Ashton-in-Makerfield is a town in the metropolitan county Greater Manchester, England, and the historic county of Lancashire. It was originally known as Ashton-in-the-Willows and currently has a population of around 28,000 people.

The town of Ashton-in-Makerfield is a strong Labour seat and its local MP is Ian McCartney who was until the recent 2006 Cabinet Re-Shuffle, Labour Party Chairman and Minister without Portfolio. He is now the Minister of State for Trade and still is attending the Cabinet.

Ashton-in-Makerfield was made an urban district by the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, this district was split, with the South ward, containing Garswood and Downall Green, going to the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, and the rest going to the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester.

A market is held on the market square off Garswood Street on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The hand of St. Edmund Arrowsmith (1585 - 1628) is preserved as a relic in Saint Oswald's Roman Catholic Church, Liverpool Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield.

Towns in Greater Manchester

Ashton-in-Makerfield