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H A L L' S B A K E R Y
Yo u a s s u m e c o r r e c t , t h e H a l l o f H a l l ’s B a k e r y a r e
indeed my family; consider me a 4th generation
p i e m a k e r a n d m a s t e r b a k e r. G r a n t e d I m a y b e
s l i g h t l y b i a s e d b u t H a l l ’s B a k e r y i s d e f i n i t e l y
worthy of the “wonder of Chorley” title, hear me out.
The bakery opened its doors for the first time in 1933
by my Great Grandfather Joseph Hall; he sold bread and
cakes but the main draw has always been the pies, with
Meat and Potato retaining the best seller position all
t h e s e ye a r s l a t e r. J o s e p h h a d 7 c h i l d re n m o s t o f w h o m
worked in the Bakery and had their own specialities
– my Grandad was the 5th child; Joseph Hall the 2nd.
We sur vived WW2 and the business tycoon Joseph Snr
diversified to the point where at one time we had a
convenience store next door and even a nautical
themed nightclub – The Beach Comber - above! After
my Great Grandfather passed away the business was run
by the 5 Hall children still working there until the early
2000s when my own father – Joseph Hall the 3rd (no
I ’m n o t m a k i n g t h i s u p ) t o o k o ve r. T h e H a l l s h a ve b e e n
feeding the people of Chorley for over 80 years and the
recipes have largely remained unchanged; the bakery
is one of the few independent, family run businesses
left in Chorley and is therefore pretty famous in our
little town. Wor th a visit if you’re in the area to sample
our pies and cakes, especially the Butter Pie (carry on
reading to learn about this Chorley staple), sausage
rolls, sandwiches and more!
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BUTTER PIE
I can hear you all shouting now, what on ear th
i s a b u t t e r p i e ? ! I t ’s o n e o f t h e 7 w o n d e r s o f
C h o r l e y t h a t ’s w h a t i t i s ! T h i s i s a s a v o u r y
dish which is pretty much exclusive to the
Chorley and Preston area – strictly a central Lancshire
s p e c i a l i t y. O t h e r t h a n i t ’s g o r g e o u s f l a v o u r t h e o t h e r
e l e m e n t t h a t t h a t m a k e s i t a W o n d e r o f C h o r l e y i s i t ’s
interesting origin tale. Legend has it the recipe was
i n v e n t e d b y J o s e p h H a l l t h e 1 s t o f H a l l ’s B a k e r y b a c k
when practicing catholics were barred from eating
meat on Fridays (think Good Friday every Friday). With
Meat & Potato pies being the best seller a vegetarian
alternative had to be invented or risk losing business
ever y single Fr iday. Fast for ward to – THE BUT TER PIE;
an iconic dish made with potato, carrots and onions all
flavoured with the most important ingredient, Butter –
n o n e o f t h i s “ I c a n ’ t b e l i e v e i t ’s n o t b u t t e r ” n o n s e n s e ,
real butter with all its deliciousy goodness. All wrapped
in shortcrust pastry – yes, it is essentially carb wrapped
i n m o r e c a r b . I t ’s a m u s t t r y, 1 0 / 1 0 w o u l d r e c o m m e n d
to several friends.
“ Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it”
Sean Gill
“ B u t te r y d e l i c i o u s a n d h e a r t y, p ro p e r
northern”
Maddie Boyers
“A v e g e t a r i a n c l a s s i c b e f o r e v e g e t a r i a n s
existed"
1
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One thing I bet you didn’t expect from a reyt typical
n o r t h e r n t o w n i s E u r o p e ’s l a r g e s t M o r m o n Te m p l e .
O f f i c i a l l y k n o w n a s t h e P r e s t o n E n g l a n d Te m p l e ,
despite being located 10 miles south of Preston in Chorley,
it is the 52nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Construction finished on this huge
structure in 1994; it uses white granite from Sardinia – not
sure what the Mormon connection is there but hey ho. It has
a single spire design atop which there is a 7 foot solid gold
A n g e l M o r o n i f i g u r e w h i c h h a s b e c o m e k n o w n a s “o n e o f t h e
landmarks of the M61” – The Guardian, 2012. For those of you
t h a t k n o w yo u r M o r m o n h i s t o r y o r, a l t e r n a t i ve l y, re m e m b e r
t h e “A l l A m e r i c a n P r o p h e t ” s o n g f r o m T h e B o o k o f M o r m o n y o u
will remember that it is the Angel Moroni that appeared to
Joseph Smith in 1823 who then founded the Mormon Church.
Yo u m i g h t b e t h i n k i n g w h y, o f a l l p l a c e s , i s t h e r e a M o r m o n
temple in Chorley? Well, central Lancashire and the Mormons
go way back; the first Mormon missionaries to come to Britain
arrived in Liverpool in 1837 and settled in Preston where the
first Mormon converts were baptised in the River Ribble that
s a m e ye a r. Pre s t o n h a s h a d a n L D S w a rd e ve r s i n c e m a k i n g i t
the longest continuously functioning unit of the church in the
wor ld! Truly a wonder of Chor ley.
