WHEN I first visited Skem, I noticed a row of terraces which completely baffled me.

These weren’t just any old houses, they were on a massive industrial estate and as such looked out-of-place.

“Why are they there?” I asked my friend.

“Oh, they were built for local employees so they could get to work quicker,” came the reply.

That was 10 years ago and I, like most people, assume that was the reason. But It’s never seemed plausible to me and, after a little detective work, I’ve found out the real reason.

In fact the homes on Glebe Road pre-date the industrial estate and the New Town. They were built many years before when the road was still part of Wigan Road.

Nowadays, Wigan Road ends just after Slack Farm at the junction with Windrows because planners needed to build Marie Curie Island.

But if you study the old maps, you will see that Glebe Road is in fact the old Wigan Road with the same contours and – as you now know – same houses. The local pub for people would have been either the Fox & Goose or the Tawd Bridge, both of which have now gone.

From their back rooms they would have had unspoilt views of the Beacon and to the front of them would have been farm houses.

So why were the homes never demolished? After all, Valentine’s Farm, which had stood oppositethe terraces, was demolished to make way for the Royal Mail sorting offices.

One theory is the land quite simply wasn’t needed. In November 1968, the Advertiser revealed that Gillibrands was being extended by 53 acres and the houses were in the area which was needed.

But with other land being readily available, it was deemed appropriate to use that first rather (incidentally, the original plan had been to extended Stanley but the shallow mine workings up there meant that the land was, at that time, deemed unsuitable).

However, the Glebe Road scenario is not unique in Skelmersdale.

Webster’s Farmhouse, a beautiful building built in 1682, today stands perched on the edge of Stanley Industrial Estate. Again, it’s undergone a change of address as it used to be part of Berry Street, Stormy Corner, but after redevelopment it was reclassified as Spa Lane.

But what’s even more amazing is that at one point it looked as if this grand old building didn’t have a future.

A report by Skelmersdale Development Corporation said that it would be “unlikely to be worthwhile adapting for a community use or other use within the industrial area.”

And the government’s recommendations were even less enthusiastic: “Purely of local interest which should be retained if possible.” In other words, if you decide to bulldoze, we won’t mind.

Thankfully, that never happened and it continues to be a magnificent site as you come back into Skem from Lathom.

Over on Pimbo, there’s the old Balcony Farm, now called Lancashire Manor Hotel.

However, with this there was enthusiasm right from the outset that it must be retained. Indeed, the Corporation was, unlike with most other things, prepared to work around the existing structure.

Its report said: “It need not be affected by the new development. It is hoped that the house and possibly other buildings can be developed into a social club or restaurant of some kind.”

However, it isn’t just the industrial estates where there are sharp contrasts between the old and new. Anyone who lives on Acregate, Little Digmoor, will know the old cottage on the edge of the estate.

According to Skelmersdale Heritage Society, in the 1930s it was occupied by a Harry Fleetwood who was the local postman. At that time the cottage stood at the end of a row of others which was at that time part of Back Lane.

But the Advertiser archives confirm that when it came to building the ring road (Digmoor Road) they saw no reason to demolish it as it wasn’t in the path of the proposed route, hence its existence to this day.

Similarly, take a trip down Barnes Road in Old Skem and you’ll see a row of beautiful old houses sitting right next to the Whitburn flats. The same goes for Witham Road and so on.

I guess this all proves that even though Skem is now a New Town, you’re never too far from a link with its past...

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit