Did You Know?

Chorley is a popular and historical Lancashire market town, with its wealth coming primarily from the cotton industry. Chorley’s residents enjoy easy access to Preston, Manchester, Wigan, and Southport, with the M61 and M6 just minutes from the centre and the historic Roman A6 road running through the middle.

Chorley’s Flat Iron Market has been established for hundreds of years and takes place every Tuesday with a wide range of market stalls and remains at the heart of the town.

A popular destination is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal that runs parallel to Chorley with several locks and marinas located throughout the Chorley area.

Chorley played an important role during the World War ll, when it was home to the Royal Ordnance Factory, a large munitions manufacturer in the adjacent village of Euxton

In the 1970s, Chorley was set to be part of the ‘Central Lancashire New Town’, with Preston and Leyland. The aim was to combine the three towns into one single city with a population of around half a million, however the project was abandoned

Soon after 1750 the cotton manufacture was introduced, and in 1779 Chorley was visited by rioters bent on destroying the newly-invented spinning machines

During the Roman era a Roman road ran near Chorley between Wigan and Walton-le-Dale. Hoards dating from the Roman period have also been found at nearby at Whittle-le-Woods and Heapey.

The first signs of industry as with many towns in Lancashire was mining, evidence of which can be seen by the various abandoned quarries on the outskirts of the town. One of these is Anglezarke Quarry.