Chorley's Inns and Taverns: Appley Bridge

Name: The Appley Bridge Inn

Address: Appley Lane North, Appley Bridge

The Appley Bridge Inn was one of the village's earliest pubs and the original building, located on the right side of Appley Lane North (walking from the bridge) is no longer immediately obvious today but appeared in local records as early as 1835 when William Ranicar was the landlord.

At some stage later in the 1800s the Inn moved to a new building, built on the opposite side of the road by the brewery, which was later to become known as the Railway Hotel in the 1900s. This can be seen further down the page on the 1892 map.

1845 Map

1835 Poll Books

Listed landlords at the Inn were William Ranicar (1835-41), James Sephton (1841), James Ranicar (1851-61), Mary Ranicar (1871), Richard Catterall (1881-83), Hugh Morris (1889-91), Thomas Halliwell (1894), Henry Butler (1895-01) and John Wren (1911).

1841 Census

1851 Census

Burial of James Ranicar 1859 @ St Wilfrid's

1861 Census

1869 Preston Quarter Session Records and Petitions Mary Ranicar

1871 Census

Wigan Observer and District Advertiser 05 July 1873

1881 Census Mary Ranicar

Appley Bridge Inn c.1900 (left)

1881 Census

Chorley Standard and District Advertiser 01 September 1883

Back yard of the Railway 1960s

Wigan Observer and District Advertiser 16 April 1884

Wigan Observer and District Advertiser 22 November 1889

1891 Census

Wigan Observer and District Advertiser 25 November 1891

Appley Lane North looking towards the bridge - the horse and cart pictured
on the right were outside the Railway Hotel

1892 Map

Wigan Observer and District Advertiser 29 June 1894

1895 Directory

The following excerpt is taken from The Memories of Mildred Yates (February 12, 1999): -
....I remember the older people used to call Mill Lane “thowd cart road”. As you enter Mill Lane from Appley Lane there are two houses which stand back and have gardens running down to the road. Facing them is a newly built house on the tight hand side and then a row of six cottages called Glovers Row. When electricity came to Appley Bridge in the 1930’s a sub-station was built opposite them. Further along on the left is another row of houses known as Butler’s Houses. Mr. ButlerSenior was landlord of the Railway Hotel and he had six daughters; he built a house for each of them at the beginning of the 1900’s. By 1911 he had built two more houses next to them, one of which was for his son, my Uncle Harry, who married my mother’s sister, my Auntie Maggie.