Westhoughton is a small former mining and cotton town which lies between Bolton and Wigan. Originally, Westhoughton was called Westhalcton in 1240, and Westhalghton in 1327. Westhoughton is known locally as kaew yed city. A person from Westhoughton is a kaew yed. Kaew yed means cow head in the Lancashire dialect. There is a story told of an old farmer who lived in Westhoughton, one day as he gathered his cows for milking, he found one cow with its head stuck in a wooden gate. The farmer went home to his farm and returned with a saw, which he used to saw the cows head off !!!. People from surrounding towns saw this as an example of how stupid people from Westhoughton are. However what they did not realise was that the gate cost far more than the cow, and in those times the cow could still be sold for meat. People from Westhoughton are also called Howfeners and there is a pub in Bolton Road which has this name. The town crest for Westhoughton is a cows head.