- Haydock
infobox UK place
country= England
latitude= 53.466667
longitude= -2.666667
official_name= Haydock
population= 11,962 (2001 Census)
metropolitan_borough= St Helens
metropolitan_county=Merseyside
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= St Helens North
post_town= St.Helens / Newton le Willows
postcode_area= WA
postcode_district= WA11
dial_code= 01942 / 01744
os_grid_reference= SJ557968
london_distance=
static_
static_image_caption= Haydock is a village and electoral ward within theMetropolitan Borough of St Helens , inMerseyside ,England . The village is located roughly mid-way betweenLiverpool andManchester , close to the junction of theM6 motorway and the A580 (East Lancashire Road). It lies within the historic county boundaries ofLancashire . At the 2001 Census, the village had a population of 11,962.citeweb|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=5941425&c=haydock&d=14&e=16&g=359775&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1213266253018&enc=1|title=2001 Census: Haydock|work=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=12 June|accessyear=2008]History
The placename is from Celtic "heidd", meaning "
barley ,wheat " with thesuffix "-aco" meaning "place". An undated source refers to the name as "Heidiog". The village is often referred to by thecolloquial name of 'Yick', and its inhabitants may be referred to as 'Yickers'. [citeweb|url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/england/haydock/history|title=Haydock: Pre-20th-Century History|work=Lonely Planet|accessdate=12 June|accessyear=2008] This is supposedly because many inhabitants of Haydock were reputed to be fit only for pulling canal barges (or "yicking"), thus "Yickers" and "Yick".Haydock was one of the
United Kingdom 's richest areas incoal andcoal mining , having up to 13 collieries working at one time. The last colliery in Haydock - Wood Pit - closed in 1971, bringing to an end coal mining in the area. This site had been the scene of aMining accident explosion on7 June 1878 which a subsequent Report of the Inspector of Mines concluded claimed the lives of 189 men and boys. Among them, forty five year old Nathan Boon and his five sons. [citeweb|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Haydock/WoodPitExplosion.html|title=List of the Victims of The Wood Pit Explosion Haydock, 1878|work=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|accessdate=26 November|accessyear=2007] [citeweb|url=http://www.cmhrc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/poem9.htm|title=Poem from a Remembrance Card for Nathan Boon, Wood Pit Explosion|accessdate=9 November|accessyear=2007] According to GenUKI 15 victims were not included in the Inspector's report but their names "appeared in the Coroner's Inquest and in some cases in the burial registers". If included, the final death toll would have been 204.Surrounded by
agricultural farmland , much of the village's expansion was due to mining andcanal transport. In the early 1900s, Haydock had no fewer than threerailway station s along the line passing through from St.Helens toLowton .Governance
Haydock was a
township in the parish ofWinwick before being made aCivil Parish in 1866. The village was in thePoor Law Union ofWarrington in the 19th century before being created anUrban District in 1894. It was absorbed into theMetropolitan Borough of St Helens onMerseyside on1 April 1974 under local government re-organisation.Community
Haydock is probably best known as the home of the
Haydock Park Racecourse , which is situated north of theA580 road and east of theM6 motorway .Founded in 1923, the internationally renowned Haydock
Male voice choir is one of the oldest choirs inNorth West England . It has established a reputation as a fine concert and recordingchoir and has achieved success over the years in choral competitions. [citeweb|url=http://www.haydockmvc.com/about.htm|title=About Haydock Male Voice Choir|accessdate=12 June|accessyear=2008]Haydock's last few collieries were principally owned by Richard Evans (and Co), whose name can be found today in two of the village's schools, Richard Evans
Infant school and Richard EvansJunior School , which closed in 2006 due to falling pupil numbers [citeweb|url=http://archive.sthelensstar.co.uk/2005/5/19/707.html|title=More schools facing closure|work=St Helens Star|accessdate=30 July|accessyear=2008] [citeweb|url=http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/search/1813682._Outstanding__school_wins_Ofsted_salute/|title=Outstanding school wins Ofsted salute|work=St Helens Star|accessdate=30 July|accessyear=2008] . Other schools in the area include Haydock Sports College (formerly known as Haydock High School), Legh Vale, St. James'Church of England Primary and English Martyrs Primary School.Notable residents
*
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith , one of theForty Martyrs of England and Wales
*Mark Edwardson , TV Presenter "BBC North West Tonight "
*Nick McCabe ofThe Verve References
ee also
*
Church of St James the Great, Haydock
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