Westhoughton notables along with cricketers marked the installation of three new statues on Cricketer’s Way.
The large bronze statues on Cricketers Way feature a cow, dog and set of cricket equipment, each one immortalising a different story from the area’s past.
The cow captures a local legend familiar to many in Westhoughton that helps to explain why residents are known by the nickname “Keawyeds”, meaning cow head.
According to the story, a farmer discovered one of his herd trapped by its head in a five-bar gate.
Reasoning that the gate cost more than the cow, rather than damage the gate he chose to free the cow by cutting off the poor animal’s head.
Another statue presents a still life of a cricket bat, ball and stumps in celebration of Westhoughton’s strong links to the game and the famous players who hailed from the area.
They include bowler Dick Tyldesley, wicketkeeper Bill Farrimond, bowler Dick Pollard and all-rounder Michael Watkinson, all of whom took to the field for Lancashire and England.
The third statue has a large greyhound dog lying atop a white marble plinth, commemorating the area’s links to greyhound racing.
Between 1951 and 2013, thousands of the dogs raced at Westhoughton Greyhound track, an independent venue with an unusual five-lane layout.
First opened in 1947 as a training facility, it developed into a greyhound stadium that hosted well known races like the Westhoughton Derbyand St Leger.
But in the face of falling attendances and animal rights campaigns against greyhound racing, the land was sold and 38 new homes built on the site.
The statues were funded using ‘106 money’, meaning the council were legally required to use it to fund a public art project.
(Image: Dan Dougherty)
Ann-Marie Talbot, who commissioned the statues, said: “I’m really, really proud of them.
“I contacted the Westhoughton councillors to let them know we had the money to spend on public art, and these were the ideas that came back.
“We got the cow from a company down South called Black Country Metal Works, ad the cricket one I designed myself with my colleague Rebecca.
“We were really pleased to be able to represent these aspects of Westhoughton’s History.”
The statues are located on Cricketers Way, near the Sainsburys.
This is directly next to the location of the old Westhoughton Cricket Club, which has now moved to near The Hoskers.
(Image: Paul Heyes)
“We debated them in council,” said town councillor Neil Maher, “and this is what we came up with.
(Image: Dan Dougherty)
“People spoke about using the money for other things, but we had to use it for public art as it was 106 money.
“It’s all about representing our town – the cow was the most popular idea, though the council declined our suggestion to put it in a fence!
“It’s about history – we want people to come by and ask ‘why is there a cow statue?’ or ‘why is there a greyhound?
“Then they’ll end up learning more about our history.”
Ann-Marie Talbot with the greyhound statue (Image: Dan Dougherty)
Both Westhoughton mayor Cllr Sarita Chohan and Mayor of Bolton Cllr Mohammed Iqbal attended the ceremony and gave short speeches.
Cllr Iqbal said: “The statues represent the history of Westhoughton, using 106 contributions from the developers of Sainsbury’s and the former greyhound racing track.
“This public art project will make a lasting tribute to some of the stories that make Westhoughton unique.”
(Image: Paul Heyes)
“Thank you to everyone who made this project possible. It is now my pleasure to officially unveil the statues.”
Cllr Iqbal then cut the ribbon and posed for photographs in front of the statues with Cllr Chohan.