Bickershaw is a hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

, effectively a suburb of Abram

Abram, Greater Manchester

Abram is a village and electoral ward within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat land on the northeast bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, west of Leigh, southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester...

, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...

, in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, England. With a population of 1,405, Bickershaw is 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southeast of Wigan.

Bickershaw was home to the Bickershaw Festival

Bickershaw festival

The Bickershaw festival was a rock festival held in Bickershaw, Greater Manchester, England between the 5–7 May 1972. Apart from the 1976-79 Deeply Vale Festivals, the Bickershaw festival was the only major north-west multi-day festival with camping...

, from 1972.

Today the village is the location of HMP Hindley

Hindley (HM Prison)

HM Prison Hindley is a male juvenile's prison, located in the village of Bickershaw in Greater Manchester, England. Hindley is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...

, a juvenile prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 and Young Offenders Institution serving the Greater Manchester area.