Welcome to this website which I hope may be of interest both to those who are part of the Weld Bank community and those who enjoy social history. There has been a community here, a Catholic community, from the mid 1700s and I hope that this website may provide a record of its people and priests, its social and religious life and its education from its first beginnings to the present. It is a particularly significant moment in our history as, in 2024, we are celebrating the 250th year of the foundation of our church.

Where is Weld Bank? It is an area on the southern fringe of the Lancashire market town of Chorley. It was once largely land that belonged to the estate centred on Burgh Hall, though some parts of the Weld Bank area were part of other, neighbouring estates such as those of Duxbury Hall and Gillibrand Hall.

There is a long lane, lined with houses, called Weldbank Lane – and spelt as one word. At the end of this lane the land rises quite steeply and on the top of the hill is a Catholic church, known to its parishioners as Weld Bank church, though dedicated to St. Gregory the Great. As children, we were reliably informed by the then curate of the parish, Fr. Lynch, that the reason this church is referred to by its location rather than by its dedication is because it was built at a time when Catholicism was not welcomed in England. Consequently, local people would not wish to be overheard saying that they were going to a Catholic church and found it safer to say that they were going to the hamlet of Weld Bank. This name is still used by many with reference to the church and the community. The name ‘Weld’ is from the ‘Weld’ family who once owned the land and ‘Bank’ from the hill or bank which rises up to the summit where stands the church. The Welds are the same family who today own Lulworth Castle in Dorset.

Along the length of Weldbank Lane stands the old school which, like the church on the top of the hill, was traditionally known as Weld Bank School though officially called St. Gregory’s school. In recent years, this school has changed its name to ‘Westmorland School’ and is no longer part of the Catholic parish which now uses the newer school in Eaves Green Road nearby.

We will continue to add material and if you have any stories, photos etc. that you are willing to share, then email me: pauline@weldbankcommunity.uk