Haslingden
Encyclopedia
Haslingden is a small town in Rossendale
, Lancashire
, England. It is 19 miles (30.6 km) north of Manchester
. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough
, but following local government reorganisation
in 1974 it became part of the Borough of Rossendale
. In 1831 there was a population of 7,776.
Haslingden is the birthplace of the composer Alan Rawsthorne
(1905-1971) and the Manchester City and England
footballer Colin Bell
(b.1946), was the home for many years of the Irish Republican leader, Michael Davitt
(1846-1906), and Haslingden Cricket Club is a member of the noteworthy Lancashire League.
and beyond that Bacup
were part of the Forest of Blackburnshire, that part being the Forest of Rossendale. The Forest was a hunting park during the late 13th and 14th centuries; 'Forest' referred to it being parkland rather than being heavily wooded, as the forest declined much earlier, during the Neolithic period.
Haslingden grew from a market town (a market was established in 1676) and later a coaching station to a significant industrial borough during the period of the Industrial Revolution
. In particular with the mechanisation of the wool
and cotton
spinning
and weaving
industries from the 18th to the 19th centuries, and with the development of watermills, and later steam power.
Haslingden was incorporated as a municipal borough
in 1891. In the 20th century the population declined from 19,000 in the 1911 census to 15,000 in the 1971 census. The 2001 census recorded a population of 16,849 living in the town.
) was exported throughout the country in the 19th century with the opening up of the rail network. It was used in the paving of London
, including Trafalgar Square
.
Flagstone is a type of sedimentary rock, relatively easy to split or quarry in slabs, and hence ideal for paving. Locally it is also used for making fences and roofing. There are Upper and Lower Haslingden Flagstones and the name is given to layers of the stone that appear throughout the area (not only in Haslingden) although the most spectacular examples are in the Rossendale valley.
In more recent times , Camfil farr have become the biggest employer in the town. From humble beginnings in 1971 as Automet filtration the air filtration manufacturer has grown organically and by acqusition by Camfil Farr group in 1997. Today Camfil Farr occupy a large site on Knowsley Road and employ in excess of 200 people.
to the monks of Stanlaw granted them the parish of Whalley. The church is considered to be the highest parish church above sea level in England. When they later took possession and had a valuation of its assets done, they recorded at Haslingden one of the parish's seven independent chapelries. Beside the Memorial Gardens, the Manchester Road Methodist Church is a classic building with an Italian-inspired interior.
es and temperance movement
'. It was bought by the town council in 1898 but is now largely unused.
Used for 50 or more years by Rossendale Amateur Operatic Society, and other local groups, the hall was closed by Rossendale Council in 2005 after an audit commission found them to be the worst council in the country and this was shown in the published league tables of the time.
The hall has since been sold by the council to a group representing the Asian heritage community and is in the process of being turned into a mosque (2009/ 2010).
The public hall was once a venue of Winston Churchill
during his early political career. Emmeline Pankhurst
once addressed the people of Haslingden from the stage and, after the Battle of the Somme in 1916, it was a temporary hospital for the survivors of the Accrington Pals
who were sent home for treatment.
is a specialist arts ,maths and computing college
. Haslingden Primary School was last inspected by Ofsted
on 4 November 2010 and received a grading of 'Good' with 'Outstanding' features.
and Bury
by railway (Rush, 1983). The East Lancashire Railway built a station here, which remained open under British Railways until the 1960s, when the line was closed due to the Beeching Report (Wells and Bentley, 2000). Much of the trackbed of the railway is no longer visible, with the A56 by-pass built over it between Grane Road and Blackburn Road, however, the line can still be traced through Helmshore
towards Stubbins
where several magnificent viaducts still remain. The East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society was originally established at Helmshore Station in the mid 1960s with the aim of reopening the railway line to Stubbins, the project was abandoned with the organisation relocating to Bury in the 1970s and eventually reopening the Rawtenstall to Bury line.
to sample the handmade pies which are still made to the original 1920s recipe. Allpine Beds Centre, the largest bed retailer in lancashire, stockists of Burgess beds, the oldest bed makers in Britain are found on Warner Street. To the north of the town is the Holland's Pies
factory, and Winfield's, a large warehouse-style retail development selling footwear and clothing, and promoting itself as a family day out. Haslingden's War Memorial is unusual in that it has no names recorded on it. To the northeast there is a 2kw digital television transmitter serving a wide area.
to the east of Haslingden. These moors are divided into Oswaldtwistle Moor and Haslingden Moor. The area forms part of the West Pennine Moors
. Plans were made in 2007 to build a wind farm
consisting of twelve wind turbines on the moors. This attracted both support and opposition, but the plan was approved by councillors in 2010. Further developments have yet to take place, and the plan remains controversial.
