Bickerstaffe Stocks
BICKERSTAFFE STOCKS, ORMSKIRK ROAD
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1392018
- Date first listed:
- 05-Jun-2007
- List Entry Name:
- Bickerstaffe Stocks
- Statutory Address:
- BICKERSTAFFE STOCKS, ORMSKIRK ROAD
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1392018
- Date first listed:
- 05-Jun-2007
- List Entry Name:
- Bickerstaffe Stocks
- Statutory Address 1:
- BICKERSTAFFE STOCKS, ORMSKIRK ROAD
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- BICKERSTAFFE STOCKS, ORMSKIRK ROAD
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Lancashire
- District:
- West Lancashire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Bickerstaffe
- National Grid Reference:
- SD 44340 05248
Details
BICKERSTAFFE
1283/0/10045 ORMSKIRK ROAD 05-JUN-07 Stanley Gate Bickerstaffe Stocks
II A set of stocks first documented in 1750 but thought to be earlier.
MATERIALS: Sandstone pillars with modern timber planks.
EXTERIOR: The stocks consist of two rectangular round-headed sandstone pillars about 1m tall, slotted on the inside, with modern timber planks containing two ankle holes. One of the stone pillars has an Ordnance Survey bench mark inscribed at the top and both pillars display some tool marks. The upper part of both pillars is more weathered than the lower part, indicating that they were once inserted into the ground to a greater depth than at present.
HISTORY: The earliest documentary reference of the existence of the Bickerstaffe stocks is a copy of `The Accompts kept by William Grayston, one of the Constables of Bickerstaffe, the year 1750', which includes the phrase, `To a new Stock Stoop a Staple and repairing of the lockes - 0. 4s. 10d.' This suggests that the stocks were already in existence by 1750. The stocks are depicted on First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1845 and on subsequent maps of 1893, 1908 and 1927 and are still to be found at the same location as recorded on the 1845 map. The modern map, however, describes them as `Stocks (remains of)'. New timbers have been inserted recently and work has been carried out by the Parish Council in 2006 to tidy up the site of the stocks and the immediate surroundings.
SOURCES: Letter from West Lancashire Civic Trust, 16-12-2006. Letter from West Lancashire District Council, 19-2-2007.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: Bickerstaffe stocks were documented as being in existence in the mid C18 and map evidence shows that they have occupied their present position since at least 1845. They are a visible reminder of one of the ways in which minor felons were punished from medieval times until the C19. The location of these stocks at a major crossroad in Bickerstaffe village is typical of the public setting in which such structures were positioned in order to give both maximum exposure to the miscreant and a warning to others of the penalties likely to be imposed for any wrongdoing.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 503011
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 11-Jun-2026 at 23:05:17.
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All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.