Lancashire BMD is a better site to search for marriages on, because it will tell you who married who.

I was wondering if this could be the son of mary Barratt Richard marriage 1859 , to either annie barratt or Hannah cowgill it may give us a clue if mary still lived in Haslingden .

We can eliminate that one:

Name: William Walker
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 15 May 1862
Marriage Place: Salesbury, Lancashire , England
Father: Henry Walker
Spouse: Alice Broadley

yes so richard married hannah cowgill checked lancs bmd . if he is mary's son

Eliminated:

Name: William Walker
Gender: Male
Marital status: Single
Age: 50
Birth Date: 1817
Marriage Date: 25 Apr 1867
Marriage Place: Farnworth (Near Prescot), Lancashire, England
Father: William Walker
Spouse: Ann Tootill

Fathers details not given for either of these two, but they are both recorded as being aged 21, so too young:

Name: William Walker
Gender: Male
Marital status: Single
Age: 21
Birth Date: 1832
Marriage Date: 3 Apr 1853
Marriage Place: Wigan, Lancashire, England
Spouse: Elizabeth Rudd

Can't find the first of these two (could check LancsBMD to see if it's a registrar marriage) but the second one to Ann Makinson shows father Thomas Walker.

Sadly not, as this Richard's father was Thomas Barratt.

I think I found Richard Barrett jr the other day but didn't post the details - will have another look.

Yes, he married an Ellen Ireland in 1871 in Accrington - the "England Select Marriages" transcription on Ancestry says his father was Richard Barrett. That probably comes from FamilySearch. This is him on the 1871 census:

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageview...Bkingdom_84757

4 Lee Court, New Accrington
Richard Barrett Head Mar 20 Cotton Spinner Lancs Wigan
Ellen Do Wife Mar 20 Cotton Rover Do Preston.