Penwortham

In 1858 Gavin Young surveyed the township. At this time, the village consisted of

• St Mark’s Church, in whose churchyard Horrocks is buried;

• The Derby Arms Inn, built in 1841 and registered as a hotel in 1850;

• a flour mill built in 1842 and a village school.

• Horrocks built a manor house in 1842 and called it ‘Hope Farm’.

• A Wesleyan Chapel was built on the western side of the village and was opened in 1858.

• In 1870 the flour mill was destroyed by fire.

• The Derby Arms closed its doors in 1890 and the school closed in 1900.

In 1915, a railway was constructed from Riverton to the south and Spalding to the north.

• The population of Penwortham grew with the men moving to the area to work on the rail line.

• The Derby Arms was re-opened as a bottle/general store.

• John Horrocks manor house was demolished to make way for the railway.

 

Once the railway was completed the workers moved on.

• The Great Depression and the Second World War saw Penwortham evolve into the little village we see today.

• In 1946 the Horrocks Memorial Fund erected a series of cairns along the 1846 expedition route.

The Wesleyan Chapel was demolished in 1970 due to neglect.

• A number of wineries opened in the area and several attempts were made to convert the school building into a restaurant without success.

• A resident opened a cottage industry venture selling fruit, vegetables honey and jams which was successful for a few years.