Hoscar Explained

Country:England
Static Image Name:Path at end of Bleak Lane, Hoscar Moss (geograph 4357727).jpg
Static Image Caption:Path at the end of Bleak Lane
Coordinates:53.602°N -2.808°W
Official Name:Hoscar
Civil Parish:Lathom
Shire District:West Lancashire
Shire County:Lancashire
Region:North West England
Constituency Westminster:West Lancashire
Post Town:ORMSKIRK
Postcode District:L40
Postcode Area:L
Dial Code:01704
Os Grid Reference:SD465120
Pushpin Map:United Kingdom Borough of West Lancashire
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in West Lancashire

Hoscar is a small village in Lancashire, England. It is located 1¼ miles (2 km) east of the larger village of Burscough.

Etymology

The name Hoscar is derived from the Old Norse Norse, Old: hross or Old English English, Old (ca.450-1100);: hors and Norse, Old: kjarr (marshland), again from the Old Norse. An early recorded form is Horsecarr (1347).[1]

Geography

The village is bounded to the north east by the River Douglas, and to the south is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. To the north west is the moss from which the village derives its name. Parts of the moss are only 20 feet above sea level.[2]

Worship

St Cyprian's Mission Church, built in 1767, is located on Hoscar Moss Road and is open for services. It is a mission church for St John the Baptist, Burscough.[3] There is also a former Wesleyan Methodist chapel, founded before 1892[4] that is now a private house, also located on Hoscar Moss Road.

Farming and agriculture

Many different methods of agriculture have been practiced in Hoscar and its surrounding areas. These include; turf cultivation, arable crops and grazing for both cattle and sheep.

Farms

Transport

The village is served by Hoscar railway station. The station once boasted a goods yard which was used by local farmers to get their crops to the markets of Wigan, Manchester and Southport quickly.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Pg.96 Viking Mersey: Scandinavian Wirral, West Lancashire and Chester By Stephen Harding
  2. OS Pathfinder Map 699
  3. Web site: Services :: St John the Baptist, Burscough. www.stjohns-burscough.org. 13 March 2019. 1 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180901010622/https://stjohns-burscough.org/Services/. dead.
  4. Web site: Hoscar Moss Road, Hoscar Moss, Wesleyan Methodist. GENUKI. 7 August 2019.
  5. Web site: Hoscar. Community Rail Lancashire. 7 August 2019.