Whalley, Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°49′26″N 2°24′14″W / 53.824°N 2.404°W / 53.824; -2.404

Whalley /ˈhwɔːli/ is a large village in Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large picturesque wooded hill over the river from the village. The population of the civil parish was 2,645 at the 2001 Census increasing to 3,629 at the 2011 Census.

The main road through Whalley is King Street, which leads through to Clitheroe Road. Neighbouring Whalley are the small villages of Wiswell, Billington, Barrow, and Read. Close by is Downham village and Pendle Hill which was made famous in William Harrison Ainsworth's book "The Lancashire Witches".

Landmarks

Whalley Viaduct

Known locally as "Whalley Arches", Whalley Viaduct is a 48-span railway bridge crossing the River Calder and a listed structure.

It was built between 1846 and 1850 under the engineering supervision of Terrence Wolfe Flanagan and formed part of the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway. It is a red brick arch structure and the longest and largest railway viaduct in Lancashire. It carries the railway, now known as the Ribble Valley Line, 21.3m over the river for 620m.

Lancashire

Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/, /ˈlæŋkəʃɪər/ or, locally, [ˈɫaŋkɪʃə(ɻ)]; archaically the County Palatine of Lancaster; abbreviated Lancs.) is a county in north west England. Although Lancaster is still the county town, the county's administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles (3,080 km²). People from the county are known as Lancastrians.

The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century. In the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam was included in the returns for Cheshire. When its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire and Cheshire.

Lancashire emerged as a major commercial and industrial region during the Industrial Revolution. Manchester and Liverpool grew into its largest cities, dominating global trade and the birth of modern capitalism. The county contained several mill towns and the collieries of the Lancashire Coalfield. By the 1830s, approximately 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire.Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan were major cotton mill towns during this time. Blackpool was a centre for tourism for the inhabitants of Lancashire's mill towns, particularly during wakes week.

Lancashire (disambiguation)

Lancashire is a county in England.

Lancashire may also refer to:

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Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)

Lancashire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament, traditionally known as Knights of the Shire until 1832.

The ancient county of Lancashire covered a much larger area than the modern county of Lancashire. The county town of Lancaster was in the north of the county. The county boundary was further north beyond Carnforth and followed approximately the same boundary as the modern county. The old county of Lancashire also included land on the opposite side of Morecambe Bay. Barrow and Furness and the area between Lake Windermere and the River Duddon, and the area west of the River Winster were considered parts of Lancashire. Most of the modern district of Ribble Valley was at this time part of Yorkshire. In the south the county extended to the River Mersey and Liverpool and followed the Mersey and the River Tame to Ashton-under-Lyne. Most of the southern area of the ancient county now forms the modern metropolitan counties of Merseyside and Greater Manchester.