The lesser known cousin of the
Eccles Cake – perhaps the Dannii
to her Kylie Minogue – however
it is just as tasty, if not better (call me
biased but I prefer them). While they do
have similarities they also have important
differences:
1. The Chorley Cake is made with shortcrust
pastry allowing for the natural sweetness
of the fruit to shine whereas the Eccles
Cake is make with flaky pastry with a
sugary crust.
2. Chorley
Cakes
also
have
a
more
concentrated currant filling compared to
the more disparate filling of the Eccles.
3. The Eccles cake is usually served cold
however the Chorley cousin is best
served warm with proper butter on top.
The more extreme Chorlian may even enjoy
this treat with a slice of crumbly Lancashire
c h e e s e o n t h e s i d e . Yo u m a y n o t h a v e h e a r d
of this underrated delicacy but they can be
found in all good supermarkets so next time
you’re in the baker y sec tion pick up a few
to experience Chorley from your own home!
“Really hits the spot with a spread of
b u t te r ato p a n d a b rew, 9 / 1 0 ”
Sean Gill
7 Wonders
Joseph Hall the 3rd
of
MORMON TEMPLE
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CHORLEY CAKE
Paige Hall
5 t h Ye a r
Chorley
Now, I k now what you’re think ing, where and what is Chorley? Well,
this moderate sized town is my hometown. So in these times of travel
b a n s a n d s o c i a l d i s t a n c i n g I t h o u g h t I ’d g i v e y o u a t a s t e o f C h o r l e y – a
vir tual exploration of the best bits if you will, you don’t even have to
get up from the couch! Perhaps it will inspire you to take a trip once
we’re allowed out of the house again or it might, and this is more
likely, be enough Chorley exposure for you for a lifetime – in which
case I don’t blame you. This town had a hand in shaping your President
of today so fingers crossed this ar ticle doesn’t make you regret your
vote!
A little introduction to the town before we start on the 7 wonders
(for a while I thought it was going to have to be 5 wonders but I
managed to squeeze 2 more out), it is historically a cotton mill town
– the landscape was once littered with tall chimneys and smog. Now,
there are very few chimneys left – the most famous is now a part of
a M o r r i s o n ’s s u p e r m a r k e t , a t r u e l a n d m a r k . T h e o r i g i n o f t h e n a m e
Chorley is thought to come from Anglo-Saxon and means “the peasants
clearing” – lovely, thank you. So we’re an industrial nor thern town,
potentially full of peasants – living up to the northern stereotype
much?
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ASTLEY HALL
This historic country house is believed to have
b e e n b u i l t b e t w e e n 1 5 7 5 – 1 6 0 0 a n d i s C h o r l e y ’s
number one attrac tion on Tr ip Advisor! Situated
within 43 hectares of land this was once the bees knees
o f m a n o r h o u s e s a n d i s n o w t h e c e n t r e o f C h o r l e y ’s
most popular park . The hall was upgraded during
the Elizabethan area to what it is today and now
ser ves as a museum and ar t galler y. This museum is
definitely a must do if in Chorley, take a walk around
the beautifully ornate Great Hall and Drawing Room
b e f o r e l e a r n i n g a b o u t t h e H a l l ’s m o s t f a m o u s v i s i t o r s ;
William Shakespeare and Oliver Cromwell! The latter
is thought to have stayed here during the battle of
Preston in the 17th Century and even left his boots
behind which are now displayed in the museum. There
is also an independent café in the old stables behind
the Hall for a coffee and a cake before a stroll around
the walled garden.
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RIVINGTON PIKE
This is a summit of Winter Hill and is part of the
West Pennine Moors situated in the small village of
R ivington within the borough of Chorley. At its highest
point it is 1,191 feet and on a clear day it is possible
to see Blackpool tower and some say as far as the Isle of Man.
The original use of Rivington Pike was as part of a Beacon Early
Warning System circa 1139 to warn against a Spanish invasion.
It is also lit during times of national celebration for example
t h e Q u e e n ’s D i a m o n d J u b i l e e i n 2 0 1 2 . T h i s i s a v e r y p o p u l a r
destination with hill walkers and mountain bikers, the actual
walk up to the pike is a lovely, low impac t ramble with lots of
woodland and Roman ruins to be explored along the way. At
the bottom of the Pike is the visitors centre and café where
walkers can enjoy a hot chocolate and a light lunch and even
an ice cream – weather depending of course!
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SPEAKER OF THE
HOUSE OF COMMMONS
Lindsay Hoyle MP is the current
Speaker
of
the
House
of
C o m m o n s b u t h a s b e e n C h o r l e y ’s
Member of Parliament since 1997. Prior
to his appointment as Speaker he was a
member of the Labour party and during
the Blair/Brown years was seen as a
Labour rebel . Myself and Lindsay have a
tumultuous relationship, mostly because of my attempts to engage
him in twitter debates. My most recent debate regards my view that
running for Speaker resulted in a loss of democracy for the people
of Chorley; political parties traditionally will not run against the
Speaker therefore in the 2019 General Election the people of Chorley
only had one choice of representative. BUT I will get down from my
p o l i t i c a l s o a p b o x a n d f i n a l l y s h u t u p a b o u t C h o r l e y b e c a u s e l e t ’s
be honest 7 Wonders was definitely a stretch
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