Houghton Green

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In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson’s Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Houghton Green like this:

HOUGHTON, a hamlet and a township in Winwick parish, Lancashire. The hamlet lies 2½ miles NNE of Warrington. The township includes also Middleton and Arbury, and comprises 839 acres. Real property, £, 1, 745. Pop., 253. Houses, 45.

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Houghton Green, in Warrington and Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10352

Date accessed: 24th July 2024

Hoghton, 1420; Houghton, 1608.

This township has resulted from the combination of Middleton and Houghton, originally united, with Arbury. The country is open, portioned out into fields of light sandy loam, with clay in places, producing good potatoes, wheat, oats, clover, and turnips. Some of the roads are little better than cart-tracks, and badly metalled. Houghton Green is the only village; Middleton has a hall of that name, and Arbury is only a farm-house. In 1901 the population was 214.

The manor of MIDDLETON, from which HOUGHTON became separate in later times, was included in the fee of Makerfield. It was assessed as a plough-land and a half, and in 1212 was held in thegnage by a total rent of 20s. in four equal shares, each of which appears to have been responsible in turn for providing a judge at the court of Newton.

The manor, thus early divided, was further partitioned later. The greater part was early acquired by the Southworth family. Two junior branches of the dominant family were seated at Middleton and at HOUGHTON PEEL.

Henry Brookfield of Longbarrow in Knowsley had some land here in 1530 and 1547. With thanks to british-history.ac.uk

In 1835 Houghton Middleton and Arbury was a township in the parish of Winwick. genuki.org.uk

There is a pub in the village, The Plough, on Mill Lane. This dates to 1774 and is located on the original road from Liverpool to Manchester. It was a stopping point for coaches and horses. Close by was a chapel and this is remembered in the extension to the pub building, which is shaped like a chapel. There was also a well close to the pub grounds.

You can read some information about Houghton Green Primitive Methodist mission room on the myprimitivemethodists.org.uk website. It is shown on the National Library of Scotland website.

The Milhouse pub is built on land close to the site of Houghton Mill. In the area, and viewable on the OS six inch map of 1888-1915, are the mill (which is already out of use at that time), Mill Cottages, Houghton Mill Bridge and Mill Brook, which runs into Black Brook past Black Brook Farm near Cinnamon Brow and into Blackbrook alongside Orford.

Farms in the Houghton Green on that same map include Birch Tree Farm, Whitehouse Farm and Midhops Farm alongside Midhops Plantation which is still there on the opposite side of the M6 motorway. Houghton Green Pumping Station in the north of the district is subtitled as Warrington Corporation Water Works, now the location of Cloverdell Boarding Kennels and cattery on Mill Lane.

From Houghton Green Reservoir there is an underpass to get to the opposite side of the motorway.

On entering there was some graffiti saying the aliens are coming and a stick picture nearby. Having laughed at the grafiti, I don’t think we have anything to worry about, unless Guy Fawkes is coming back!