The History of Wennington
Wennington is quite an old village with a lot of interesting historical features and properties. Some of these are described in a bit more detail below. If you're interested to see how Wennington has changed over the past 100 years then you'll love this website.
If you have any further information, that might interest other people, please get in touch with a view to it being added. Email us at info@wennington.life
Crazy Cow
Built between 1850 to 1870, for much of its life it was known as The Foster’s Arms Hotel, serving Tetley’s Ales and offering accommodation at a daily rate of 8/6 in the early 20th century. Eventually, the building was bought by a Mrs Young who expressed to her husband an interest in turning it into a milk bar, that most fashionable of 1950s and 60s enterprises. On hearing this, her husband told her she’d have to be a ‘crazy cow’ to even consider it! Thus, she named her milk bar Crazy Cow and the name has stayed with the building to this day. Following the death of Mr & Mrs Young, it fell into disrepair and eventually went on the market in 2004 (click here and here) and was subsequently bought and converted by a local builder into 3 houses and 2 flats in 2007. Click here to see a very old (date unknown) picture of the Crazy Cow building. For further information about its history please click here.
Moss House Mill (Mill House)
This former steam-powered saw mill, corn mill with smithy was once part of a state of the art model farm. It was built 1845 by the Saunders family who lived at Wennington Hall and owned most of the land in and around Wennington. This grade II listed building is now in private ownership with planning permission to develop it into a luxury residence.
Wenning Cottage
Wenning Cottage is a Grade II listed building dating back to the early 18th Century. It was first owned by the Charnley family, who were also innholders at the Tatham Bridge Inn. For further historical information about this building, please click here.
Wennington Hall
Wennington Hall was once a large country house and in its early history was once the seat of William de Wennington. In 1938/9 the Hall was leased to The Grey Court Fellowship who provided holidays for families affected by unemployment and/or small income. However, on the outbreak of World War 2, it was commandeered by the South East Lancashire Association for Mental Welfare. Up until 2022 it was a school and is now being converted into a wedding venue/hotel by James' Places. To read more about Wennington Hall click here.
The Railways
The railway in Wennington has a long and fascinating history. Technically, the railways station is not actually located within the parish of Wennington, it lies just within Tatham parish. Tatham History Society have compiled a very detailed history of the local railways. You can read this article by clicking here.
Wennington and Tatham
As well as sharing a railway station, the people of Wennington and Tatham have a lot in common. The history of these two areas is very closely entwined and continues to this day. To learn a little more about the past lives of people in Wennington and Tatham please click here.
The Old Smithy
In common with many old towns and villages, in the late 19th Century Wennington had a Smithy (i.e. Blacksmiths workshop). This building still exists and looks almost as it was in the picture above. Located in the centre of the village, you can see what the rest of the village looked like then by clicking here.
Oakroyd
The property known as 'Oakroyd' is believed, originally, to have been a barn attached to Oak House which was converted into a dwelling in the 19th century. The property was then further extended to form a village carpentry workshop (as you can see in the picture). The workshop closed and was then converted into living accommodation at some time in the 20th century.
Potteries (Burton-in-Lonsdale)
Although there were no known potteries in Wennington, the nearby village of Burton-in-Lonsdale, had at least 12 potteries. Burton potteries centred on the production of earthenware and stoneware pottery. Although many different items of stoneware were produced in the later half of the 19th century up until the demise of the last pottery in 1945. To learn more about the potteries click here.