Chorley Holidays: The tradition of the Lancashire wakes week

'Waec' is thought to have been an Anglo-Saxon festival, which then became a religious celebration after the country's conversion to Christianity.  A parish would hold a festival on the day of their church’s patron saint, and the congregation would attend a late-night vigil of prayer - a ‘wake.’  As I'm sure you can imagine, any religious significance was soon forgotten and it grew into a lively occasion, with events such as bull baiting and bare-knuckle fighting.

After the start of the industrial revolution, wake weeks were adopted by mill towns in industrial Lancashire into a time of unpaid holiday for cotton and woolen workers. Mills would close for maintenance on a Thursday, giving workers leave for an excursion of their choice. Shops often closed too, leaving the district seemingly empty.

Chorley railway station in the 1890s. Image source

Lancashire’s dense railway network made it easy to catch the train to popular tourist resorts. In the middle of the 19th century, workers had Friday to Sunday off and any excursions were usually only a day trip. Chorley Holidays became a full week for the first time in July 1897. 

Weeks off were staggered for different areas, distributing demand for railway companies and boarding house owners. Lists of the different weeks were announced in local newspapers. Much of the attraction was the fact that large groups from a town or district would holiday at the same time in the same place. 

Blackpool Promenade c1898.
Detroit Publishing Co., under license from Photoglob Zürich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In addition to the nearby seaside resorts of Southport and Morecambe, the most popular trip of choice for Chorley holidaymakers was Blackpool. In wakes week in July 1891, over 5,000 Chorley folk were thought to have holidayed at Blackpool. A comic tale of a conversation between two Chorley men from the late Victorian era goes as follows:

"Wheer art going, Bill?" asked his friend, seeing him trudging to the station.

"Blackpoo'" was the laconic reply.

"How long tha staying?"

"Thirty bob!" said Bill, continuing on his way.

Walter Greenwood, in his 1951 book ‘Lancashire’ stated: “No other county than Lancashire could have produced Blackpool. It is a product of unconscious revolt, revolt of the masses against the horror of living 51 overworked weeks in hideous industrial towns. They want a holiday place in which they can give vent to their hysteria. Blackpool caters for this. Blackpool is unique.”

Image: Rochdale Wakes Week Postcard (1910-1930).
Courtesy of Touchstones Rochdale Museum Collection

Other popular wakes week destinations included Liverpool, Llandudno, Isle of Man, the Lake District, and even Ireland. The Preston Herald reported July 1913 as the busiest year for some time. The Viking, a Steamer which ran from Fleetwood to the Isle of Man, was “practically laden with Chorley people.”

Postcard of the Viking leaving Fleetwood. Image Source

Many people made weekly contributions to savings clubs run by mills and the Cooperative Society which helped to fund new clothes and shoes, bus and rail tickets, lodgings, and spending money. In July 1920, Chorley holiday clubs paid out almost £30,000 of savings.

Another Chorley family had a different way to fund their annual 'holiday brass'. They would purchase a sack of flour on tick, which they split up into 1 and 2 lb bags. This was then purchased by their neighbours using money from their own savings so they had flour to make the bread for their trip. The family would then spend many months paying back the tradesman who had funded their holiday, in effect obtaining credit for their annual holiday.

During the Second World War, many mills were on urgent war work, so did not stop for an annual holiday, and extra trains into holiday destinations were not put on like previous years

Instead, Chorley folks were encouraged to 'holiday at home' to support the war effort. The National Fire Service put on a gala, and concerts were held in Astley Park. Bowling greens and tennis courts were available free of charge for the public to use. There was a swimming gala arranged at the baths, as well as a number of organised rambles.

In 1942, Chorley even appealed to Blackpool to loan their donkeys, Punch and Judy shows and merry-go-rounds. One Chorley resident retorted: "If we cannot go to Blackpool there is no reason why Blackpool should not be brought to us." 

Many thousands did still make a wakes week excursion. Chaos ensued in 1944, when 400 evacuees arrived for billeting across Chorley just a few days prior to the start of Chorley Holidays. Many who had agreed to house evacuees had intended to take the child with them on their travels, but a spanner was thrown in the works when many mothers turned up too. 

One family took a mother and child evacuee to Blackpool with them. Some turned away families when they had previously agreed to host; others left their new arrivals at home alone for the week.  Leyland, who hadn't shared the same week as Chorley for over fifty years had no such problem in billeting evacuees.

Wakes weeks continued in the Chorley district well into the fifties and sixties. It's thought that a combination of standardised school holidays along with a decline of manufacturing industries led to its decline.

 

Sources

Various historic newspapers accessed at British Newspaper Archive

Ian Boyle and Simplon Postcards

Lancashire Cotton Operatives and Work, 1900-1950. Alan Fowler. 2018.