I haven't found any accessible levels yet.
There are certainly stables amongst the ruins, and I have found remnants of
some man-made underground tunnels which could be drain culverst, adit mine
entrances. My web search has so far turned up nothing. Can you help? If not
could you recommend a local historian?.
Regards Tony
PARKING (received 1st October 2006)
Dear voice.
What are the chances of getting Wheelton Garage to stop parking cars on Meadow
street?
Parking is restricted enough as it is without the extra cars from the garage being parked there as well.
Name and address withheld
KNOWLEY BROW PUB? (received 10th July 2006) Reply on the 16th Sept
Hello to all,i wonder if you could assist me in some information i am after.
I
have lived on knowley brow for going on 10 years now and i am led to believe
there was a pub on the left hand side ,at the bottom of knowley brow some
100 years ago approx. i was just wondering if you knew the name of the pub
and who owned it. Any help would be most grateful.
Regards Adrian
Update: It was called the CROFTERS ARMS - Norman
BLACKBURN ROAD CENTENARY (received 26th June 2006)
The houses around 165 Blackburn Rd (Edwardian
semis above the police station) are celebrating their centenary in 2007. Many
of those residents have actually been there in excess of twenty years which
if you think about it is one fifth of the history of the buildings. Some of
the houses we know have only had two owners in their lifetime. We would like
to put out a request for any memories and facts about this area of the village.
What
is quite unique is that the neighbours of 165 have for at least the last
18 years continuously (nobody can quite remember when it started) gathered
on Christmas Day morning for a sing round the piano of Christmas carols.
Unusually most of our neighbours have a piano and we have circulated round
four houses
over the years. When you add this to the annual event at the clock tower
on Christmas Eve quite a few young (and older) people from the village have
special
memories of Christmas in Wheelton.
We are hoping to celebrate in some way
this momentous time and welcome any comments or information from fellow villagers.
Best wishes
Janet
REPLACEMENT OF VANDALISED TREE (received 8th June 2004)
I hope the person who thought it would be a good idea to attach a large banner advertising a local event to a not-so-large young tree close
to the junction of blackburn road and the A674 is doing something about replacing it after it snapped in two.
(name and telephone number supplied)
VILLAGE HALL ACTIVITIES (received 6th April ’03)
Dear Editor,
I have lived in the Village a couple of years and think that much more use could be made of the village hall. There could be more exercise classes, something like yoga would appeal to a wide age group – or perhaps a drama group – again something that could interest a wide range of people with different things to offer.
Although I would not be much good at organising this type of thing myself, perhaps if someone else is they could get in touch with the Village Hall people. I would very much like to see something like this taking place and would be keen to take part. I am sure that I am not the only one.
(Name and address with held)
