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Leigh looks back – and forward
Leigh Town Hall reaches the grand old age
of 100 this year – and the town is set to celebrate the centenary in
style.
Leigh’s township forum and its partners are staging a ‘Heritage Weekend’
next month (5th – 9th September), with a whole host of events based
around the town hall, Turnpike Gallery and the parish church, St Mary’s.
Visitors will be able to dig deep into the town’s rich history through
guided tours and exhibitions, and learn more about distinguished and
illustrious names from the past – names like Sir Thomas Tyldesley, the
Royalist English Civil War commander and supporter of the Earl of Derby,
for whom Leigh was the final resting place.
A major highlight will be the showing of Trevor Lucas’s film
‘Yesteryear’, which features archive footage from as far back as 1910,
including the a 1913 royal visit, Georgie Fame in concert and a 1920
Leigh versus Halifax match at Mather Lane. The showing, courtesy of the
North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University, takes
place at the Turnpike Centre on Friday 7th September at 7pm. A limited
number of free tickets for the 100-capacity event are available from
Leigh Library.
The full heritage programme is:
• Wednesday 5th September, Derby Room, 7pm. ‘Stories, Songs and Humour’,
featuring Gary & Vera Aspey in Derby Room. Tickets £5, available from
Brides of Leigh, Cannings, Stork Town and St Mary’s Coffee Shop.
• Thursday 6th September, 10am and 2pm. Guided tours of Leigh Town Hall,
St Mary's Church and the Turnpike Centre (all open to the public from
9.30am to 4.30pm).
‘Oldie world’ fun fair on the Town Hall Square.
Victorian cooking demonstration, Derby Room, 7.30pm. Free.
• Friday 7th September, 10am and 2pm. Guided tours of Leigh Town Hall,
St Mary's Church and the Turnpike Centre (all open to the public from
9.30am to 7pm).
Oldie world fun fair on the Town Hall Square.
‘Yesteryear’ film show, Turnpike Centre 7.30pm. 100 free tickets
available from Leigh Library.
• Saturday 8th September, 10am and 2pm. Guided tours of Leigh Town Hall,
St Mary's Church and the Turnpike Centre (all open to the public from
9.30am to 4.30pm).
‘Oldie world’ fun fair on the Town Hall Square.
‘Drop in’ arts and craft session with story teller, Leigh Library, 11am
to 2pm.
Singleton Clog Dancers, Town Hall Square, 1pm to 2pm.
‘Last Night of the Proms’, Pennington Hall Park, St Helens Road, 6pm to
9pm. Tickets £5 - tel. 01942 488552.
• Sunday 9th September, 3.30pm. ‘Heritage Service’, St Mary's Church,
followed by bell ringing.
Andrew Sharrock, Wigan Council’s township manager says:
“Our friends at St Mary’s Church approached us with an idea to take part
in the National Heritage Open Day. Working with them, Wigan Leisure &
Culture Trust and the council, we developed the idea into an event over
five days.
“To my knowledge, Leigh has not taken part before and we hope local
residents and visitors to Leigh will really get behind these events. On
behalf of the township forum I’d to thank all our partners and everyone
who has helped to organise this event.
“We can learn a lot from our history and the heritage events should be a
lot of fun too.”
Organisers will also be taking the opportunity to look to the future,
with the developments at the former Bickershaw Colliery and Leigh Sports
Village under the spotlight at the Derby Room.
Note to editors
• For more information, please contact Andrew Sharrock, Township
Manager, on 01942 776164.
• For more on Leigh history, visit St Thomas CE Primary School’s online
‘History Zone’ at
www.leighsaintthomas.wigan.sch.uk
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