READERS may recall that last month I ran a question from Margaret Gibbons, chairman of St Helens Heritage Network, who was intrigued by a picture in the Star of a nature trail off Cooper Lane in Haydock.

“Can you ask readers if they think it is either an ancient field boundary or a sunken road?” asked Margaret. “This usually comes about by constant walking by people and animals.”

I explained how the previous chairman, Bill Highcock, used to tell me he thought several sunken roads in Haydock dated back to Roman times.

He thought people in the area made a living by mining for iron ore and taking it to Roman encampments at Wigan or Warrington for smelting, or maybe smelting ore in Haydock and taking iron to the Romans where it could be sold.

Now local historian Dave Knowles told Margaret the lane in the picture is a sunken road. He says it was caused by horse-drawn wagons coming and going from the canal.

Meanwhile, Haydock’s Ron Johnson adds: “In the 1950s I was told by a reliable source, that Cooper Lane was dug out and extended to the Sankey canal bank.

“This was in order to carry materials and maintenance work more conveniently from his Haydock workshops to the Southport and Havannah colleries.”

I recall that Haydock colliery owner Richard Evans sought compensation from the canal owners in exchange for not digging out the coal that was under the canal. They refused, so he dug out the coal. Inevitably that stretch of the canal suffered subsidence and sank several feet and cracked in places.

Monkey Nuts and Mayhem, a humourous collection of tales, is the title of Sue Gerrard’s new book, which will be launched on Monday, March 30, at 7pm in Rainford Library. Admission is free but advance booking is essential. Ring 01744 677820.

  • Contact chrispcoffey@gmail.com, 01744 817130 or 37 Holbrook Close, St Helens, WA9 3XH.