Hoscar

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

Hoscar
Path at the end of Bleak Lane
Hoscar Location in West Lancashire Show map of the Borough of West Lancashire Hoscar Location within Lancashire Show map of Lancashire
OS grid reference	SD465120
Civil parish	Lathom
District	West Lancashire
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ORMSKIRK
Postcode district	L40
Dialling code	01704
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	West Lancashire
List of places UK England Lancashire 53.602°N 2.808°W / 53.602; -2.808

Etymology

The name Hoscar is derived from the Old Norse hross or Old English hors and 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

• Bleak Hall Farm
• Tyrer's Farm
• Hoscar Hall Farm
• Sandyway's Farm
• Moss Grove Farm - formerly a poultry farm, now renamed Moss Grove Cottage and since 2012 derelict.
• Stock's Farm
• Snipe Hall Farm - most notably featured in the English land law case 'Smith and Snipes Hall Farm Ltd v River Douglas Catchment Board'

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]