WHO would have thought such a tiny little village as Chew Moor would have such a huge rich and vibrant history?

Jean Boardman certainly recognised that while out walking her dog and decided it was time to write about the place and the small towns and villages surrounding it.

So, following on from her successful first book — "Who lived in a house like this" — Jean has now penned "The Chew Moor Village Story" which is destined to be hugely popular with local folk.

Jean, a former teacher at Church Road Primary School, decided Chew Moor had such a wealth of history it would make an ideal subject for her new book.

It is only a small place and, says Jean, unless you live near Lostock, Horwich or Westhoughton "you have probably never heard of Chew Moor" but there are plenty of people who have and plenty of people who are fond of the village.

Jean has always been keen on history and since retiring 10 years ago is enjoying researching facts about the town in which she lives.

Although born in Scotland Jean calls Bolton home as she moved here aged five and has a fondness for the town and its fascinating history.

Early maps show Chew Moor village as a small community of cottages explains Jean in her book, and these were surrounded by the farms of the Middlebrook Valley.

Cottagers who lived in the area mainly worked on the surrounding farms. "They kept a cow and a few chickens on the common land and grew vegetables for the use of their families on strips of land rented from the landowner or farmer.

"They also made a living from spinning or weaving cotton which was brought to them by agents from Liverpool or Manchester.

"Some agents had warehouses in Manchester where they stored the bales which came from Egypt of America. Workers would provide their own looms while others rented them from their supplier. They were paid according to the quality and quantity of the yarn or fabric they produced."

What many people might not realise is that the little village of Chew Moor was once home to more than 100 silk weavers.

"Silk weaving had been prospering in Spittlefields in London, Coventry, Macclesfield and parts of Manchester which then spread to Middleton and Westhoughton."

In 1841 there were around 30 silk weavers living in Chew Moor Lane and Chulsey Gate Lane. In Chew Moor Lane almost every house had one or more silk weavers.

"Whole families were involved, including the very old and young children."

In 1850 a man named John Chadwick opened a silk mill in Westhoughton which began to employ some of the young people in the area.

At this time there were no cotton mills in Westhoughton and the railway had only just opened in 1848.

There was a great shortage of employment as the mining industry had not yet fully developed.

Work on the Bolton to Preston Railway began in 1839 and the initial section opened in 1841 going as far as Rawlinson Bridge, Adlington.

For a short time there was a station at Chew Moor, explains Jean in her book, and it was thought to be just near where the M61 motorway goes over Chew Moor Lane by Corner Brook. You got to it from a level crossing which was replaced, in 1915, by a bridge which is still used today as a footpath.

The station closed in 1852 when the Lostock Junction station was completed.

Although the building of the railway lines must have been a very interesting prospect for many local folk in Chew Moor it was not, apparently, welcomed by everyone.

While these new railway lines gave the people of Lostock and Chew Moor a much quicker journey to Bolton, Preston and Wigan farmers in the area lost land to the railway companies and although they could apply for compensation for the damage caused it would not, in many cases, make up for the land they had lost and the potential of that land.

The book reveals: "Mr William Smith of Wicken Lees Farm lost access to 40 acres and had to wait more than two years for a bridge to be built which would get him onto his land on the other side of the railway.

"The bridge was eventually built, Smith's Bridge, and is still used today by the farmer and walkers going from Chew Moor through to the golf course and the Middlebrook Valley Trail."

See next week's Looking Back for more on the history of the area as seen by Jean.

The book is available, at £7.99 by contacting Jean on 01204 843678 or email jean.boardman36@internet.com