Hurst Green, Lancashire
Encyclopedia
Hurst Green is a small village in the Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley
Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe. Other places include Whalley, Longridge and Ribchester. The area is so called due to the River Ribble which flows in its final stages...

 district of Lancashire, England, connected in its history to the Jesuit school, Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...

. The village is 5 miles (8 km) from Longridge
Longridge
Longridge is a small town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. Its nearest neighbours are Grimsargh and the Roman town of Ribchester , ...

 and 4 miles (6 km) from Clitheroe
Clitheroe
Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is 1½ miles from the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. It has a population of 14,697...

, and is close to the River Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...

, near its junction with the River Hodder
River Hodder
The River Hodder is a river in Lancashire, England. The river is a County Biological Heritage Site.It rises on White Hill and flows for approximately 23 miles to the River Ribble, of which it is the largest tributary...

.

History

With the founding of Stonyhurst Hall
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...

, by Richard Shireburn in 1592, the hamlet of Hurst Green (about a mile away) began to develop, as often happens with the building of Manor Houses. The hamlet’s development continued, once the College was founded in 1794, and by the early 20th Century, the village was about the size it is now (approximately 500 residents)

There is a distinctive war memorial to World Wars I and II bearing the names of the soldiers who died from the area. This is situated near the village 'green'. At the other side of the green stands the prominent St Peter's Guild club - a catholic social club which has existed for well over 200years.

Shireburn donated the impressive and distinctive Alms Houses to the village. These Alms Houses were originally based on Longridge Fell
Longridge Fell
Longridge Fell is a fell near the English town of Longridge, Lancashire. It lies within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As its name suggests, it takes the form of a long ridge which rises in a northeasterly direction from the town of Longridge to its summit 4.5 miles distant...

 but moved to Avenue Road.

The presence of at least 2 old bobbin mills bear witness to the cottage-industry that was once here. However, this is a community that mainly thrives on farming and tourism - with some people working at the local schools and many more commuting to local towns.

In the 1970s the village had three shops, but these have gone over the last few years and Hurst Green now has no shops, but there remains a thriving sense of community, often centred around the large village hall, the churches, the pubs & St Peter's club, and the football club.

Hotels and public houses

The village has a number of hotels and public houses, partly to cater for the large number of visitors.

Public Houses
  • Punchbowl Inn
  • Bayley Arms (named after a local family)
  • Shireburn Arms (named after the Shireburn family who built and lived at Stonyhurst)
  • Eagle & Child (named after the Eagle towers of Stonyhurst College)


Hotels
  • Punchbowl Inn
  • Bayley Arms
  • Shireburn Arms
  • Numerous Bed & Breakfasts


Famous people from Hurst Green

Will Greenwood
Will Greenwood
William John Heaton "Will" Greenwood, MBE is an English former rugby union footballer of the 1990s and 2000s.-Career:...

 - England World Cup winning Rugby Union Player was brought up on Smithy Row, Hurst Green (by Sue and Dick Greenwood
Dick Greenwood
John Richard Heaton Greenwood is a former rugby union international flanker, captain of Waterloo, Cambridge University, Lancashire and England as well as national coach...

... the latter also an England Rugby international)

Transport links

For a small rural village, the bus service remains good, connecting Hurst Green to both Longridge and Clitheroe, running in each direction approximately 7 times a day, at two hourly intervals, as at summer 2011.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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