Standish, Greater Manchester

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Standish
latitude= 53.5868
longitude = -2.666
population=
metropolitan_borough= Wigan
metropolitan_county= Greater Manchester
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Wigan
post_town= WIGAN
postcode_area= WN
postcode_district= WN6
dial_code= 01257
os_grid_reference= SD560102
static_

static_image_caption=The Church of St Wilfrid, Standish
london_distance=

Standish is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the A49 road between the towns of Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Standish once had its own railway station, which closed many years ago, as did Victoria Colliery. The Church of St Wilfrid is a Grade I listed parish church, lying within the locality.

History

The name Standish is almost certainly formed from two Old English words "stan", meaning stone, and "edisc", a park or enclosure. [cite book | last= Ekwall | first= Eilert | origyear= 1922 |title=The Place-Names of Lancashire | year= 1972| publisher= EP Publishing| location= Wakefield | pages=p. 127 ]

Standish has a documented history dating back to 1178. Historical remains earlier than the Anglo-Saxon period have been found in Standish in the form of two Roman hoards, one of which, the Boar's Head Hoard, was found in 1926.

At the end of the twelfth century Warin Bussel was Baron of Penwortham, and when his daughter married Richard Spileman he gave to her the vills of Stanedis and Longetre as part of her dowry. Two daughters born of this marriage each received one of the vills as her own marriage portion; the elder, Juliana, marrying Radulphus, who took the name "de Stanedis" or Standish, and the younger, Edith, marrying Siward, who adopted the name "de Longetre" or Langtree.

With the marriage of Radulphus and Juliana, whose dowry gave them land and a name, the Standish family had begun. The story of the Standish family can be followed from here, 1202, to the last Lord of the Manor of Standish, Henry Noailles Widdrington Standish, Lord of the Manor from 1883 to 1920. When he died in 1920, at Contreville in France, he left no children, and so the house of Standish officially came to an end.

Throughout their history the Standish family remained loyal to the Roman Catholic faith after the Reformation, and like many other Lancashire gentry families had to steer a fine course between their beliefs and avoiding the wrath of the Protestant State. Although Standish escaped major incident in the English Civil War, the support of the Standishes for the Jacobite cause involved the village in national events in the 1690s and again in 1715, when first William and then Ralph Standish were lucky to escape with their lives and to preserve the family estates intact.

There has been speculation that Standish was the home town of the pilgrim father, Myles Standish,though there is no evidence he ever lived here, but there supposedly is evidence that he came from the Duxbury's.

Geography

Standish is located on the A49 road between Chorley and Wigan, a short distance from Junction 27 of the M6 motorway. Standish is notable for being extremely congested, and despite efforts by Wigan council, remains busy, with traffic stretching for miles, particularly during rush hour. These qualities are present possibly due to the major roads running through it, and its close links to the motorway.

Landmarks

St. Wilfrid's Church is first mentioned in 1205, but the vast extent of the ancient parish with its eleven townships (Adlington, Anderton, Charnock Richard, Coppull, Duxbury, Heath Charnock, Langtree, Shevington, Standish, Welch Whittle and Worthington) points to a very early foundation. It was rebuilt of local gritstone in the 16th. century and the large blocks of red sandstone, in the north-east corner, are relics of the older building. The old tower with its impressive spire above it had been left untouched at the rebuilding but this spire was unfortunately damaged by lightning in 1814 and again by storm in 1822. Forty-five years later the spire and the tower below were removed and then rebuilt. St. Wilfrid's Church was later joined in Standish by St. Marie's R.C. Church (opened on 18th May 1884) and Standish Methodist Church.

St. Wilfrid's Parish Church is the only building with a Grade 1 listing in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. [cite web |url=http://www.wigan.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B1128631-6DE1-4EC3-8669-85CA2ADD2BA9/0/ListedBuildings191Kb.pdf |title=Listed Buildings in Wigan Borough |accessdate=2007-12-15 |format=PDF |work= ]

The Boars Head pub dates from at least 1271 and has claims to being the second oldest pub in England.

Notable people

*Ashley Slanina-Davies - Hollyoaks actress
*Sam Darbyshire - Hollyoaks actor

References

External links

* [http://www.standish.org.uk The Standish Homepage] A website all about Standish, Greater Manchester
* [http://www.standish-history.org.uk Standish History] A collection of articles relating the 800+ years of the history of Standish
* [http://www.cas-band.co.uk Coppull and Standish Brass Band]