Whittle-le-Woods

Whittle-le-Woods
Whittle-le-Woods
	The Roebuck public house
	Whittle-le-Woods Shown within Chorley Borough Whittle-le-Woods Location within Lancashire
Population	5,434 (2011 Census)
Demonym	Whittler
OS grid reference	SD577218
Civil parish	Whittle-le-Woods;
District	Chorley ;
Shire county	Lancashire ;
Region	North West ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHORLEY
Postcode district	PR6
Dialling code	01257; 01772
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Chorley ;
	List of places UK England Lancashire 53°41′28″N2°38′24″W / 53.691°N 2.640°W

Last updated January 23, 2025

Whittle-le-Woods (commonly shortened to Whittle) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 5,434.

Whittle-le-Woods lies on the A6, about three miles north of the town of Chorley, and to the south of the city of Preston. It is divided into two areas, the older part on the old coach road running through Waterhouse Green to Brindle and the more modern part on the A6 road where the church of St John is situated. In the north east is St Chad's RC Church and off the A6 is Shaw Hill Hotel, Golf and Country Club centred on the Shaw Hill Georgian mansion.

It has experienced much residential development during the last twenty years. This has established the village as a popular commuter area, as it lies close to Preston and between the M6 and M61 motorways.

Just over a mile to the east of the M61 is the hamlet of Whittle Springs, location of a famous spa which was founded in 1836 and which thousands of people visited from across the country.^[1] The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes a junction in the hamlet, where the south end of the Lancaster Canal formerly continued north to Walton Summit. This is also the start of a flight of locks called Johnson's Hillock Locks, which continue via Heapey and Wheelton in the direction of Blackburn.

Whittle is also known for fishing places, such as Lower Mill off Town Lane and Top Lock. Whittle has many public houses, and it is close to the Shaw Hill golf course on the A6.

Etymology

The village's name is attested from c. 1160 as Witul, deriving from the Old English hwit + hyll, meaning "white hill". The affix "-le-Woods" is a later addition, meaning "in the woodland".^[2]

Population and demographics

At the 2011 census, the civil parish has a population of 5,434,^[3] more than double its 1901 population of 2,333.^[4] In terms of ethnic composition, the current population is 97.0% white, 1.1% mixed race, 1.4% Asian, 0.3% black, and 0.1% other ethnic groups.^[3]

History

Whittle was on the map due to its sandstone quarries, mainly two large quarries on Hill Top Lane. Whittle Hill Quarry is one of the deepest quarries in North West England. These were fed by the canal which took stone that had been excavated to Walton Summit and Wigan.

Shaw Hill was the 18th century home of the Crosse family.^[5]

In 1841, Lady Susanna Hoghton of Astley Hall gave the Tithebarn Croft for the benefit of local people in need.^[5]

Lancaster Canal Southern End

Whittle-le-Woods was home to the Walton Summit Branch, a small 3-mile (5 km) stretch of canal, which was supposed to be part of the complete Lancaster Canal between Kendal and Westhoughton, near Wigan. Although it was never completed the two parts (i.e. North Section and South Section) were linked with a 'temporary' tram road. The tram road survived, and the canal did not. Originally, the canal passed through the Whittle Hills, east of the village itself, via a long tunnel, engineered by John Rennie.

The tunnel collapsed in the 1830s and was later split into two tunnels, East and West. Between though as a deep cutting which famously in the 1960s, an engineer from the British Rail and Waterways museum commented "have no problems matching the Shropshire Union canal". The canal was last used in the 1930s, although teenagers navigated the canal days before it was to be destroyed by the M61. Most of the canals bridges and tunnels remain, although they are in a poor condition.

Related Research Articles

Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, 8 miles (13 km) north of Wigan, 11 miles (18 km) south west of Blackburn, 11 miles (18 km) north west of Bolton, 12 miles (19 km) south of Preston and 20 miles (32 km) north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancaster Canal</span> Canal in Northwest England

The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria. The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, and much of the southern end leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, of which it is now generally considered part.

The A6 is one of the main north–south roads in England. It runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria, although it formerly started at a junction with the A1 at Barnet in north London, and is described as running from London to Carlisle.

The M61 is a motorway in North West England between Manchester and Preston, linking the M60 Manchester orbital motorway with the M6 motorway.

Adlington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, near the West Pennine Moors. It is 3 miles south of Chorley. It became a separate parish in 1842 then grew into a township around the textile and coal mining industries until these closed in the 1960s. It had a population of 5,270 at the 2001 census, and risen to 6,010 at the 2011 census. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs through the village, where it holds White Bear Marina, the largest marina on the Canal.

