Hoddlesden is a village in the unitary

Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...

 borough of Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of Blackburn, the small town of Darwen to the south of it, and the surrounding countryside.-Formation:...

, in 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. The village has a population of approximately 1,300. It is in the borough's East Rural ward, and is situated east of Darwen

Darwen

Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...

. To the north there are the parishes

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Eccleshill

Eccleshill, Lancashire

Eccleshill is a civil parish in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It contains the hamlets of Eccleshill, Grimshaw and Waterside. Located within the parish is Shaws of Darwen, a manufacturer of sinks and architectural terracotta...

 and Yate and Pickup Bank

Yate and Pickup Bank

Yate and Pickup Bank is a civil parish in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. The parish contains two hamlets, Bank Fold and Pickup Bank, and part of the village of Belthorn, which is on the boundary with Hyndburn. It has boundaries with the parish of Eccleshill to the...

, to the east there is Haslingden Grane

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...

, 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,...

, and to the south-west there is Blacksnape, a small 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...

.

Although the village is now a residential area, with its residents commuting to places such as the nearby towns of Blackburn and Darwen

Darwen

Darwen is a market town and civil parish located within Lancashire, England. Along with its northerly neighbour, Blackburn, it forms the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen — a unitary authority area...

, in the 19th and early 20th century, local industries included 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...

 and coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

.

Between 1901 and 1936 the village was also on a tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 route operated by the local authorities of the two towns. Hoddlesden was also served by a railway line, a branch of the Ribble Valley Line

Ribble Valley Line

The Ribble Valley Line is a railway line that runs from Manchester Victoria through Blackburn to the small market town of Clitheroe in Lancashire. Regular passenger services normally only run as far as Clitheroe, but occasional passenger services run along the line through north Lancashire towards...

 north of Darwen. The line, opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...

 in 1876, only had goods trains, as petitions by local residents for a passenger service were unsuccessful. The section that served Hoddlesden closed in 1950.

A mill was operated by Vernon Carus, a manufacturer of healthcare products, until 2003. There have been plans to convert it into apartments, however in 2008 the building was destroyed in a fire.

External links

• http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageID=1259 Coal mining in Hoddlesden