Ainsworth Estate Agents

Living in Ainsworth

Ainsworth is a village on the western edge of the Borough of Bury, between Bury and Bolton and just north of Radcliffe. Green-belt farmland surrounds it, with the West Pennine Moors beyond. Old documents often call it Cockey Moor, after the open moorland that once surrounded the village. It has a Bolton (BL2) postcode but is part of Bury.

The name Ainsworth was first recorded in the early 13th century. A chapel stood at Cockey Moor by 1515, and its replacement, Christ Church, was built in 1832. Ainsworth also has a long history of religious dissent, and the Unitarian chapel on Knowsley Road, built in 1715 and listed Grade II*, is one of the oldest buildings in the village. The Duke William carries a date stone of 1737. The village grew with stone quarrying, handloom weaving and later Moorside cotton mill, and its historic core is now a conservation area.

The stone terraces along Church Street were built around 1830, and there are older cottages on Greenside and Delph Lane. Red-brick terraces followed on Bury Old Road and Bradley Fold Road in the early 1900s, then bungalows on Ainsworth Hall Road and Delph Lane between the wars, with later family homes filling in around the village.

Community, schools and transport

Ainsworth keeps a real village feel, with Christ Church, the Unitarian chapel and the 1892 Methodist church, a tiny 1930s library next to the Old White Horse, and the Duke William on Well Street, a family-run pub that dates back to 1737. Christ Church Ainsworth CE Primary School on Tommy Lane is the village primary school, and the secondary schools of Bury and Bolton are a short drive away. The 511 bus links Ainsworth with Bury, through Walshaw and Elton, and with Bolton, through Breightmet. Radcliffe's Metrolink stop is a few minutes' drive south.

Things to do

Lanes and field paths lead straight out of the village towards the moors, and riding is popular here, with plenty of equestrian properties around Ainsworth. There are two golf clubs close by, and Bury, Bolton and Radcliffe are all within easy reach for shopping and days out.

Selling a house in Ainsworth

Homes in Ainsworth range from listed cottages in the conservation area to family houses and bungalows on the edge of the fields, and each one needs an agent who understands what makes it special. You'll get the same level of care from us whatever you're selling. To book a free, no-obligation valuation, call 01706 310171 or email sales@bowmanestatesltd.com.