Firs Maternity Home, Leigh, Lancashire
I was born in Leigh at First Maternity Home in 1968 (13th October – Sunday).
Firs Farm existed in 1828 and was then bought in 1843 by John and William Hall. The Halls built Firs No. 1 Mill and as a result, many houses were built in the immediate area to accommodate the growing number of manual workers needed to work there.
About 1871, Ralph Tunnicliffe bought the Firs estate and by 1875 had built The Firs as his home. He built Firs No. 2 Mill and formed a joint stock company, Tunnicliffe and Hampson. Ralph died in 1880 and the estate was offered for sale, but it didn’t sell, despite the net income being over £3000.