Up Holland and the Dead Wood Stagers!

Up Holland
St Thomas the Martyr Parish Church
Up Holland Location in West Lancashire Up Holland Location within Lancashire Show map of the Borough of West LancashireShow map of LancashireShow all
Population	7,376 (2011)
OS grid reference	SD518052
Civil parish	Up Holland
District	West Lancashire
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Skelmersdale
Postcode district	WN8
Dialling code	01695
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	West Lancashire

Up Holland (or Upholland) is a village and civil parish in the West Lancashire district, in the county of Lancashire, England, 3 miles east of Skelmersdale and 4 miles west of Wigan. The population at the 2011 census was 7,376. At least 2 members of this population would like this rural setting to be considered as a regular venue for future meetings of the Dead Wood Stagers...

Geography

The village is on a small hill 89m above sea level that rises above the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. There are views (often quite misty) towards Prescot, St Helens and Liverpool in the south-west, Ormskirk and Southport in the north-west and towards Wigan, Manchester and on to the High Peak of Derbyshire in the east. Skelmersdale, to the west, is clearly overlooked and one can occasionally catch somewhat jaundiced views of Preston in the north and Blackburn in the north-east. Also to the north lies a caravan and, in a much more elevated position, a lodge. The parish includes the Pimbo industrial estate.

Etymology

The place-name is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Hoiland. It appears as Upholand in a Lancashire Inquest of 1226. This is from the Old English hohland, meaning 'land on or by a hoe or spur of a hill'. The name Up Holland differentiates it from another place locally called Downholland, 10 miles to the west (on the other side of Ormskirk). The manor of Holland was a possession of the Holland family until 1534, whence it may be presumed they derived their name.

There is also a much-ignored theory that the name Upholland might be a corruption of the expression Up Hole Land used, since the 14th century, by residents of nearby Skelmersdale to describe the habitation of their closest neighbours.

Notable claims

George Lyon, reputed to be one of the last English highwaymen, is said to be buried in the churchyard of the Anglican Church of St. Thomas the Martyr. The truth of the matter is that Lyon was little more than a common thief and receiver of stolen goods. The grave can be found under the concrete parapet opposite the White Lion pub.

A burial place of greater historical significance can be found at the south east corner of the church. Here, in a railed enclosure is the grave of Robert Daglish; a pioneer in steam locomotive engineering and design. In 1814, when George Stephenson was still working on his early locomotive Blucher, Daglish built The Yorkshire Horse, a 'rack and pinion' locomotive to haul coal wagons at a nearby colliery. This proved to be a great success. Daglish went on to construct other locomotives and work on railway systems both in Great Britain and America.

Finally, despite various claims to the contrary, there is no actual evidence linking current local superhero Minutes Man to Minute-Man, the Master Comics character who first burst upon the scene in 1941...

Dead Wood Stagers visit

On Wednesday 20 November 2019 the Dead Wood Stagers visited Up Holland (or Upholland). Two members of this rural community, near Skelmersdale, are also part-time invitees/attenders at various meetings in the DWS hierarchy. They had hankered after, and badgered for, this event for many years as a means of elevating their country village to the status of regular Away Day venue.
The landlord of The Britannia had long been party to these Interim discussions and had allowed himself to be convinced that this homage to a shared past was a good idea. He agreed to open his doors two hours earlier than usual, organised barrels of Oakham Citra and Leeds Pale, offered to provide sandwiches and light refreshments, cleaned his pipes and hit the old boys network.
Unfortunately, no details of proceedings exist at present as reports, images and/or minutes have yet to be received...

Community

Up Holland has its own art society known as Upholland Artists' Society that consists of a group of amateur and professional artists that live in or near Up Holland. They hold regular exhibitions and paint a wide range of subjects from local scenes to contemporary abstract pieces. The community is also home to an extremely senior member of the award-winning Haydock Male Voice Choir (just in front of the tree)...

Upholland railway station is on the Kirkby Branch Line and there are frequent buses to and from Skelmersdale. A personal taxi service has been suggested for those special visitors who need to travel between Wigan North Western Station and The Britannia (this would emphatically exclude anyone arriving in Wigan on the 375 bus from Ormskirk, via Skelmersdale, as this passes metres from The Britannia's front door).

Religion

The church was previously a Benedictine monastery, the Priory of St. Thomas the Martyr of Up Holland.

A Catholic seminary, St Joseph's College, used for training Catholic priests, was once based in Up Holland. The college closed down in 1987 after over 150 years of serving the northern Catholic dioceses of England. Notable former students include Paul Addison, Tony Brindle-Wills, comedians Tom O'Connor and Johnny Vegas, the libel lawyer George Carman, pop musician Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout, the editor of the Jerusalem Bible and British Member of Parliament John Battle. Pope Tom of Bogside (who's only infallible when he says he is) insists he was just a visitor.

Literature

Up Holland and its surrounding countryside are described in the English novel The War Hero

There have been persistent reports that on certain evenings (normally Wednesdays) a sharp-eared listener, walking the lanes around Upholland railway station, might be treated to back-to-back recitations of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer's "Volveran las oscuras golondrinas"...

People

Actor Ian Bleasdale and Richard Ashcroft (of The Verve) come from Up Holland. Richard's mother, Louise, is the daughter of Reg and Lilian Baxter. The Baxters were a prominent family in Up Holland throughout the 20th century. The comedian Ted Ray (born Charles Olden), spent his childhood in the village, his father being the licensee of the Bull's Head public house, which used to stand in School Lane.

The life peer Catherine Ashton, appointed as the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in 2009, was born in Up Holland.

The phonetician John C Wells, who was president of the International Phonetic Association between 2003 and 2007, was born in Up Holland to the vicar of the parish, Philip Wells. He has commented on the accent of the area and how it contrasted with the Received Pronunciation that was spoken in his home.

Prof Richard James Arthur Berry, eminent surgeon and brain surgeon, was born in Up Holland.

The parents of the anonymous author of the obscure and little-read "A Version of Reality" lived out their latter years in Up Holland (or Upholland). Their final resting places are in The Garden of Remembrance in the grounds of the Anglican Church of St. Thomas the Martyr and their names are inscribed on the large headstones nearby.

Gallery

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  The Britannia Inn (venue for the Dead Wood Stagers visit)
• 

  Up Holland Windmill

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  The Old Dog pub (formerly The Talbot, now a private residence)

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  St. Thomas Church

See also

• Listed buildings in Up Holland
• Up Holland High School

External links

• Exploring St. Josephs Seminary, Catholic Seminary, Up Holland
• Up Holland Parish Council
• Up Holland Library
• The Baxter Family
• St Teresa's, Catholic Church, Up Holland
• St Teresa's, Catholic Primary School, Up Holland