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.
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]
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]
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.
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.
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]