HORWICH Loco Works was a major source of employment for local folk it became synonymous with the town.
You could barely mention Horwich without reference being made to the Loco Works.
Prior to the building of the works Horwich was described as a “sleepy village” with far fewer residents. It would be transformed into something few could have imagined and this transformation was not without its concerns.
According to Horwich Heritage Society chairman Stuart Whittle fate played a hand in the arrival of the works 130 years ago and, ultimately, in the formation of the popular local society too.
“It is remarkable to think that I wouldn’t be writing this article but for two major twists of fate that completely changed the fortunes of the town of Horwich,” says Stuart.
For a start Horwich was not even on the list of possible sites for a new Loco Works when the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company met on May 21 1884.
However, with those sites on offer not looking promising, the company’s surveyor and land agent, Elias Dorning, mentioned an announcement in that very morning’s paper that 650 acres of land was for sale in the village of Horwich.
This land was to be auctioned at the Mitre Hotel in Manchester in six days time so time was of the essence to decide whether it was suitable.
John Ramsbottom and William Barton-Wright were the two men charged with reviewing the whole of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company’s railway system and, together with Dorning, they visited the area and reported back favourably, explains Stuart.
“Although the area of land on offer far exceeded their requirements, the directors authorised Dorning to attend the auction and purchase the site for not more than £65,000.
“In the event, Dorning was able to acquire this major part of the village of Horwich for only £36,000 and that Tuesday afternoon, May 27 1884 marked the beginning of a remarkable transformation for the sleepy village. “Within four months site drawings had been approved and in December detailed plans for the buildings were submitted by Ramsbottom.”
The land allocated for the works, south of Chorley Old Road, was relatively flat and presented few problems with the exception of the hill on Old Harts Farm.
“Site works commenced in January 1885 and by the end of July the erecting shop foundations were nearing completion. On November 15 1886 Horwich Loco Works was officially opened and work began immediately.”
The existing Horwich population of fewer than 4,000 most of whom lived on the “top side” (Church Street) were both intrigued and appalled by the prospect of a major influx of new residents and they were right to be concerned, adds Stuart.
“The population more than tripled in 10 years as navvies and new employees came from all over the country to work on and at the new works.
“Such an increase put an incredible strain both on the town’s physical and social infrastructure as the Local Board, Railway Company and local builders struggled to build enough houses, shops, schools, churches and other social facilities.
“This strain was bound to tell and there was increasing tension both on the works’ site and in the town, particularly amongst the navvies.”
Apparently the local police presence had to be increased but this did not prevent a major incident breaking out in 1886 when ill-feeling between English and Irish navvies (allegedly provoked because of different rates of pay) erupted into fighting which extended over a wide area of the town and lasted on and off for a week.
“Weapons used in the violent incidents included bricks, pokers, blocks of wood, belts and a scythe,” explains Stuart.
Within the works industrial relations were generally good in the early years but, with so many trades represented by newly-established unions, strikes and lock-outs did occur.
The worst was a 12-week strike in 1906 which resulted in real hardship for workers’ families.
Soup kitchens were provided by local shopkeepers followed by a bitter nine-week dispute in 1911 which involved a full scale riot and the drafting in of hundreds of extra police to deal with the local unrest.
Despite this turbulent start the works quickly got into its stride. Initially it catered for locomotive repairs but on February 20 1889 the first designed and built loco, No.1008, steamed out of the erecting shop.
“The locomotive production age at Horwich had begun. “At its peak the works employed around 5,000 men and would go on to build 1,830 steam locos, 169 diesels and five 18 inch gauge locos.
“Some 50,000 locos were repaired there. The Loco Works effectively built the town of Horwich we know today and many Horwich families have ancestors who arrived from all over the country to work there.
“The works became the educational, social and recreational centre of the town through the building of the Railway Mechanics Institute and even today, many local clubs and societies still bear the famous RMI initials,” adds Stuart.
The second twist of fate occurred on December 23 1983 when the unthinkable happened — the works closed down almost 100 years after that fateful day in 1884 when the decision to buy the site was taken and 97 years after the first locomotives were taken in for repair.
This left a whole community devastated.
A hard campaign had been fought to save the works but to no avail. The town had lost its main employer and the industry that was synonymous with the town. So what would the future hold?
It was in the middle of this devastation that Horwich Heritage was formed to raise the spirits of the townsfolk and help them believe that they still had a wonderful town to be proud of. Remarkably, without the closure of the works, there may not have been such an urgent need to recognise the town’s history, particularly its great railway legacy and Horwich Heritage may not have happened at all, says Stuart.
“So in a perverse way, we have the closure of the works to thank for everything we have achieved and enjoyed over the past 30 years. Quite a thought.”