Local History Group 2 members recently enjoyed another very interesting local guided walk in Ormskirk, led by Kathryn Macdonald of Ormskirk Heritage Hub.
Our guided walk in Ormskirk started out from Ormskirk Clock Tower, which stands proudly on the site of the town’s original Market Cross, a real focal point at the heart of this ancient market town. The clock tower is currently being restored to mark its’ 150th birthday.
The Heritage Hub volunteers have created a fascinating micro-museum in an old GPO telephone box alongside the Clock Tower, gifted to them by West Lancashire Borough Council. Ormskirk Heritage Hub are working towards opening a full-scale museum, so it was great to hear that our tour donations will be going towards this.
We discovered plenty of hidden gems commemorating Ormskirk’s history along the way: the old Town Hall; many old alleyways (known as ‘Courts’) which in medieval times housed craftsmen’s’ workshops and then in Victorian times, were ginnels full of poor families’ cottages. Also, Ormskirk Parish, famous for being one of only three in England having both a steeple and a spire (known affectionately locally, as ‘the two sisters).
We ended our tour on a tasty note – learning about Ormskirk’s famous gingerbread and enterprising ‘Gingerbread Ladies’ who sold their product to stagecoach and, later railway, passengers (one of their most famous customers being King Edward VII).
We were delighted to hear that nowadays, Ormskirk celebrates its historic past annually, with its’ Gingerbread Festival, so some of us may be visiting this soon.