The nearby Snighole
(eel-hole) in Helmshore
is a well-known beauty spot. The Grane Valley
including three reservoirs to the west of the town is popular with walkers.
Victoria Park has a bowling green
, children's playground
, skateboard park and ball court. The top of the park affords views of Musbury Hill.
artwork which opened in 2007 and is sited in the hills above Haslingen as the centrepiece of a reclaimed landscape. It glows at night and is an unusual landmark, with an impressive viewpoint.
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England. It is 19 miles (30.6 km) north of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
, but following local government reorganisation
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
in 1974 it became part of the Borough of Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
. In 1831 there was a population of 7,776.
Haslingden is the birthplace of the composer Alan Rawsthorne
Alan Rawsthorne
Alan Rawsthorne was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex.-Career:...
(1905-1971) and the Manchester City and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer Colin Bell
Colin Bell
Colin Bell MBE , is a former English football player who was born in Hesleden, County Durham, England. Nicknamed "The King of the Kippax" , and Nijinsky after the famous racehorse , Bell is widely regarded as Manchester City's greatest ever player...
(b.1946), was the home for many years of the Irish Republican leader, Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt was an Irish republican and nationalist agrarian agitator, a social campaigner, labour leader, journalist, Home Rule constitutional politician and Member of Parliament , who founded the Irish National Land League.- Early years :Michael Davitt was born in Straide, County Mayo,...
(1846-1906), and Haslingden Cricket Club is a member of the noteworthy Lancashire League.
History
Part of what is now Haslingden, along with that of the neighbouring towns of RawtenstallRawtenstall
Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...
and beyond that Bacup
Bacup
Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
were part of the Forest of Blackburnshire, that part being the Forest of Rossendale. The Forest was a hunting park during the late 13th and 14th centuries; 'Forest' referred to it being parkland rather than being heavily wooded, as the forest declined much earlier, during the Neolithic period.
Haslingden grew from a market town (a market was established in 1676) and later a coaching station to a significant industrial borough during the period of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. In particular with the mechanisation of the wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
spinning
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
and weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
industries from the 18th to the 19th centuries, and with the development of watermills, and later steam power.
Haslingden was incorporated as a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
in 1891. In the 20th century the population declined from 19,000 in the 1911 census to 15,000 in the 1971 census. The 2001 census recorded a population of 16,849 living in the town.
Industrial
Haslingden is notable for its stone quarrying, and Haslingden Flag (a quartz-based sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
) was exported throughout the country in the 19th century with the opening up of the rail network. It was used in the paving of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, including Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
.
Flagstone is a type of sedimentary rock, relatively easy to split or quarry in slabs, and hence ideal for paving. Locally it is also used for making fences and roofing. There are Upper and Lower Haslingden Flagstones and the name is given to layers of the stone that appear throughout the area (not only in Haslingden) although the most spectacular examples are in the Rossendale valley.
In more recent times , Camfil farr have become the biggest employer in the town. From humble beginnings in 1971 as Automet filtration the air filtration manufacturer has grown organically and by acqusition by Camfil Farr group in 1997. Today Camfil Farr occupy a large site on Knowsley Road and employ in excess of 200 people.
Churches
Haslingden's Anglican parish church, St. James', was built in the 18th century on a site occupied by a church building since at least 1284. In that year a deed of gift of the Earl of LincolnEarl of Lincoln
Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First Creation :*William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Lincoln and 1st Earl of Arundel Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Lincoln, First...
to the monks of Stanlaw granted them the parish of Whalley. The church is considered to be the highest parish church above sea level in England. When they later took possession and had a valuation of its assets done, they recorded at Haslingden one of the parish's seven independent chapelries. Beside the Memorial Gardens, the Manchester Road Methodist Church is a classic building with an Italian-inspired interior.
