Rishton
| Rishton | |
 Rishton High Street |
|
  Rishton |
|
| Population | 7,350 (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SD725305 |
| District | Hyndburn |
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BLACKBURN |
| Postcode district | BB1 |
| Dialling code | 01254 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Hyndburn |
|
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Coordinates: 53°46′12″N 2°25′07″W / 53.770110°N 2.418703°W
Rishton is a township in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, about 2 miles (3 km) west of Clayton-le-Moors and 4 miles (6 km) north-east of Blackburn. It was an urban district from about 1894 to 1974. It is now a ward of Hyndburn and the population at the 2011 census was 6,625.[2]
Rishton was the first place that the cloth calico was woven on an industrial scale. Its name means "village (or farmstead) where rushes grow".[3][4]
Geography
Rishton is situated in an area of low moorland north-east of Blackburn and north-west of Accrington. Its elevation above sea level varies from 250 feet (76 m) in the east, where Norden Brook flows into the River Hyndburn, to 785 feet (239 m) on Rishton Height, north-west of the town.[5]
Geology
0.7 Miles from the town is a former sandstone quarry known locally as Star Delph Quarry,Its use as a sandstone quarry ended in 1897. Part of the quarry contains rocks formed around 314–315 Million Years ago in the Carboniferous Period, These rocks contain an Imprint from where the roots of a Lepidonendron Tree which are known as Stigmaria. This quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and so it is protected by law with those that damage the site facing fines. The exposed rock layers are Fletcher Bank Grit, this is a subgroup of the Millstone Grit.
Schools
There are three primary schools in Rishton: St. Peter and St. Paul's Church of England Primary School, St. Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School and Rishton Methodist Primary School. There is also one high school: Norden High School and Sports College.
Population
The 2001 census recorded a population of 7350, in 2,973 households. 97% of the population were in the White British ethnic group.[1][6]
Local government
The two tiers of local government are Hyndburn Borough Council (a non-metropolitan district with borough status) and Lancashire County Council. Prior to the creation of Hyndburn district in 1974, Rishton had been an urban district, with its own council. It is not within a civil parish.
Leisure and tourism
The facilities at Cutwood Park, between Blackburn Road and the reservoir include a football pitch and a children's playground.[7]
Local pubs/clubs
- The Rishton Arms, at the end of Station Road and locally known as The Station because of its proximity to the railway station.
- The Roebuck inn, High Street
- Walmsley Arms, High Street
- The Conservative Club, Cliff Street
- Free Gardeners Working Men's Club, Parker Street
- Rishton Sports & Social Club, Walmsley Street (re-opened December 2010, formerly the Legion Working Men's Club, closed down October 2009, closed again early 2012)
- Rishton Workmen's Club, Commercial Street
Sport
Cricket
Rishton has over the years been famous for its cricket team, based at Rishton Cricket Club. Notable professionals who have played for the club include Viv Richards in 1987. Other former professional include, former England Coach Duncan Fletcher, Sky Sports' very own Michael Holding former West Indies international, Aussie fast bowler Jason Gillespie, former South African cricket captain Allan Donald and Sri Lankan right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler Kumar Dharmasena.
Sailing
Sailing has taken place on Rishton Reservoir since the start of the 20th century.[8] East Lancashire Sailing Club is based at the reservoir, and is a RYA Recognised Training Centre.
Golf
Rishton Golf Club is located off Petre Crescent and is a 9-hole course.
Churches
- Rishton Christian Fellowship, Commercial Street.
- Rishton Baptist Church, Commercial Street[9]
- Rishton Methodist Church, Albert Street[9]
- St Charles Borromeo RC Church, St Charles Road[10]
- St Peter and St Paul Church (Anglican), Blackburn Road[11][12]
- Primitive Methodist Church, School Street[13]
- United Methodist Church, Mary Street[13]
Transport
The main road through Rishton is the A678 Blackburn to Burnley road; there is also the B6535 (formerly A6064), which connects the town to Great Harwood.[14] In 1997, the Blackburn Southern By-pass section of the M65 motorway opened, bypassing the A678.[15]
In the 19th century, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was a major transport route in the area. The section of the canal through Rishton was completed in 1810.[16] Rishton Reservoir, which provides water to the canal, was built in 1828.[17] The East Lancashire Railway, which was opened in 1848, crossed the reservoir on a viaduct until 1858; it is now on an embankment.[18]
Rishton railway station, south-west of the town centre, is on the East Lancashire Line. As of 2008 the route is operated by Northern Rail, and consists of one train per hour between Blackpool South and Colne. Bus services are more frequent, and include the Hyndburn Circular routes and Route 152, both operated by Blackburn Bus Company.
Notable people
- Martin Dobson – Burnley and Everton F.C. footballer
- Ernest Marsden – assistant to Ernest Rutherford
- Brett Ormerod – Blackpool footballer
- Hardy Falconer Parsons – winner of the Victoria Cross,
- George Tomlinson – Education Minister to Clement Attlee's Government and MP for the Farnworth constituency in Bolton[19]
- Christine Walkden – gardener
- Mark Felix – strongman
See also
References
- 1 2 "2001 Census: Key Statistics: Key Figures: Area: Rishton (ward)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Hyndburn population 2011". Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ Mills, A.D. (2011) [first published 1991]. A Dictionary of British Place Names (First edition revised 2011 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 391. ISBN 9780199609086.
- ↑ Simpson, David (2002). Northern roots: who we are, where we came from and why we speak the way we do. Sunderland: Business Education Publishers. ISBN 978-1-901888-35-5. OCLC 59292921.
- ↑ "Townships: Rishton, A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6". University of London & History of Parliament Trust. 1911. pp. 344–348. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
- ↑ "2001 Census: Key Statistics: Ethnic Group (KS06): Area: Rishton (ward)". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Hyndburn Life: Cutwood Park". Hyndburn Life. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
- ↑ Clarke, Mike (2003). The Leeds & Liverpool Canal : a history and guide. Lancaster: Carnegie Publishing. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-85936-013-2. OCLC 54881773.
- 1 2 Watkinson, David (18 June 2007). "Three arrested over church vandalism". Lancashire telegraph.
- ↑ stringer, phil. "St Charles Borromeo, Rishton – Roman Catholic". Genuki UK & Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ↑ Blackburn Diocese: WHALLEY Deanery
- ↑ GENUKI: St Peter and St Paul Church of England, Rishton, Lancashire genealogy
- 1 2 GENUKI: Rishton, Lancashire genealogy
- ↑ "Ordnance Survey New Popular Edition Map: Sheet 095". Ordnance Survey. 1947.
- ↑ Yeadon, Harry L. (2005). The Motorway Achievement: Building the Network: The North West of England. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-1-86077-352-5.
- ↑ Clarke, Mike (2003). The Leeds & Liverpool Canal : a history and guide. Lancaster: Carnegie Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-85936-013-2. OCLC 54881773.
- ↑ Clarke, Mike. "The Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Hyndburn" (PDF). Hyndburn Borough Council.
- ↑ Clarke, Mike (2003). The Leeds & Liverpool Canal : a history and guide. Lancaster: Carnegie Publishing. pp. 161, 191. ISBN 978-1-85936-013-2. OCLC 54881773.
- ↑ Ruth follows in George's steps
External links
Media related to Rishton at Wikimedia Commons