Peter Ditchfield Senior and the Old Mill

Peter Ditchfield (1784 – 1854) cotton manufacturer and his wife Mary moved to Westhoughton where they acquired the old Union Mill which once stood on the spare ground at Mill Street. This old mill was burned down in 1812 as a protest by agitators or Luddites from Chowbent and Bolton, who felt the introduction of the power loom was responsible for the acute hardships of the day.

The Mill was eventually restored and used as a corn mill, but in 1840 Peter Ditchfield set up the mill for cotton spinning once again. He and his family lived at Mount Pleasant on Parsonage Lane. He died there in 1854.

Peter Ditchfield Junior of Sunny Bank and South View

After his father’s death, Peter Ditchfield Junior (1824 -1902) took over the cotton spinning mill employing 140 people. He married Mary Elizabeth Hampson of Radcliffe in 1853. Her uncle, John Hampson of Radcliffe, built the pair of houses known as Sunny Bank and South View. The house on the corner nearest Church Street, Sunny Bank, was for Peter to take his bride to. The other house, South View, was originally home to the bride’s aunts. This house was  later leased to a succession of medical practitioners. 

Garden

Peter Ditchfield Junior and Mary Elizabeth had four children, all of whom grew up at Sunny Bank. In 1861 they leased the plot of land opposite, on the southside of the house, from Edward Bootle Wilbraham so that they would always have a pleasant view for the house. Another reason to create such a garden was that the existing open ditch there was very offensive in summer.

Sale of the properties in 1919

Peter Ditchfield Junior died in 1902, (his wife had died in 1899). Their two sons and two daughters put up both houses for auction in 1919. Westhoughton Urban District Council acquired the properties and Sunny Bank became the Maternity and Welfare Clinic for Westhoughton. However the Council had a scheme for a War Memorial to commemorate those who had lost their lives in the Great War of 1914 – 18, and the corner of Market Street was chosen as the site. Its creation involved the use of part of the gardens of Sunny Bank which were surrounded by a high wall. This wall and  some of the trees had to be removed as a result. The gardens on the other side of Market Street were also acquired by the Council to create a small park thus providing a pleasant open space for the residents of Westhoughton.