Leigh Arms

Name: The Leigh Arms

Address: 66 Chapel Street, Chorley

The Leigh Arms has had a number of names over the years including the Station Hotel, Weird Arms, Gossips, Fox & Grapes and Whispers.  It is located on the corner of Chapel Street and Railway Street and currently has signage for the Station Hotel on the Railway Street side and for the Leigh Arms on the Chapel Street side.  There are plans afoot to build a new youth zone on this site but at the this time it is still open for business.

First recorded in the 1850's the landlords have included Mr. Litherland (1855), Thomas Brindle (1858), Thomas Brown (1861), John Waring (1865-74), Richard Houghton (1881-89), Margaret Houghton (1889), John Walmsley (1891), William Taylor (1901), Tom Hall (1911), Sydney & Martha Heaton (1920-), Joseph Burrows (1936) and Kurt Smith (1983). Due to its location near to Chorley Railway station it was used frequently as the venue for inquests by the coroner into deaths both in the local coal pit and on the railway itself.

Preston Chronicle 09 December 1854

Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle 01 July 1855
Pigeon Shooting

1988 from Alan Winfield http://neverendingpubcrawl.blogspot.co.uk/

Preston Chronicle 23 October 1858

1861 Census

Preston Chronicle 25 January 1862

1871 Census

Preston Chronicle 04 December 1875

Preston Chronicle 16 December 1876

1881 Census

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser 21 January 1882

Lancashire Evening Post 26 May 1890

1891 Census

1901 Census

Weird Arms (1983)

1911 Census

1921 Census Sydney & Martha Heaton

A new Chorley Youth Zone is to be built on Railway Street on the site of the Leigh Arms and neighbouring Methodist Chapel.  Pictures below were taken in November 2016 as work started to demolish both buildings.