Ashton means ‘ash town’ and Makerfield - formerly a district that stretched from Orrell to the River Mersey - means ‘the ruin in the clearing’.
It’s the borough’s third largest town, boasting a thriving shopping centre, conservation area and excellent leisure facilities, including a sports centre and a recreation area with major motor sports arena and leisure lake. Just over the border in St Helens is Haydock Park, one of the country’s top racecourses.
For hundreds of years the area’s fortunes were linked with the Roman Catholic Gerard family. One of the most celebrated Gerards was Sir Thomas, who was twice imprisoned in the Tower of London after an attempt to rescue Mary Queen of Scots.
The Gerards were Royalists during the Civil War, and in 1651 Charles II lodged at their seat, Bryn Hall, on his way to defeat at the Battle of Worcester. Coalmining in the 19th century brought the family immense wealth but they moved away to Hertfordshire after the First World War.
This page provides up to date crime and demographic statistics for the Ashton Ward. All statistics have been taken from the 2001 Census. Full census breakdown can be found by visiting the national statistics website (External link).
Demographics
The demographic make up of an area can influence how much crime is experienced within that area. The more densely populated an area is the more likely it is to experience higher levels of Crime and disorder. The Ashton Ward includes the areas of: Ashton-in-Makerfield, Stubshaw cross and Town Green. The Ashton ward has an overall population of 11,799 spread across 4,657 Households, giving an average of 2.5 people per household.
Deprivation
The level of deprivation is measured by various factors such as levels of unemployment, health and education. Research suggests that the level of deprivation in an area is strongly linked to the level of crime. Super Output Areas (SOAs) are nationally defined boundaries which were constructed to compare statistics on a small scale. They have an average of 1500 residents in each SOA, there are 200 SOAs in the Wigan Borough. There are 8 lower level super output areas (SOA) within the Ashton ward, 0 score in the bottom 10% of SOAs for deprivation nationally. Further indicators of deprivation there are 248 households in the Ashton ward without Central Heating, and 794 Households without access to a car.
Look for more information about Health and Employment statistics
Education
Improving Educational achievement and attendance is key to helping Wigan reduce levels of offending among our youth population. Find out how children are performing in your ward.
