Culcheth
Unusually for a small village, Culcheth was home to a cotton mill, known as Daisy Bank Mill. Another feature of Culcheth was the Cottage Homes. These were originally homes for children who had either been orphaned or placed in care. It allowed them to live in a safe, country environment, whilst being cared for by foster parents. The large hall was used to show silent films which would have kept everyone spellbound. These houses later became the Newchurch hospital and then more recently a housing development site.
World War Two heralded many changes for Culcheth, especially with the building of the munitions factory at Risley which attracted people from far and wide. The factory was a target for the enemy and fires were lit on Glazebury Moss as a decoy.
Culcheth also saw the building of forces camps in the village, these being Ariel East and Ariel West, the latter being occupied by the Fleet Air Arm. The Army took over Culcheth Hall and the village was totally changed by the American Air Force at Burtonwood.
Croft
Croft shares a joint township with the village of Southworth, therefore it is known as Southworth-with-Croft. Both of the names are derived from Old English, Southworth comes from 'sup' meaning 'south' and 'worp' meaning 'homestead'. Croft means 'a small piece of arable land'. Within Croft, there is also a Roman Catholic church, which is dedicated to St Lewis.
Glazebrook & Hollins Green
The beginning of the name Glazebrook, 'glas', is an old name for river but also has two other meanings: 'blue' and 'green or blue'. Rixton's name is a mixture of a personal name 'Ric' and also 'tun'.
Although records are scarce in the medieval times, there is evidence that there had been a settlement here. In 1352, there was a ferry between Holyne and Warburton as people lived on both banks of the Mersey. On the north bank, the settlement was ruled by Allan de Rixton, a minor vassal of the Duke of Lancaster. Medieval Rixton Hall was simply just one large room for the lord and his family, this was extended and improved in the 17th century. Between 1658 and 1748 the New, or Little Hall was built.
Several farmhouses on the estate have since been destroyed but 26 Bank Street and Ash Tree farm in Moss Side Lane are still standing. Also, still there is Ivy Cottage in Dam Lane, which was built in 1777. The area next to the ferry was known as Ferry de Hollins. To the north east there was the small village of Glazebrook. The Warburton family owned the manor of Glazebrook and in 1384 Geoffrey de Warburton ceded the manor to Hamon Mascy (the Lord of the Manor at Rixton). This led to the combining of the two areas and became known as Rixton-with-Glazebrook.
The de Mascy family, were Catholic and suffered during the civil war. In 1642, all Catholics who were alleged to be 'wealthy and dangerous' were arrested and had their estates sequestered. Rixton-with-Glazebrook was sold to supporters of Oliver Cromwell and the de Mascy family left Rixton Old Hall for a while.
The Tempest family, owned much of Rixton-with-Glazebrook in the 18th and 19th centuries, and owned Broughton Hall. In 1750, the Tempests and the Pattens shared the estate, and William and James Tinsley owned Glazebrook Hall, with its 137 acres.
Thomas Patten became interested in the hall and bought 600 acres of woodland and the hall, as well as 330 acres of farmland and the chapel. As a result, his family became well established in the parish and local church. Thomas Patten died in 1874 and Wilson Patten inherited the estate and developed it during the 1880s.
Rixton-with-Glazebrook had its own modern brickworks. Standing on the site of these now, is Claydon Manor. Some houses in Rixton were even built with these sturdier materials and some are still standing. One of these is 184 Manchester Road, built in 1770.
The village of Glazebrook saw a big change with the arrival of the railway as merchants and professionals moved into the rural setting in order to commute into the town.
One of the areas most imposing houses in Glazebrook was Mount Pleasant, built in 1851 by Charles Tempest. In the 1850s the house had 40 acres attached to it. The Ridings owned Mount Pleasant in the 1880s. Wyndham Smith, a solicitor, then bought the house. Mount Pleasant still stands today and is still as imposing.
The end of the 19th century heralded big changes for Rixton-with-Glazebrook. The draining of Rixton Moss led to an increase in the population and the opening of the railway and Manchester Ship Canal helped the popularity of farming.