Upholland
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St Thomas the Martyr Parish Church |
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Upholland shown within Lancashire | |
Population | 7,376 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SD518052 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Skelmersdale |
Postcode district | WN8 |
Post town | Orrell |
Postcode district | WN5 |
Dialling code | 01695 |
Police | Lancashire |
Fire | Lancashire |
Ambulance | North West |
EU Parliament | North West England |
UK Parliament | |
Upholland is a civil parish and village in West Lancashire, England, 3 miles east of Skelmersdale and 4 miles west of Wigan. The population at the 2011 census was 7,376.
The village is on a small hill 89m above sea level that rises above the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. There are views towards St Helens and Liverpool in the south west, Ormskirk and Southport in the north-west and towards Wigan, Manchester and on to the High Peak of Derbyshire in the east.
The place-name is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Hoiland. It appears as Upholand in a Lancashire Inquest of 1226. This is from the Old English hohland, meaning 'land on or by a hoe or spur of a hill'. The name Upholland differentiates it from another place locally called Downholland, 10 miles to the west (on the other side of Ormskirk). The manor of Holland was a possession of the Holland family until 1534, whence it may be presumed they derived their name.
One of Upholland's claims to fame is that George Lyon, reputed to be one of the last English highwaymen, is said to be buried in the churchyard of the Anglican Church of St. Thomas the Martyr. The truth of the matter is that Lyon was little more than a common thief and receiver of stolen goods. The grave can be found under the concrete parapet opposite the White Lion pub.