\n The nickname for the townsfolk of Westhoughton for time immemorial has been \u2018Cow heads\u2019 or \u2018Cow-yeds\u2019 in a Lancashire accent, a term which is steeped in folklore.\n<\/p>\n
\n The origin of the name comes from a legend that describes a farmer who found his cow with its head stuck in a new five barred gate, and, rather than damage the gate, he cut the cow\u2019s head off, as the cow cost less than the gate.\n<\/p>\n
\n The nickname has stuck fast and in subsequent years has bridged the generations.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now an statue of a horned cow, burnished in brushed gold, has been installed on Cricketers Way, alongside two other pieces of public art.\n<\/p>\n
\n Three pieces of public art have been installed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Happily, the impressive artwork portrays the cow with its head firmly attached to its body.\n<\/p>\n
\n The sporting past of the town is also marked with a cricket bat and wickets at the site of the old Westhoughton cricket club which was replaced by a Sainsbury\u2019s store.\n<\/p>\n
\n A greyhound represents the town\u2019s former dog track at nearby Hart Common<\/a>, now replaced by the Hewlett Way housing estate.\n<\/p>\n \n All three statues were paid for through Section 106 contributions which is money set aside by developers of Sainsbury\u2019s and other housing schemes to benefit the community.\n<\/p>\n \n Some of the funds were ring-fenced\u00a0for public art and the history of Westhoughton was chosen as the subject.\n<\/p>\n \n Admiring the statues on his way to the supermarket was Barrie Ashton, 78, who unhesitatingly\u00a0describes himself as a \u2018cow-yed\u2019.\n<\/p>\n \n It\u2019s definitely said \u2018cowyed\u2019 not \u2018cowhead\u2019 tha knows,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI don\u2019t take offence at the name, I think it\u2019s funny and affectionate and it goes back a long way. \u201cI remember saying it as a schoolboy and I still use it.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI was on the bus to Wigan the other week and a fella I know got on and called me a cow yed.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cHe\u2019s a Wiganer so I called him a \u2018pie eater\u2019, it was all in good spirits.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI think the sculpture<\/a>s look good. It does brighten up the area.\u201d\n<\/p>\n