Big Lottery backs PossAbilities Monkeytown Trail

PossAbilities

Heywood is set to have it’s own Monkeytown Trail thanks to a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Celebrate Fund.

Heywood based social enterprise PossAbilities are leading the project which will create a trail of nine monkeys around the town which will be launched next spring with a monkey themed parade around the trail.

PossAbilities Chief Executive Rachel Law said: “We want to celebrate all that is great about Heywood and bring people from all walks of life together in a creative endeavour. For some the Monkeytown tag has been seen as a negative. We want to turn it into a positive and really celebrate Heywood as a great place to be”.

Schools will be invited to adopt a monkey and work with artists to create a unique design for each one. The trail will take people on a three-mile walk in and around the town, beginning and ending at the Cherwell Wellbeing Garden & Farm.

Anyone that wants to get involved or know more about the Monkeytown Monkey Trail should email malcolm.mcclean@possabilities.org.uk

Heywood's nickname, Monkey Town, is known to date back to 1857. Bob Dobson in ‘Lancashire Nicknames & Sayings’ states that the nickname originated from Irish immigrants pronouncing ‘Heap Bridge’ as ‘Ape Bridge,' and believes that the name ‘Monkey Town’ derived from this. With the nickname came the stools with holes in them, supposedly for the monkey’s tails. In fact the holes were for carrying the stools.