The Borough of Chorley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. It is named after the town of Chorley, which is an unparished area. The borough extends to several villages and hamlets including Adlington, Buckshaw Village, Croston, Eccleston, Euxton and Whittle-le-Woods.

Coppull is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is part of the Borough of Chorley, lies around 300 feet (91 m) above sea level. Its population is around 8,000, having been counted at 8,300 in the 2021Census. It is bounded by Whittle Brook, Clancutt Brook, the River Yarrow, Eller Brook, Hic-Bibi Brook and Stars Brook. Coppull is located between Chorley and Standish, Greater Manchester, to the east of the A49 road near Charnock Richard.

Euxton is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 9,993, however, the population is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to the increase in housing developments in the village, including the Buckshaw development. The village is situated just to the west of Chorley, and to the south of Clayton-le-Woods.

Clayton-le-Woods is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerden civil parish was included within Clayton-le-Woods, giving a total of 14,532.

Clayton Brook is a large residential estate in Lancashire, between the city of Preston and the town of Chorley. It forms part of the Clayton-le-Woods civil parish, and is in the Clayton-le-Woods North ward of the borough of Chorley.

Buckshaw Village is a 21st-century village and industrial area between the towns of Chorley and Leyland in Lancashire, England, developed on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Chorley. It had a population of 4,000. It is divided between the civil parishes of Euxton (south) and Whittle-le-Woods in Chorley, with the north western part being in Leyland unparished area in South Ribble district.

The Lancaster Canal Tramroad, also known as the Walton Summit Tramway or the Old Tram Road, was a British plateway, completed in 1803, to link the north and south ends of the Lancaster Canal across the Ribble valley, pending completion of the canal. The canal link was never constructed.

Chorley Interchange is a bus station in Chorley, England.

Heath Charnock is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 2,065, reducing to 2,026 at the 2011 Census.

Walton Summit is an industrial area between Clayton Brook and Bamber Bridge, near Preston in Lancashire, England. It is in the South Ribble district. It is near the M61, M65 and M6 motorways and has a short length of single carriageway motorway from the M65/M61 roundabout. Walton Summit also includes the smaller area of Seed Lee.

Shaw Hill is an 18th-century country house in Whittle-le-Woods, Lancashire, England, standing in 192 acres of parkland some 3 miles (5 km) north of Chorley. The estate is now the Shaw Hill Hotel, Golf Club and Country Club.

The Bolton and Preston Railway (B&PR) connected Bolton and Preston, in Lancashire, England. Its authorising act of Parliament forbade its early completion to protect the North Union Railway (NUR) and imposed other restrictions that limited the success of the B&PR. A change of route was authorised to bypass the delay making it dependent on the goodwill of the NUR to reach Preston. The NUR saw the B&PR as a competitor and used underhand tactics to harm the success of the B&PR.

Whittle-le-Woods is a civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. The parish contains 35 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish, which was formerly mainly rural, contains the village of Whittle-le-Woods, and agricultural land has been used for residential development in and around the village. Many of the listed buildings are, or originated as, farmhouses and farm buildings, some of which contain former loomshops that were used for the weaving industry. There are two former country houses and associated structures that are listed and which have been converted for other uses. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through the parish, as does the abandoned southern section of the Lancaster Canal; there are a number of listed structures associated with both of these. Also in the parish, and listed, are two churches and associated structures, smaller houses and cottages, a row of almshouses, a bridge over the River Lostock, a gun emplacement, and a public house.

References

↑ Jackson, J. "The Rise and Fall of Whittle Springs Brewery" . Retrieved 17 May 2023.
↑ Mills, A.D. (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9 . Retrieved 28 January 2019.
1 2 UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Whittle-le-Woods Parish (1170215010)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 2 February 2019.
↑ Farrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1911). "Townships: Whittle-le-Woods". A History of the County of Lancaster. 6. London: British History Online: 32–36. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
1 2 "Chorley A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6". British History Online. Victoria County History, 1911. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

External links

Whittle-le-Woods parish council

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Jackson, J. "The Rise and Fall of Whittle Springs Brewery" . Retrieved 17 May 2023.

[2] Mills, A.D. (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9 . Retrieved 28 January 2019.

[2011census-3] 1 2 UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Whittle-le-Woods Parish (1170215010)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 2 February 2019.

[BHO-4] Farrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1911). "Townships: Whittle-le-Woods". A History of the County of Lancaster. 6. London: British History Online: 32–36. Retrieved 2 February 2019.

[vch-5] 1 2 "Chorley A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6". British History Online. Victoria County History, 1911. Retrieved 22 January 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States