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The Pingot, Lamberhead Green

Tuesday 30th March, 2010

Lamberhead Green was once a village lying about 2˝ miles west of Wigan. It has now been absorbed by Orrell on one side and Pemberton on the other. It still, however, has a strong sense of identity.

At the southern edge of Lamberhead, at the bottom of Brook Lane - a little remote from the rest of village - was once a small community on the banks of Smithy Brook. The area is now a pleasant stretch of countryside.

Donald Anderson in his book, “The Orrell Coalfield, Lancashire 1740-1850” (1975), refers to the area as the “Pingot” - a name which few modern residents would recognise.

The word “pingot” does not appear in the “Oxford English Dictionary” - not even in the full 20 volume version. The current Wigan AZ Atlas, however, has four occurrences of the name: “Pingot Court”, Leigh; “Pingot Road”, Billinge; “The Pingot”, Irlam and “The Pingot”, Leigh.

To find a derivation of the name it is necessary to plunge into the excellent “English Dialect Dictionary” vol 4, (1905). It defines “pingot” as: “a small croft or enclosure of land”. It says the word, now obsolete, was once used in Lancashire, Cheshire and Derbyshire.

A related word with the same meaning which is in the “Oxford Dictionary” is “pingle”. Interestingly, I heard this word mentioned in connection with the area for the first time recently. Jim Slater, who lives nearby, said he had heard the location named so a number of years ago by an elderly resident.

Clarke's wagon way crossed the Pingot Valley by means of a viaduct known as “The Arches”. This colliery railway line became famous in 1813 when it was used by one of country's first steam locomotives, “The Yorkshire Horse”.

The Pingot's other claim to fame was its well. “Worrall's Wigan and District Directory” (1872), refers to it as the “Pingate” well, and describes the quality of its water as “excellent”. When the well was closed as a water supply in 1880, the people of Lamberhead staged a protest, as they did not want to lose their reliable supply of “excellent” water.

Near the well was a small lime-kiln which was built into the bank of the valley. This was used to produce lime either for mortar or possibly for agricultural purposes.

It seems that limestone was burnt in kilns to produce mortar as far back as Roman times, and the process seems to been have changed little until well into the 19th century.

Layers of limestone and fuel were loaded into the kiln. Ignition was effected from the base which was characterised by a brick arch. A flue may have projected through the top of the bank into which the kiln was constructed.

The stone arch of the Pingot kiln can still be seen. A depression at the top of the bank may indicate the position of the flue and scattered masonry may be from the kiln.

The source of limestone was probably in north Lancashire and Westmoreland. It is known that the stone was transported from there across the River Ribble and up the "Douglas Navigation" to the Wigan area. This was achieved by coal boats who were grateful for a profitable cargo for their reverse journey after delivery of their main payload.

The fuel used to fire the kiln was almost certainly coal. There were several coal mines in the Pingot area.

Near Riot at Pingate Well

The Widows of the Arches (1851)

Lamberhead Green

Pictures of Lamberhead Green