Hoscar
Etymology
The name Hoscar is derived from the Old Norse hross or Old English hors and kjarr (marshland), again from the Old Norse. An early recorded form is Horsecarr (1347).
Geography
The village is bounded to the north east by the River Douglas, and to the south is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. To the north west is the moss from which the village derives its name. Parts of the moss are only 20 feet above sea level.
Worship
St Cyprian's Mission Church, built in 1767, is located on Hoscar Moss Road and is open for services. It is a mission church for St John the Baptist, Burscough. There is also a former Wesleyan Methodist chapel, founded before 1892 that is now a private house, also located on Hoscar Moss Road.
Farming and agriculture
Many different methods of agriculture have been practiced in Hoscar and its surrounding areas. These include; turf cultivation, arable crops and grazing for both cattle and sheep.
- Farms
- Bleak Hall Farm
- Tyrer's Farm
- Hoscar Hall Farm
- Sandyway's Farm
- Moss Grove Farm - formerly a poultry farm, now renamed Moss Grove Cottage and since 2012 derelict.
- Stock's Farm
- Snipe Hall Farm - most notably featured in the English land law case 'Smith and Snipes Hall Farm Ltd v River Douglas Catchment Board'
Transport
The village is served by Hoscar railway station. The station once boasted a goods yard which was used by local farmers to get their crops to the markets of Wigan, Manchester and Southport quickly.
References
- ^ Pg.96 Viking Mersey: Scandinavian Wirral, West Lancashire and Chester By Stephen Harding
- ^ OS Pathfinder Map 699
- ^ "Services :: St John the Baptist, Burscough". www.stjohns-burscough.org. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ^ "Hoscar Moss Road, Hoscar Moss, Wesleyan Methodist". GENUKI. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "Hoscar". Community Rail Lancashire. Retrieved 7 August 2019.