Life in the tucked away village where "Morrisons didn't last two minutes"
08.05.2022 - 19:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
On the border of Greater Manchester and Merseyside lies the former coal mining village of Bryn. Like many northern mining towns it bears the scars of its industrial past - while retaining a tight knit community keen to build a brighter future.
According to locals here, the name Bryn comes from a village in Neath Port Talbot in South Wales, which also became synonymous with heavy industry. But it could also come from the Welsh for 'hill' or Old English for 'burning fire'.
The Bryn Hall Colliery employed over 500 people at its peak in the early 1900s, but was abandoned shortly after WWI. While the remains of the colliery are now under private land, it sits under the northeast corner of the town's nature reserve which the community has helped to transform into a pretty visitor attraction.
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But while the Ashton-in-Makerfield village used to boast a number of shops on its high street, now, bar takeaways and hairdressers, only one remains - Brogan's butchers, reports the ECHO. A Morrisons convenience store failed to take off here, and other local businesses have ceased trading in recent years.
David Brogan, 63, has been in the butcher's business for more than 30 years. He opened his first shop in Glasgow but came to Bryn shortly after to open D&M Brogan. He said while there has been a decline over the past few decades, one seen on many high streets across the UK, things are changing.
David told the ECHO: “We’ve lost a bakers, we used to have a bank and the Morrisons across the road didn’t last two minutes. But this is a very tight knit community and it’s growing; they’ve started to build houses across the road.
“There’s still some things going