Wiswell

Wiswell
Wiswell
	Wiswell village
	Wiswell Shown within Ribble Valley Wiswell Location within Lancashire
Population	967 (Parish 2011)
OS grid reference	SD745375
Civil parish	Wiswell;
District	Ribble Valley ;
Shire county	Lancashire ;
Region	North West ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CLITHEROE
Postcode district	BB7
Dialling code	01254
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Ribble Valley ;
	List of places UK England Lancashire 53°49′59″N2°23′17″W / 53.833°N 2.388°W

Last updated August 14, 2023

Wiswell is a small village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, close to Whalley and Clitheroe at the foot of Wiswell Moor.

Toponymy

The name Wiswell is commonly spoken as wizel. The true pronunciation is more like 'wize-well' consistent with the original spellings of "Wyswell" or "Wiswall". There are several theories about the origins of the name. It is said to take its name from Old Molly's Well, a local landmark, later to become known as Wise Woman's Well (Wise Well). Alternatively, 'Wis' could have been part of the name of an Old English personal name.^[6]

History

Governance

Wiswell was once a township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a civil parish in 1866, forming part of the Clitheroe Rural District from 1894 to 1974. Parts of the parish transferred to Sabden on its creation in 1904.^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[8] It has since become part of the borough of Ribble Valley. In 2015 Barrow was split from Wiswell to form a separate parish council.^[9]

Along with Barrow (since 2015), Pendleton, Mearley and Worston, the parish forms the Wiswell and Pendleton ward of Ribble Valley Borough Council. ^[10]^[11] The ward had a population of 1,289 in 2001,^[12] rising to 1,316 in 2011.^[13] The ward elects a single councillor, who currently is Robert Thompson of the Conservative Party.^[14]

Amenities

Today the village only boasts a pub/restaurant (Freemasons Arms) located on Vicarage Fold a pretty unadopted highway. However, there used to be a small corner shop, school and church; the names of each still stand on the original buildings but they are now prominent houses in the village.

The property in which the current pub operates was not originally designed as a public house. It was formerly three small cottages one of which was a freemasons' lodge, which is how it acquired its name. The original village pub, the Lamb Inn, was located adjacent to the public phone box, but no longer exists and is now known as Clegg House, a residence on the corner of Coronation Gardens. The Lamb Inn closed over 150 years ago and Wiswell was without a pub for some time as the Freemasons did not open until considerably later on.

Population

Towards the end of the 19th century about forty per cent of the people who lived in Wiswell left to live elsewhere. This was probably related to job losses (through the temporary closure of the Barrow mill) and significant employment opportunities elsewhere. The British census figures taken every ten years from 1801 to 1871 show the population changes.

The census uses the highway from Whalley to Pendleton to divide Wiswell into 'West' and 'East':

West: Wiswell township (part of) in the parish of Whalley. All that part of the township of Wiswell which lies on the Western side of the highway leading from the town of Whalley to the village of Pendleton and which passes through the town of Wiswell [and includes Barrow].

East: All that part of the township of Wiswell which lies on the Eastern side of the Highway leading from Whalley to Pendleton including Briggs farm, Busskens Hill, Wiswell Hall, Wiswell Eaves and the remaining cottages on the Eastern side of the Highway.

In the censuses from 1801 to 1841, the population rose sharply and stabilised between 1841 and 1851 at about 750 people. Following this the population declined sharply to about 420 in 1871.

The change in population in the 1850s was dramatic. It seems likely that the Barrow Print Works closed for a time after 1851 or at least significantly reduced its workforce. Notes in the 1861 census highlight "a decrease in the population of the Townships of Wiswell and Whalley which is attributed to the discontinuance of employment in the Printworks."

Related Research Articles

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West Bradford is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, 27 miles (43 km) west of the larger city of Bradford, West Yorkshire and 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Clitheroe. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 788. It covers some 2000 acres of the Forest of Bowland. In Domesday, it is recorded as Bradeford and in the thirteenth century, Braford in Bouland. It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. "West Bradford" was introduced in the nineteenth century at the time of the introduction of postal services to help distinguish the village from its larger eastern neighbour of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendleton, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

Pendleton is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, within the county of Lancashire, England. It is close to the towns of Whalley and Clitheroe. The parish lies on the north west side of Pendle Hill below the Nick o' Pendle. The village is just off the A59, Liverpool to York main road, since the construction of the Clitheroe By-Pass. Older roads through the parish include one from Clitheroe to Whalley which passes through the Standen area and another to Burnley which passes Pendleton Hall.

