WELCOME TO NEWTON HIGH STREET
PART OF THE NEWTON HERITAGE TRAIL
The Settlement of Newton-le-Willows
Historically Newton is very important in that it is one of only a handful of medieval towns in Merseyside. Yet it boasts an even longer pedigree as it was an early focus of settlement, being founded in the late Saxon period as a royal manor and for some time after the Norman Conquest, remained a principal administrative centre. The settlement may have had a motte and bailey castle as evidence of its high status, though this may have only been a temporary wooden structure, erected during civil unrest in the 12th century between King Stephen and his mother, Matilda.
St Peter's Church
Newton used to lie within the parish of Winwick and the church of St Oswald mentioned in the Domesday Book. It seems probable that a chapel formed an early, although not primary component of the settlement plan. The earliest reliable reference to a chapel in Newton occurs in 1284 when Sir Robert Banastre was granted a chantry in his chapel.
In about 1683 a larger chapel replaced what was described as a small and ruinous structure, followed by several enlargements through the 1800s, culminating in complete rebuilding between 1892 and 1898.
PART OF THE NEWTON HERITAGE TRAIL
The Settlement of Newton-le-Willows
Historically Newton is very important in that it is one of only a handful of medieval towns in Merseyside. Yet it boasts an even longer pedigree as it was an early focus of settlement, being founded in the late Saxon period as a royal manor and for some time after the Norman Conquest, remained a principal administrative centre. The settlement may have had a motte and bailey castle as evidence of its high status, though this may have only been a temporary wooden structure, erected during civil unrest in the 12th century between King Stephen and his mother, Matilda.
St Peter's Church
Newton used to lie within the parish of Winwick and the church of St Oswald mentioned in the Domesday Book. It seems probable that a chapel formed an early, although not primary component of the settlement plan. The earliest reliable reference to a chapel in Newton occurs in 1284 when Sir Robert Banastre was granted a chantry in his chapel.
In about 1683 a larger chapel replaced what was described as a small and ruinous structure, followed by several enlargements through the 1800s, culminating in complete rebuilding between 1892 and 1898.