14/10/2026
🐴 **HIGHFIELD HISTORY – THE STORY OF PONY DICK**
Ever wondered why the area at the bottom of Billinge Road is called Pony Dick?
It's one of Highfield's most unusual place names, but behind it lies a fascinating piece of our local history.
**🐴 WHO WAS PONY DICK?**
The name comes from a white pony called Dick, owned by Meyrick Bankes, the squire of Winstanley Hall.
Dick was apparently a much-loved favourite and lived to the remarkable age of 36, dying in 1841. He was buried near Winstanley Hall, where his gravestone survived.
And despite the area's strong mining connections, Dick wasn't known to be a pit pony. He was the squire's beloved white pony!
**🍺 THE PONY DICK INN**
At what is now the junction of Billinge Road and Ribbesford Road once stood a public house originally called the Horse and Jockey.
During the 1800s, it became known as the Favourite Pony Dick Inn, in honour of the squire's famous pony.
The pub was run for generations by the Starkey family and was a gathering place for farmers, miners, craftsmen and local residents.
There's even an old story that the squire's horses became so accustomed to stopping at the pub that the coachman sometimes struggled to persuade them to continue towards Winstanley Hall!
The pub lost its licence in 1924 but remained a home until it was demolished in 1954.
**⚒️ A BUSY LITTLE COMMUNITY**
Pony Dick was once much more than a pub.
Nearby stood Ryland's Mill, an old water-powered corn mill which may have been several centuries old. It stopped working around 1895 and was demolished in 1927.
There was also a wheelwright's workshop run by James Starkey, who began working there in 1889. He made and repaired wooden carts, wheels and farming equipment by hand.
Coal mining was another important part of the area. Railway lines once carried coal across the landscape, and Pony Dick Colliery continued operating into the 1970s.
During the miners' lockout of 1893, the Pony Dick Inn was even used as a soup kitchen to help struggling mining families.
And in 1926, the first Wigan Corporation bus arrived at Pony Dick, marking another chapter in the area's changing history.
**🏡 WHAT HAPPENED TO IT ALL?**
As the years passed, the old buildings disappeared, the mines closed and the landscape changed.
But the name Pony Dick survived, passed down through generations of Highfield and Winstanley residents.
Next time you pass the junction of Billinge Road and Ribbesford Road, imagine the old pub, the watermill, the horses and carts, and the busy little community that once stood there.
**📖 A SPECIAL THANK YOU**
Much of this fascinating information comes from the historical research of local historian Derek Winstanley, including his work with Ray Winstanley on *Founded on Coal*.
A big thank you to Derek for his dedication to researching and preserving the history of Highfield and Winstanley. Without people like Derek, so many of these wonderful local stories could easily be forgotten.
**💬 DO YOU REMEMBER PONY DICK?**
Did you play around the old colliery, walk through the woods, or hear stories about the pub from your parents or grandparents?
We'd love to hear your memories and see any old photographs of the area.
It's these little pieces of local history that we want to keep alive for future generations.
