Atherton, United Kingdom

At 53°31′23″N 2°29′44″W (53.5231°, −2.4955°), and 171 miles (275 km) northwest of central London, Atherton is situated 7 miles (11 km) east of Wigan and 10 miles (16 km) west-northwest of the city of Manchester, at the eastern end of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan.

Atherton, which includes Hindsford to the southeast, Howe Bridge in the southwest, and Hag Fold in the north, is generally low lying. The soil is clay in much of the township. The southwest of the town is 100 feet (30 m) above sea level, rising to 250 feet (76 m) in the north. Atherton is built around seven brooks: the Shakerley Brook forms the western boundary with Tyldesley; Chanters Brook flows through the area known as "The Valley"; Knight's Brook (Bag Lane); Colliers Brook; Small Brook is the boundary with Westleigh; Westhoughton Brook forms the boundary with Daisy Hill; and Red Waters Brook. The underlying rocks are the coal measures of the Manchester Coalfield.

Atherton's climate is generally temperate, like the rest of Greater Manchester. The mean highest and lowest temperatures (13.2 °C (55.8 °F) and 6.4 °C (43.5 °F)) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall (806.6 millimetres (31.76 in)) and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages.

Atherton is within the Manchester Travel to Work Area. The town is within the Manchester Larger Urban Zone.

At the time of the 2001 Census, there were 8,755 people (43.1%) in employment who were resident in Atherton. Of these, 19.65% worked in the wholesale and retail trades, including the repair of motor vehicles; 19.28% worked within the manufacturing industry, and 10.27% worked within the health and social work sector. The census recorded the economic activity of residents aged 16–74 as 36.7% in full-time employment, 11.0% in part-time employment, 6.8% self-employed, 4.0% unemployed, 1.7% students with jobs, 3.2% students without jobs, 14.6% retired, 6.5% looking after home or family, 11.8% permanently sick or disabled, and 3.8% economically inactive for other reasons. The 4.0% unemployment rate was high compared with the national rate of 3.3%. According to the Office for National Statistics estimates, during the period between April 2001 and March 2002, the average gross income of households was £380 per week (£19,760 per year), substantially less than the £470 per week (£24,440) for the rest of the North West. The average car ownership per household was 1.01, compared with 0.93 across the Greater Manchester Urban Area; 43.74% of households owned a single car or van, and 30.76% owned none.

Atherton Botanical Garden Club, which is today a social club, was formed in 1850 and organised lectures, study groups and rambles on Chat Moss for its members. A public library was opened in 1905 with an Andrew Carnegie grant. Bent Chapel already had a library in the Chowbent School and donated 4,000 books to the new town library. Central Park, a 10-acre (4.0 ha) public park, was created in 1912. Other parks were later provided in Lodge Lane, Hindsford and Devonshire Place. The urban district council also acquired the grounds belonging to Howe Bridge Welfare in 1963. In the early and mid-20th century Atherton had three cinemas, the Gem in Bullough Street, the Savoy and the Palace on Market Street. An amateur photographic society was formed in 1938. Formby Hall, demolished in 2018, used to host the Bent 'n' Bongs Beer Festival over the last weekend of every January.

The first school in Atherton was Chowbent Grammar School founded before 1654, followed by Chowbent Chapel School in 1734. Lane Top National School opened in 1840 and Chowbent Unitarian School and Hindsford St Anne's in 1860. Howe Bridge School opened in 1869 and St Philip's a year later. An undenominational school in Lee Street opened in 1871 followed by St George's and Sacred Heart School in Hindsford in 1873. In the 1890s, the technical school originally opened as a school for science and art, followed by St Richard's in 1891 and Flapper Fold Higher Grade School in 1893. Green Hall Special School opened in 1957, and a new infant school was opened on Lodge Lane for Sacred Heart. Meadowbank Primary School can also be found on Flapper Fold Lane, marking the boundary between Atherton and Hag Fold. Hesketh Fletcher Senior School opened in 1967 and closed on 31 August 2011. Atherton High School opened in 2012.