Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 20th November, 2020)

We have one a lot bigger than that in Westhoughton. John Wesley stood on it to preach to the good folk of the village. Another one even bigger on Cricketer's Way. Interesting photo Mick.

An interesting juxtaposition Mick , which reminds me that the stones in the wall are over a billion years old , as are the slates on my roof , and my old
house is far older than I thought .

I would never have known what that was! How often we must pass something by without realising its history. It brought back such a lovely memory, right back to the mid-fifties when I was three years old. There was a similar stone on the back-field behind our house and I used to sit on it with my beloved toy panda, and my Mam used to sing "Little Irene Griffiths, sitting on a brick, Waiting for her Daddy coming home from t'pit" I'm sure the stone I sat on had no significance but it remains a treasured memory. My Dad actually worked Ince Wagon Works but he HAD been a miner before I was born, (he was 44 when I arrived!).

very interesting

This baby child was pushed gently along held in the bosom of its glacial mother , with Fleetwood Mac’s lullaby Albatross playing softly in the background .
When the impact of Global Warming hits , he will fly through the air to the sound of AC Dc’s ,equally enriching , and melodic tip toe , Highway To Hell.

The large stone at the entrance to Springpool on Pemberton Road Winstanley , was fabled to turn around full circle at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve.



,

Some years ago there was one very similar but more bucket shaped halfway up Beech Hill Lane..someone that lives or lived in Leyland Mill Lane had it transported to his front garden.

Ive seen these Ice Age Boulders in Westhoughton, Standish church, Haigh church, and Amberswood lake.
The one at Amberswood is the biggest

Mick, it looks smaller than I remembered it to be, maybe the majority of it is now buried with tarmac.

Veronica, John Wesley may well have seen this one too whilst on his way to St Helens after preaching in Wigan, he said Wiganers were wicked, wonder what he thought of the St Helensers.

I think he said that they would never be any good at Rugby League if they didn’t change their ungodly ways Cyril.

Irene, I love your mum's little ditty to you.What a lovely memorie.x

Cyril..... it does look small, I think if looked at from the opposite side there is more of it exposed.
Brian.....you are correct about the myth but I don't know of anyone having witnessed it. Part of the myth involves Winstanley hall clock strikiing. It hasnt struck for many a year, not even any hands on it.

Cyril - this is from John Wesley's journal.

"About eleven I preached at Wigan in a place near the middle of the town which I suppose was
formerly a playhouse. It was very full and very warm. Most of the congregation were wild as wild might be; yet none
made the least disturbance. Afterward, as I walked down the street, they stared sufficiently; but none said an uncivil word."

Then -

“I rode to Downall Green, a
town wicked to a proverb. We had a specimen of the manners of it's inhabitants in the behaviour of
a man that met us, and accosted us with such language as would have become an inhabitant of the
bottomless pit. Looking around the congregation it seemed a good part of them were of the same
spirit; but in a short time the word of God prevailed and all their fierceness melted away.”

It looks like he thought Wiganers were fine, courteous, Godfearing people. As for St Helens, it didn't exist in John Wesley's lifetime.

He was known to have preached in Hart Common the day before, at number 513 Wigan Road. He didn't record that on in his journal, though.

For Irene,
When he comes, he's coming in a jig.
Brining our Irene a chocolate pig.

" In 1785 John Wesley (82yrs old) was travelling on horseback from Bolton to Wigan, when he stopped to preach in the open air at Barnaby Farm Wingates. A large crowd soon assembled;
John Wesley stood on a large boulder in the grounds of the farm. That same boulder can be seen today in the car park of Westhoughton Methodist Church on Wigan Road formerly Grove Lane, the church was built in 1871." He had preached in the area previously. Hart Common was a little further on in his journey to Wigan.
His remarks on the people he preached to were ..." truly they were ready, they drank in every word".

But Veronica, did he actually preach in number 513 Wigan Road, Hart Common. Or did he just call for a cup of tea and a biscuit?

Thankyou Edna and Carol. When we had some work done on our house some years ago, my then very small granddaughter sat on the bricks and I sang, "Little Edie Roberts, sitting on a brick, waiting for her Daddy coming home from t'pit" and she said, "What's t'pit, Grandma?" I'm sure if I'd told her it was where they used to get coal from she'd have said, "What's coal, Grandma?"!

Next time I pass there John, I'll knock on the door ( if it's still there). I walk down there quite a lot through this lockdown! It's not too far from Castle Hill in Hindley so he may have done. I should imagine it would have taken him about 10 minutes from Wingates on a fast horse. ;o))

John Noakes if you see this comment I walked to Hart Common today to find 513. There is a building comprising of what would have been three red bricked terraced houses built in 1914, now a car sales room from 1973. The numbers of the houses would have been 511, 513 and 515.
John Wesley must have saddled up on the left hand side going to Wigan. The area is still a tiny village with fields at the back of the houses on both sides of the road. I wonder if there is any old boulders around the back! I found it quite interesting and would have liked to look around the back of the building to follow in his footsteps! Unfortunately I didn't have time.

I think I might have read it wrong, Veronica. It might have been number 512. It was probably Martin Luther who'd called at number 512 while his horse was being re-shod at number 513.
If I was him, I would have called at The Chippy on Market street, for a Carr's Pasty instead.

Well John - Number 512 is just across the road so the same applies. All lovely fields around the backs . How long for I don't know!