Earlestown
| Earlestown | |
|---|---|
 Earlestown Town Hall |
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 Earlestown
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| Earlestown shown within Merseyside | |
| Population | 10,830 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SJ569949 |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWTON LE WILLOWS |
| Postcode district | WA12 |
| Dialling code | 01925 |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Earlestown forms the western part of Newton-le-Willows, a town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 10,274, increasing to 10,830 at the 2011 Census.
Historically within Lancashire, Earlestown is named after Hardman Earle (11 July 1792 - 25 January 1877) who was the Chairman of the London and North Western Railway.
In July 1831, the Warrington and Newton railway was opened, less than 6 months after the Liverpool and Manchester railway began service. A railway station was built at the junction of the two railways, a mile west of the town of Newton in Makerfield, now Newton-le-Willows and was given the name Newton Junction. A locomotive and wagon works was built just west of the station and a model town was constructed for its workers. In 1837, the name of the station was changed to Earlestown.
Locomotive building was concentrated in another area within Newton le Willows ('Between 1833 and 1895 the Vulcan Foundry produced some 6,000 locomotives to become the 4th largest locomotive building firm in the country, almost 70% of which were exported. Vulcan Foundry received its final steam locomotive order in 1954), while Earlestown was home to the major wagon works.
By 1900 it was producing 4,000 new wagons, with 13,000 major repairs, along with 200 new horse-drawn vehicles. At amalgamation into the LMS, mass production methods were introduced. The works provided all of the railway's needs for ironwork, and continued into the first half of the 20th century. At the 1963 rationalisation of British Railways, Earlestown was closed, and the work transferred to Horwich.
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