The Public Hall
The Public Hall was opened in 1868 and built by a private company formed by 'gentlemen representing the working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
es and temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
'. It was bought by the town council in 1898 but is now largely unused.
Used for 50 or more years by Rossendale Amateur Operatic Society, and other local groups, the hall was closed by Rossendale Council in 2005 after an audit commission found them to be the worst council in the country and this was shown in the published league tables of the time.
The hall has since been sold by the council to a group representing the Asian heritage community and is in the process of being turned into a mosque (2009/ 2010).
The public hall was once a venue of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
during his early political career. Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement which helped women win the right to vote...
once addressed the people of Haslingden from the stage and, after the Battle of the Somme in 1916, it was a temporary hospital for the survivors of the Accrington Pals
Accrington Pals
The Accrington Pals was a British First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Accrington in Lancashire. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 11th Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment.Recruiting was initiated by...
who were sent home for treatment.
Schools
The Wesleyan School formerly on the site of the current health centre was the first site in the world to introduce standardised intelligence tests for five to six year olds. Haslingden High SchoolHaslingden High School
Haslingden High School is a secondary school located in Haslingden, Rossendale, England. The school has been awarded dual specialist status as an Arts College, Mathematics and Computing College...
is a specialist arts ,maths and computing college
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
. Haslingden Primary School was last inspected by Ofsted
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
on 4 November 2010 and received a grading of 'Good' with 'Outstanding' features.
The library
Originally Haslingden Mechanics' Institute and opened in 1860, it became the public library in 1905. A blue plaque commemorates Michael Davitt. The young Davitt migrated to Haslingden with his family to escape the effects of the 1840s Irish Potato Famine. He began working in a cotton mill but at the age of 11 his right arm was entangled in a cogwheel and mangled so bad it had to be amputated. When he recovered from his operation a local benefactor, John Dean, helped to give him an education. He also started night classes at the Mechanics' Institute and used its library. Michael Davitt's family home from 1867-1870 on Wilkinson Street is now marked by a memorial plaque.Railway
Haslingden was once connected to AccringtonAccrington
Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
and Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
by railway (Rush, 1983). The East Lancashire Railway built a station here, which remained open under British Railways until the 1960s, when the line was closed due to the Beeching Report (Wells and Bentley, 2000). Much of the trackbed of the railway is no longer visible, with the A56 by-pass built over it between Grane Road and Blackburn Road, however, the line can still be traced through Helmshore
Helmshore
Helmshore is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated south of Haslingden, broadly between the A56 and the B6235, approximately 16 miles north of Manchester.- Early history :...
towards Stubbins
Stubbins
Stubbins is an industrial village in the southern part of the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire.It is half a mile north of Ramsbottom town centre on the A676 between Bolton and Edenfield. For local government purposes, it receives services from Rossendale Borough Council and Lancashire County Council...
where several magnificent viaducts still remain. The East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society was originally established at Helmshore Station in the mid 1960s with the aim of reopening the railway line to Stubbins, the project was abandoned with the organisation relocating to Bury in the 1970s and eventually reopening the Rawtenstall to Bury line.
Other notable places
The town centre is home to the famous Big Lamp originally erected in 1841 and from where all distances in Haslingden are measured, although the original lamp has been replaced by a replica, the original being lost after being taken to America. Cissy Green's Bakery can be found on Deardengate. People visit from across LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
to sample the handmade pies which are still made to the original 1920s recipe. Allpine Beds Centre, the largest bed retailer in lancashire, stockists of Burgess beds, the oldest bed makers in Britain are found on Warner Street. To the north of the town is the Holland's Pies
Holland's Pies
Holland's Pies is a manufacturer of pies and puddings based in Baxenden, near Accrington in Lancashire, England. Owned by Northern Foods, the company also produce pasties, sausage rolls and pork pies.- History :...
factory, and Winfield's, a large warehouse-style retail development selling footwear and clothing, and promoting itself as a family day out. Haslingden's War Memorial is unusual in that it has no names recorded on it. To the northeast there is a 2kw digital television transmitter serving a wide area.
