Эндертон: История и наследие ланкаширской деревни

Anderton is a civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is now a suburb of Adlington, 5 mile (8 km) northwest of Bolton. Within its boundaries are the Rivington Reservoirs. Grimeford village is in the parish. In 2001, the parish had a population of 1,206, increasing to 1,316 at the 2011 census. The Rivington services on the M61 are at the south of the parish.

The name Anderton is derived from the Anglo Saxon personal name Eandred and the Old English word tun – meaning the settlement belonging to Eandred. It gives its name to the Anderton family who branched out into Clayton le Woods, Euxton, Lostock, Birchley Hall and other places throughout Lancashire.

A Neolithic or Bronze Age stone, with a cup and ring mark dating from between 2000 and 3000 BC, was found near the Lower Rivington Reservoir in 1999, it is on view outside the Anderton Centre. The 'headless cross', a well known local landmark from pre conquest days, was found at Rivington Church. It is thought to be one of the wayside crosses marking the medieval route between Fulford and the path which crossed Rascahay Brook, between Heath Charnock and Adlington, referred to in a medieval document printed in the Chartulary of Cockersand Abbey and dated c.1184 1190. The cross was divided between 1853 and 1855. Around 1865 the lower part of the cross was moved to Horwich whilst its corona or crown was used in a building near Chorley, before this the cross was displayed inside Rivington Church. Above this stone is another carved with a Sator Square reading "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS".

The Penwortham fee, a vast barony, included Anderton and was granted to Robert Gresle, Baron of Manchester, in 1212. Over time the manor of Anderton became the shared property of families named Anderton and Cunliffe, being held in moieties. The manor can be traced to 1281 belonging to the Andertons who also claimed a quarter of Rivington. The manor remained with the Andertons for many centuries. Old Anderton Hall is mentioned as being property of Peter the son of Oliver Anderton who died in 1559, with various buildings, lands, a watermill and half another mill in Anderton and Healey. Anderton was held of Sir Thomas Gerard and William Anderton. William was the son and heir of Peter Anderton and held the property when a child. A large mansion known as 'Stoners' Anderton Hall was built to replace Ladyhall on the banks of the lower Rivington reservoir, demolished in 1930. The site is now occupied by the Anderton Centre, during its build in the 1970s heraldic stones once forming part of the mansions walls were found and moved to Rivington Hall where they were used to form a garden wall.

There were many hand loom weavers in Anderton in the 19th century. British muslins were first manufactured at Anderton in 1764, and that there in 1782 were for the first time in England produced 'the Balasore handkerchiefs, the jaconet and japanned muslins in the style of India.

Anderton covers about 498 hectares and has 530 dwellings with a population of approximately 1200 and is within the Adlington and Anderton ward.

The M61 motorway runs north through the parish, which is the site of Rivington services.

St Joseph's Church is a Roman Catholic place of worship within the Archdiocese of Liverpool, it also serves Roman Catholics in Adlington, Heath Charnock and Rivington. Anderton New Hall, also known as Stoner's Anderton Hall stood on the Anderton side of the Lower Rivington Reservoir, was built for Charles Joseph Stoner who made significant contributions to the build of St. Joseph's Church had earlier paid for the building a presbytery at the hall. The Hall Catholic Chapel was used by locals until 1863 when St. Joseph's Church was built. The hall was last owned by the Lawrence family and demolished in 1930. Today its armorial stones that once surrounded the building are a garden wall at Rivington Hall. St. Paul's Anglican parish church in Adlington serves the village of Anderton's Anglicans, and residents of Anderton have the right to take part in the election of the churchwardens.

More than half of the Lower Rivington Reservoir and all of the Millstone Embankment, part of the water treatment works and adjoining grazing land are within Anderton. To its west its boundary is in the Upper Rivington Reservoir near the Horrobin Embankment. At Babylon Lane Anderton seamlessly joins Adlington. The Rivington services are at the south where the boundary is the River Douglas.

Leisure activities are today a feature of the area based at the Anderton Centre built on the site of 'Stoners' Anderton Hall in the 1970s. The centre features a purpose built training facility and outdoor pursuit centre for water activities, with a restaurant, conference rooms, bedrooms and kitchen, a boat house and jetty, private tree lined drive to the centre, and open fields with wooded areas. The centre has 20 ensuite bedrooms, self catering accommodation block, veranda on 1st floor with a boat house, small wooden jetty, private tree lined drive to the centre and open fields with wooded areas. The charity run Anderton Centre is operated by Lancashire Outdoor Activities Initiative and is also a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) training centre for nationally accredited sailing, power boat and safety boat courses. The centre has exclusive access to Lower Rivington reservoir for sailing and paddlesports, and at approximately 2 km long x 0.5 km wide it is the largest body of water to sail on in Lancashire.