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The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin (grid reference SD656003) is a Church of England parish church in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It is a member of the Salford & Leigh deanery in the archdeaconry of Salford, diocese of Manchester. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Leigh was in the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry until 1541 when it was transferred to the Diocese of Chester. In 1847 Leigh became the only parish in the Hundred of West Derby to be part of the new Diocese of Manchester. Leigh has had its own deanery since 1933. Before that it was part of the deanery of Eccles and prior to that Warrington.
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Leigh Town Hall
Leigh Town Hall is a municipal building in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It stands in Civic Square at the junction with Market Street, facing Leigh parish church. It was built in 1907 and granted grade II listed building status in 1987.
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Municipal Borough of Leigh
The Municipal Borough of Leigh was, from 1899 to 1974, a local government district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England, consisting of the townships of Pennington, Westleigh, Bedford and part of the township of Atherton and named after the ancient ecclesiastical parish. The area contained the market town of Leigh that served as its administrative centre until its dissolution in 1974. The borough council built Leigh Town Hall which was completed in 1907.
In 1875 Leigh Local Board of Health was formed comprising the areas Bedford, Pennington and Westleigh, members of the Leigh Poor Law Union. It was created an urban district in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 and was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1899. It was affected by a minor boundary change with Golborne Urban District in 1969 which affected no population.
In 1974 the borough was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 and its former area transferred to Greater Manchester to be combined with others to form the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan.
From 1894 to 1933, Leigh Rural District located (in two fragments) either side of the district, comprised the civil parishes of Astley, Culcheth, Kenyon and Lowton. The rural district was abolished in 1933 under a County Review Order.
Motto: 'AEQUO PEDE PROPERA' - Means to "Hasten steadily"
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Leigh, Greater Manchester
Leigh is a town in the Wigan district, in Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss. It is situated approximately 6 miles southeast of Wigan and 11 miles west of Manchester city centre. It has a population of 41,275.
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Leigh was originally the centre of a large ecclesiastical parish covering six vills or townships. When the three townships of Pennington, Westleigh and Bedford merged in 1875, forming the Leigh Local Board District, Leigh became the official name for the town, although it had been applied to the area of Pennington and Westleigh around the parish church for many centuries.
The town became an urban district in 1894 when part of Atherton was added. In 1899 Leigh became a municipal borough. The first town hall was built on King Street and replaced by the present building in 1907.
Originally an agricultural area (noted for dairy farming), domestic spinning and weaving led to a considerable silk industry and, in the 20th century, the cotton industry. Leigh also exploited the underlying coal measures, particularly after the town was connected to the canals and railways. Leigh had an important engineering base. The legacy of Leigh's industrial past can be seen in the remaining red brick mills – some of which are listed buildings – although it is now a mainly residential town, with Edwardian and Victorian terraced housing packed around the town centre. Leigh's present-day economy is based largely on the retail sector.
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Westleigh railway station
Westleigh or West Leigh was a station in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England on the Bolton and Leigh Railway line. Westleigh was situated within the historic county of Lancashire. Its station opened in 1831 and closed in 1954.