Yahoo News I visited the Lancashire village famed for its beautiful walks, proud locals and a bloody past
Rich in history, culture and beautiful surroundings, the village of Lathom is a real pearl in West Lancashire's crown.
A unique place, the village is a collection of farms and buildings, with less than a thousand people, all scattered around a large area. Not only is it unique and beautiful today, but it's historical significance is not something to be overlooked.
Lathom was the home of manors owned by Anglo-Danish landowner, Uctred. They played a key role in the defence to protect the emerging kingdom of England from the Norseman of Dublin and York in the 11th Century.
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Fast forward to the 16th Century and the village was described as the largest residence in Tudor England, in fact no other household apart from the royal household compared. Then, in 1644-45 there was the first siege of Lathom House, defended against the opposing force of 3,000 Roundhead soldiers.
Nowadays, the history is a lot less bloody, but still just as palpable. On the site of Lathom Chapel sits 'Cromwell's Stone', a large boulder with three big holes seen on the top. These holes are said to have been used for casting shots by Oliver Cromwell's army during the siege of Lathom House - and it can still be seen to this day.
Whilst there are significantly fewer battles in Lathom in 2024, the people of the village are just as proud of their area and likely would still defend it from any enemy attack.
Ian McKinty is the landlord of The Ship Inn, having taken the reigns from his dad in 2018. Talking about the local area, Ian said: "It's nice with nice people.
"Everything's within a nice distance, in terms of amenities. There's nice schools and the canal's a big pull, it's lovely to walk around and that's definitely where we benefit, from people walking and wanting to warm up.
"We get a few locals and a few people coming in from Burscough, but it's a destination pub as well. Quite a lot of people from out of the area come in to Lathom."
Not only are the punters local, but Ian says the food sourced in to the pub is local too. He added: "We source as local as we can, we even grow our veg across the road.
"We use Taylor's for our sausages and Scott's, who have recently been taken over by Butcher Farrell’s in Ormskirk, Clarkson's which is Preston way, there's loads. We try and keep it in Lancashire."
Talking about the wider area of West Lancashire, Ian said: "There's a lot of things to do around here, there's quite a lot of nice eateries, pubs, shops and whatnot. Pretty much everything really."
Not only is Lathom rich with history, but The Ship Inn is too. Ian explained the supposed legend of 'The Blood Tub', a nickname given to the establishment.
Located on Wheat Lane, which was once known as Wet Lane and expanded over the years into the wider building that we see today, but why it's called The Blood Tub has two possible reasons. The first, is the pub would serve workers from the docks and fighting was not uncommon between clientele.
It is thought the 'feisty' landlady would refuse to serve anyone covered in blood and would have to clean-up in a water filled half-butt outside, otherwise known as The Blood Tub. The other possible explanation is an early landlady was a famous producer of black puddings and would source the ingredients, including pig's blood from local farmers.
These deals for blood were exchanged through barters with jugs of blood emptied into a barrel for ale which was then carried off in the same jugs. The barrel of blood was then known as The Blood Tub, a different take on the origin of the name.
Down a few roads and you'll find yourself at the other pub in the village, the Ring O' Bells. The establishment has been opened for over a year after a full refurbishment and it's perfect for anyone looking for something a little bit different.
Paul Harrison is the manager of Ring O' Bells and spoke about the pub's significance for the community. He said: "We have a lot of regulars in all the time, very popular with dogwalkers and obviously this area is popular for fisherman and things like that."
The pub had been derelict for six years prior to the new refurbishment, according to Paul. He also said the community were keen on getting the place back up and running, he said: "They're very passionate about everything that goes on around here!"
"It used to just be an old fashioned boozer," Paul continued. "But now we've got a restaurant and more on the back and on the sides.
"I think they were working on it for two or three years. Before the company that owns it now bought it, it was going through a few different hands and at one point is was going to be a hotel but they got objections to that.
"Then it was going to be flats but the community was in uproar about that, so then these guys took over and they managed to get it through because I think everyone in the area just wanted it back as a pub."
With the absence of a village hall in Lathom, Paul says Ring O' Bells tries to put on events for the local community, especially the children in the nearby area. He said: "We had a Halloween thing the other week, we had Santa's Reindeers coming on the 21st and Santa and the Grinch the week before.
"They're all free events to just try and make it really community-led and things for people to do."
