Moses Gate
Encyclopedia
Moses Gate is a small district of Farnworth
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
, Greater Manchester
, England
. It lies 2.6 miles (4.2 km) southeast of Bolton
town centre and 10.8 miles (17.4 km) northwest of the city of Manchester
.
y or marsh
y lands. In the second comes from the Old English
word gata meaning a way, street or road. Together they mean 'the way across the moss'. On Greenwood's map of 1818 the place is written as Moss Gate. The two words are found in local names, Kearsley Moss
, Clifton Moss
, Linnyshaw Moss
, and in the Bolton
street names Churchgate and Deansgate - meaning the way to the church or to Deane
.
Irwell
Valley, between the town centres of Bolton
and Farnworth
.
In the past it had been an industrial site with chemical works, paper mills and bleach works. After they were closed down, the area fell into ruin and the industrial buildings were finally demolished in 1972. Over the next ten years the area was cleared and Rock Hall was turned from a derelict building into the current visitors' centre.
Today, the park has a diversity of habitats supporting different varieties of fauna
and flora
. Nob End
was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) in 1988. The park also offers various activities, including walking, cycling, horse riding, model boating, orienteering and model aircraft flying. Permits are available for fishing, canoeing and boating. The Kingfisher Way, a 6.8 miles (10.9 km) marked trail, also runs through the park.
is served by Northern Rail
who operate services on the Manchester to Preston Line
, though only local services stop at the station.
Farnworth
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bolton, but covers a far larger area which includes Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley and Westhoughton, and a suburban and rural element from the West Pennine...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies 2.6 miles (4.2 km) southeast of Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
town centre and 10.8 miles (17.4 km) northwest of the city of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Toponymy
The name Moses Gate is derived by joining two different words. In the first is a corruption of the word mosses meaning peatPeat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
y or marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
y lands. In the second comes from the Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
word gata meaning a way, street or road. Together they mean 'the way across the moss'. On Greenwood's map of 1818 the place is written as Moss Gate. The two words are found in local names, Kearsley Moss
Kearsley
Kearsley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it lies about 7½ miles northwest of Manchester,5.5 miles south-west of Bury, and about 3¾ miles south of Bolton.It is bounded on the west by Walkden, the east by...
, Clifton Moss
Clifton, Greater Manchester
Clifton is a small town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the Irwell Valley in the northern part of the City of Salford....
, Linnyshaw Moss
Linnyshaw
Linnyshaw is an area of Walkden, a town in the City of Salford district of Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it lies in the northeast of Walkden, immediately south of junction 2 of the M61 motorway. The area is predominantly moss and there is a very small population...
, and in the Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
street names Churchgate and Deansgate - meaning the way to the church or to Deane
Deane, Greater Manchester
Deane is an area of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about south west of Bolton and northwest of the city of Manchester.Historically a part of Lancashire, the Parish of Deane was once one of four parishes within the hundred of Salford and covered roughly half of the present...
.
Moses Gate Country Park
The country park, also known as Crompton Lodges, is an attractive 750 acres (3 km²) park, situated in the CroalRiver Croal
The River Croal is a river located in Greater Manchester, England. It is a tributary of the River Irwell.Rising at the confluence of Middle Brook and Deane Church Brook, it flows eastwards through Bolton, collecting Gilnow Brook and the larger River Tonge at Darcy Lever...
Irwell
River Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
Valley, between the town centres of Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and Farnworth
Farnworth
Farnworth is within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is located southeast of Bolton, 6 miles south-west of Bury , and northwest of Manchester....
.
In the past it had been an industrial site with chemical works, paper mills and bleach works. After they were closed down, the area fell into ruin and the industrial buildings were finally demolished in 1972. Over the next ten years the area was cleared and Rock Hall was turned from a derelict building into the current visitors' centre.
Today, the park has a diversity of habitats supporting different varieties of fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
and flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
. Nob End
Nob End
Nob End is the site of a former waste tip, and now a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Kearsley, Bolton, England.Standing at the confluence of the River Irwell and River Croal it was used around 1850-70 as a tip for alkaline waste from the production of sodium carbonate by the Leblanc...
was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI) in 1988. The park also offers various activities, including walking, cycling, horse riding, model boating, orienteering and model aircraft flying. Permits are available for fishing, canoeing and boating. The Kingfisher Way, a 6.8 miles (10.9 km) marked trail, also runs through the park.
Transport
Moses Gate railway stationMoses Gate railway station
Moses Gate railway station serves the Moses Gate suburb of Farnworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England.It lies on the Manchester-Preston Line, though only local services run by Northern Rail call here....
is served by Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
who operate services on the Manchester to Preston Line
Manchester to Preston Line
The Manchester to Preston Line runs from the city of Manchester to Preston, Lancashire. It is largely used by commuters entering Manchester from surrounding suburbs and cities, but is also one of the main railway lines in the North West and is utilised by intercity services for Scotland and the...
, though only local services stop at the station.