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The actual political 'Ward' of Brindle & Hoghton takes in the two villages that bears its name,
whilst a small part of Withnell (in the ecclesiastical parish of Withnell St. Paul's) was added quite recently,
due to boundary changes.
The area around Brindle and Hoghton is steeped in history and tradition.
Brindle was not mentioned in the Domesday Book but the de Hoghton's family connection with the village
may well go back to the days of William the Conqueror (1066, and all that!).
Being located on the main turnpike road from Blackburn to Preston,
Hoghton today is very much a 'dormer' village serving the local towns, and conurbations further a field.
Similarly, Brindle is on the road to Leyland and slightly more agricultural that its neighbour;
the local Estate of around 3,000 acres can trace its origins back to Elizabeth I.
Thankfully both villages are relatively free from heavy goods traffic due to
the M65 motorway opening in late 1997; any industry
in the area tends to be
more service and distribution based, rather than manufacturing.
The station at Hoghton was closed in 1960, whilst the adjacent Goods Yard closed in January 1962.
Both villages share connections with Civil War; some 1,000 troops from the Parliamentary forces
camped around Brindle and used the church there as a look out on the evening of the 22nd August, 1651.
The de Hoghton's of Hoghton Tower supported the Royalist side, this resulted in the tower
being invaded by the Roundheads in
1643; the Tower surrendered, however when the invaders
attempted to enter the house from an inner courtyard, a powder magazine inside
a central tower exploded killing 60.
Today Hoghton Tower, scene of where the 'Loin of Beef ' was knighted
by King James I in 1617 has been restored and hosts many events during the year. The latter includes a Shakespeare Festival as it is thought that the Bard stayed at the Tower in 1581.
Besides agriculture both villages had quarries that have been mined for commercial use
over the centuries. Besides a quarry adjacent to the Tower, the de Hoghton's also had
an alum mine at Alum Scar beyond the current village boundary. The sandstone at Duxon Hill quarry,
overlooking Holy Trinity in Hoghton, was used extensively on Blackpool Promenade;
The minerals extracted from Denham Quarry in Brindle and the area around Brindle were used in the
building of the U.K. motorway network - the M6, M61 and M65.
Religion plays its part in the development of any village and community; both have strong religious
connections going back over 900 years. St. Edmund Arrowsmith was captured on Brindle Moss
in 1628, after saying Mass in Gregson Lane near by; he was taken to Lancaster Castle for execution.
Lt. Hitchon who died on the Somme
Site
of
Army
Camp,
Dover
Lane
The two villages sent many men off to War. The 1918 Electoral Register recorded many men
being "Absent Voters due to military service"; both communities, however, seemed to be spared
the horrors of World War One when whole streets and communities were wiped out on The Western Front.
During the Second World War, an Army Camp was based on Dover Lane, in the shadow of Duxon Hill.
Just over the railway crossing at Mintholme, a V1 rocket (an early "cruise missile") exploded;
it was launched from German bombers over the North Sea on Christmas Eve, 1944 - they were aiming at Manchester.
Politically the Parish Council at Brindle can trace its origins back to 1894 when the Rector of Brindle
was elected its first
Chairman.
Hoghton Parish Council was formed in 1895,
with Sir James de Hoghton in the Chair.
All in all, the two villages have mirrored the ups and downs of a communities
striving to go about
their business in changing times.
Steve Williams
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