Beauty spots
There is an extensive area of moorlandMoorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
to the east of Haslingden. These moors are divided into Oswaldtwistle Moor and Haslingden Moor. The area forms part of the West Pennine Moors
West Pennine Moors
The West Pennine Moors cover an area of approximately of moorland and reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.The West Pennine Moors are separated from the main Pennine range by the Irwell Valley. The moorland includes Withnell, Anglezarke and Rivington Moors in the extreme west,...
. Plans were made in 2007 to build a wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
consisting of twelve wind turbines on the moors. This attracted both support and opposition, but the plan was approved by councillors in 2010. Further developments have yet to take place, and the plan remains controversial.
The nearby Snighole
Snighole
Snighole is a local beauty spot situated in the valley of the River Ogden in the Lancashire village of Helmshore, near Haslingden in the Rossendale Valley...
(eel-hole) in Helmshore
Helmshore
Helmshore is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated south of Haslingden, broadly between the A56 and the B6235, approximately 16 miles north of Manchester.- Early history :...
is a well-known beauty spot. The Grane Valley
Haslingden Grane
thumb|right|300px|Lower Ogden Reservoir from Musbury HeightsHaslingden Grane is a glaciated valley lying to the west of Haslingden and in the north east of the West Pennine Moors. It is easily accessible via the B6232/A6077 Grane Road which links to the M65 motorway and the A56...
including three reservoirs to the west of the town is popular with walkers.
Victoria Park has a bowling green
Bowling green
A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...
, children's playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
, skateboard park and ball court. The top of the park affords views of Musbury Hill.
The Halo
The Halo is a PanopticonPanopticons
Panopticons is an arts and regeneration project of the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network managed by Mid Pennine Arts. It involved the construction of series of 21st-century landmarks, or Panopticons , across East Lancashire, England, as symbols of the renaissance of the area...
artwork which opened in 2007 and is sited in the hills above Haslingen as the centrepiece of a reclaimed landscape. It glows at night and is an unusual landmark, with an impressive viewpoint.
Notable residents
- Sir Rhodes BoysonRhodes BoysonSir Rhodes Boyson is a British educator, author and politician and a former Conservative Member of Parliament for Brent North...
, former Conservative Minister in Mrs Thatcher's government, former Councillor on Haslingden Borough Council, and former Head Teacher of Lea Bank County Secondary Modern School, Rawtenstall. - Michael DavittMichael DavittMichael Davitt was an Irish republican and nationalist agrarian agitator, a social campaigner, labour leader, journalist, Home Rule constitutional politician and Member of Parliament , who founded the Irish National Land League.- Early years :Michael Davitt was born in Straide, County Mayo,...
- in 2006 a revamped memorial to Davitt was unveiled by the Irish President Mary McAleeseMary McAleeseMary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
in Wilkinson Street as part of the Davitt centenary celebrations. - Beryl InghamBeryl InghamBeryl Ingham was a champion clogdancer and actress, as well as the wife of singer/actor George Formby, Jr.....
, wife and manager of George Formby - The IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Vinoo Mankad played for the town's Lancashire League cricket team. - Dave PearsonDave Pearson (painter)Dave Pearson, , was an English painter and educator who was "a great example of an artist whose life was completely dedicated to serving the imagination". Highly prolific, throughout his life he produced a prodigious quantity of work.- Life :Dave Pearson was born in Clapton, London in 1937...
, painter. - Alan RawsthorneAlan RawsthorneAlan Rawsthorne was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex.-Career:...
- West Indies and Lancashire C.C.C. cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Clive LloydClive LloydClive Hubert Lloyd CBE AO is a former West Indies cricketer. He captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and oversaw their rise to become the dominant Test-playing nation, a position that was only relinquished in the latter half of the 1990s...
also played for Haslingden in the early days of his career. - Robert Scott VC
- Choppy WarburtonChoppy WarburtonJames Edward 'Choppy' Warburton was an English record-breaking runner and a cycling coach. His career in cycling has frequent claims that he drugged riders to make them ride faster.-Origins:...
(1845-1897) born in Coal Hey, just off Lower Deardengate, was a record-breaking runner and a cycling coach. There are frequent claims that he drugged riders to make them ride faster.