Crooke is a small village with a few terraced houses, a pub, a Methodist Chapel and a village nursery, which was until recently a primary school. It is a strong, old fashioned community.

In view of this, it seems incredible that Wigan's bureaucrats handed Crooke the death sentence in the late 1970s.

But the inhabitants of this extraordinary village fought the decision with everything they had. Eventually they formed a housing co-operative and bought their own homes, so saving the village.

It's astonishing that anyone could have wished to destroy it in the first place.

Sources of Information

"Wigan Observer" 22nd August, 1980.