Horwich Urban District

Horwich ( HORR-itch) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is 5.3 miles (8.5 km) southeast of Chorley, 5.8 miles (9.3 km) northwest of Bolton and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Manchester. It lies at the southern edge of the West Pennine Moors with the M61 motorway passing close to the south and west. At the 2011 Census, Horwich had a population of 20,067.Horwich emerged in the Middle Ages as a hunting chase. Streams flowing from the moors were harnessed to provide power for bleachworks and other industry at the start of the Industrial Revolution. The textile industry became a major employer and after 1884 the construction of the railway works caused the population of the town to increase dramatically. The old industries have closed and urban regeneration has been led by out of town developments, particularly at Middlebrook, which, since 1997 has been the base of Bolton Wanderers football club, who play at the University of Bolton Stadium, having moved from Burnden Park near Bolton town centre.

Grundy Hill was the former home stadium of Horwich RMI association football club in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England, near the Horwich Leisure Centre. The ground had a capacity of approximately 5,000 spectators, with 500 being seated. The terraces were covered on three sides and featured railings.Grundy Hill's pitch famously sloped both downwards and also side-to-side, and was reputed to have its own microclimate. "Grundy Hill sloped 16 feet (4.9 m) from top diagonal to bottom diagonal and had the contours of corrugated iron, but until the new footballing nanny state prohibited such extreme drops, the ground was Horwich's prime asset." One fan recalled that, as a boy, it was his impression "that the base of the corner flag was level with the top of the crossbar – on the same goal line." From the stands, fans had views over the field's slopes to the Rivington Pike.In 1994, the football club sold Grundy Hill to a housing developer, and moved several miles south to Leigh's Hilton Park in time for the 1995-1996 season. The move also led to the club renaming itself Leigh RMI after its new home town, although the club would subsequently change its name to Leigh Genesis F.C. The University of Bolton stadium, the current home of the Bolton Wanderers, is located near Horwich, within sight of the old location of Grundy Hill. The stadium was subsequently leveled, and a residential housing development now sits on the former site of Grundy Hill.

Horwich railway station was located in Lancashire, England on a branch from the Manchester to Preston Line. It was closed to passengers on 27 September 1965 and to goods on 25 April 1966. Opened on 14 February 1870 to serve the town of Horwich (now in Greater Manchester) but by 1884 the land to the east of the branch line, south of the town had been chosen for a major locomotive works. Horwich railway station closed to passenger traffic on 27 September 1965, and goods the next year. Thirty-four years later Horwich Parkway railway station opened in 1999, adjacent to the Reebok Stadium. The nearest railway station to Horwich is now Blackrod. The line to Horwich Works remained open until their closure in 1983. The station has been demolished and the site is a public park. Former Services

Holy Trinity Church, commonly known as Horwich Parish Church, is a Grade II listed building in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Church of England parish church and part of the Deane deanery in the archdeaconry of Bolton, diocese of Manchester. Holy Trinity Church is now part of the United Benefice of Horwich and Rivington, which includes the other two Anglican churches in Horwich, St Catherine's Church and St Elizabeth's Church, and Rivington Anglican Church.

Red Moss is a wetland mossland in Greater Manchester, located south of Horwich and east of Blackrod. This is a national Site of Special Scientific Interest in the United Kingdom, due to its biodiversity and undisturbed character. Pollen analysis has revealed the first peat deposits of the northwest's mosslands to be from around 8,000 years BC making Red Moss an impressive 10,000 years old. Red Moss covers an area of 47.2 hectares. A severed female head was discovered in Red Moss in the 19th century dating from the Bronze Age or early Iron Age.Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council owns most of the moss, but parts of the site are also owned by British Rail and United Utilities.

Bolton Wanderers Free School was a free school sixth form located in the area of Lostock of Bolton, in the English County of Greater Manchester. The sixth form was established by Bolton Wanderers Football Club through the (not for profit) Eddie Davies Education Trust. The sixth form was located in the University of Bolton Stadium; the home stadium of the club. Emile Heskey visited the school in May 2015.It was initially set to have expanded by September 2017 when the new facility was intended to have opened. The school was initially set for four hundred students aged 16 to 19 and was to be built alongside the then Reebok Stadium, and was expected to be completed in 2016 as announced in June 2014. It was reported to have charged "failing free school £600,000 in rent" in March 2017 which led to its impending closure.Bolton Wanderers Free School offered vocational sixth form courses these being in the areas of Sports, Health & Social Care, Business, Public Services and Childcare. Courses offered include BTECs at Level 1, 2 and 3. Bolton Wanderers Free School closed down in July 2017, as a result of low pupil numbers, which led the school's trustees to deem it "not financially viable".The school had a deficit of "more than £380,000" when it shut its doors accounts revealed in June 2018, one year after the closure. The closure of the school was announced in March 2017.

The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming rights deal with Italian sportswear company Macron. It was renamed the University of Bolton Stadium in 2018. In UEFA matches, it is called Bolton Wanderers Stadium due to UEFA regulations on sponsorship A hotel forms part of the stadium and some of the rooms offer views of the pitch.

Bolton Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located at Middlebrook on the boundary between Horwich and Lostock in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It has a seating capacity of 6,000 people and hosts indoor sporting events. The facility also includes a tennis centre with eight indoor acrylic courts and two floodlit clay courts, which is one of the Lawn Tennis Association's nineteen High Performance Centres.

Middlebrook is a locality that spans the boundaries of Horwich and Lostock in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England (historically a part of Lancashire). The name Middlebrook is derived from the watercourse the Middle Brook which starts at Red Moss, the mossland south of Horwich. Further downstream the Middle Brook joins with other tributaries and becomes the River Croal which runs through Bolton and eventually joins the River Irwell at Kearsley. Middlebrook is an out of town complex of retail, leisure and business parks and location of the University of Bolton Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers F.C., and Horwich Police Station.

Horwich Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Horwich and Middlebrook near Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. Located within the historic county of Lancashire the station is 16+1⁄4 miles (26.2 km) north west of Manchester Piccadilly on the Manchester to Preston commuter line. The station is close to Junction 6 of the M61 motorway which adds to its convenience as a park and ride railway station. It has digital information displays. Rail services are operated by Northern Trains. Horwich Parkway opened on 2 July 1999. It is the only railway station owned and managed by TfGM. A ticket office was built in 2007 and car parking provision has been expanded on several occasions. A wind turbine was built in 2012 and the station is powered by green energy. Horwich Parkway is the railway station for the University of Bolton Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers F.C. and the Middlebrook shopping, leisure and business complex. Passengers visiting Horwich should be aware that the town centre of Horwich is much closer (1¼ miles) to Blackrod, the next station on the line. On 1st February 2021, management of the station was transferred from Northern Trains to Transport for Greater Manchester.

St Joseph's Roman Catholic High School and Sports College is a voluntary aided comprehensive school located in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. It is under trusteeship of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford and is maintained by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. The school is in the top 4 schools (three of which are faith schools) at GCSE in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. On 2 June 2020, the school was formally admitted as a member to the worldwide UNESCO Associated Schools Network.

Lostock is a residential district of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Bolton town centre and 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Manchester. Historically part of Lancashire, Lostock is bounded by Deane to the southeast, Markland Hill to the northeast, and Middlebrook to the west. Bolton Wanderers' football ground, the University of Bolton Stadium, is in nearby Horwich. After a railway station was built to serve the area in 1852, the area around the station – some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of Lostock Hall – became known as Lostock Junction. This name is still in use, although the station's name has changed to Lostock.