Buildings of Interest

Description

“Josiah Evans of the mining company Richard Evans & Co, Haydock left a Trust Fund, Legacy of £2000 as part of his will which was to be used in part to purchase a residence for the Minister [of A-in-M Congregational Church]. £950 was expounded on the Manse and Rev. Henry Wilson moved in about 1880. The trustees put the rest in railway stocks which would, at that time, no doubt have made more interest than property and without overheads. They sold the house to the County Council in 1903 for £1100 (16% over 25 years) perhaps Dr. Latham and Mr. Gilby were looking for a better interest rate but for some reason the minister continued to live there until he moved to Southport in 1909 and even then another stalwart of the Congregation moved his family in, Latimer, the master grocer and they seem to have stayed there probably until 1924. It was temporarily renamed, in 1914, Latimers were living at "Ravenswood, Ashton....anybody ever heard that name for a property in the town, well that was the Manse. The house was empty by 1925 but quite why the County Council purchased it I am not really sure. Perhaps WW1 got in the way of their good intentions. It was called Ravenswood L.C.C. School Clinic by September 1939.

Text by Stan Jones - Old Pictures of Ashton-in-Makerfield

Images by the Makerfield Rambler