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Mearley is a civil parish in Lancashire, England. The parish is north-west of Pendle Hill, east of Clitheroe, and is in the Ribble Valley district. It is a small parish with no villages or hamlets and a population of 25, the second smallest in Lancashire, at the 2001 census. It has no parish council, but instead has a parish meeting shared with neighbouring Worston. From the 2011 Census population information for both Mearley and Worston is included within the civil parish of Pendleton, giving a total of 349. The eastern part of the parish is included in the Pendle outlier section of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawley, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

Sawley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 305 at the 2001 Census, rising to 345 at the 2011 census. It is situated north-east of Clitheroe, on the River Ribble. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Paythorne is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated alongside the River Ribble, north-east of Clitheroe, and on the boundary with North Yorkshire. Other parishes adjacent to Paythorne are Halton West, Nappa, Newsholme, Horton, Gisburn, Sawley, Bolton-by-Bowland and Gisburn Forest. The nearest town is Barnoldswick, situated 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south-east of the village. Paythorne is on the edge of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although only a small area in the west of the parish is within the area's boundary. The Ribble Way long-distance walk passes through the village.

Twiston is a village and a civil parish in the Ribble Valley District, in the English county of Lancashire. It is near the town of Clitheroe and the village of Downham. The parish is part of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It adjoins the Ribble Valley parishes of Downham and Rimington, and the Pendle parish of Barley-with-Wheatley Booth.

References

Notes

↑ The old township also shared a boundary with Read at Sabden Brook.^[7]

Citations

1 2 UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wiswell Parish (1170215139)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 24 February 2018.
↑ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Key Statistics Retrieved 2 September 2015
↑ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wiswell Built-up area (1119880186)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
↑ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Barrow (Ribble Valley) Built-up area (1119880035)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
↑ Forest of Bowland map (Map). forestofbowland.com. Lancashire County Council.
↑ Ekwall, Eilert (1922). The place-names of Lancashire. Manchester University Press. p. 77.
↑ Lancashire and Furness (Map) (1st ed.). 1 : 10,560. County Series. Ordnance Survey. 1848.
↑ "Wiswell Tn/CP through time". visionofbritain.org.uk. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
↑ "Council divides". Lancashire Telegraph. 1 April 2015. p. 17.
↑ "Wiswell and Pendleton". MARIO. Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
↑ "Wiswell and Pendleton". Ordnance Survey Linked Data Platform. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
↑ "Wiswell and Pendleton ward population 2001". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
↑ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wiswell and Pendleton 2011 Census Ward (1237324317)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
↑ "Councillors by Ward: Wiswell and Pendleton". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 March 2016.

External links

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[Sabden-8] The old township also shared a boundary with Read at Sabden Brook.^[7]

[2011parish-1] 1 2 UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wiswell Parish (1170215139)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 24 February 2018.

[2] Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Key Statistics Retrieved 2 September 2015

[3] UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wiswell Built-up area (1119880186)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2018.

[4] UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Barrow (Ribble Valley) Built-up area (1119880035)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2018.

[5] Forest of Bowland map (Map). forestofbowland.com. Lancashire County Council.

[6] Ekwall, Eilert (1922). The place-names of Lancashire. Manchester University Press. p. 77.

[7] Lancashire and Furness (Map) (1st ed.). 1 : 10,560. County Series. Ordnance Survey. 1848.

[9] "Wiswell Tn/CP through time". visionofbritain.org.uk. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 31 August 2015.

[10] "Council divides". Lancashire Telegraph. 1 April 2015. p. 17.

[11] "Wiswell and Pendleton". MARIO. Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 26 March 2016.

[12] "Wiswell and Pendleton". Ordnance Survey Linked Data Platform. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 March 2016.

[13] "Wiswell and Pendleton ward population 2001". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 March 2016.

[14] UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Wiswell and Pendleton 2011 Census Ward (1237324317)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 24 February 2018.

[15] "Councillors by Ward: Wiswell and Pendleton". Ribble Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 26 March 2016.

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