Whalley, Lancashire
Coordinates: 53°49′27″N 2°24′15″W / 53.824088°N 2.404050°W
| Whalley | |
 Whalley
Whalley shown within Lancashire |
|
| Population | 2,645 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SD735365 |
| 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 |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Ribble Valley |
| List of places: UK • England • Lancashire | |
Whalley (
/ˈwɔːli/) is a large village in the 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 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".[2]
Contents |
[edit] Landmarks
[edit] 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 supervison of Terrence Wolfe Flanagan. It is a red brick arch stucture and the longest and largest railway viaduct in Lancashire.[3] It carried the Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway 21.3m over the river for 620m.
Over 7 million bricks and 12,338 cubic metres of stone were used in construction. 3,000m of timber were used for the arch centring, temporary platforms and the permanent foundation piles. During construction on 6 October 1849, two of the 41 arches then completed collapsed, with the loss of three lives.
The east side of the bridge, nearest the remains of the Abbey, has the only decorative treatment.[4]
[edit] Whalley Abbey
The village has the ruins of Whalley Abbey, a 14th century Cistercian abbey. The monks of Whalley described the site of their abbey beneath Whalley Nab on the banks of the Calder as locus benedictus - a blessed place Whalley Abbey.
[edit] Other places of interest
The parish church of St Mary and All Saints dates to 628 in the period when St. Paulinus was said to have preached at Whalley. The church has a large number of notable misericords - eighteen 15th century and four Victorian, the former known to have originated at Whalley Abbey. The church-yard has three Anglo-Saxon crosses [1].
A Roman Catholic church, The English Martyrs, lies near the Abbey. Until the 1980s there was a girls' boarding school called Whiteacre. The village has a total of 23 listed buildings at Grade I, II* and II.
[edit] Calder's waterfall and isles
The River Calder has a man-made weir section at Whalley, which supposedly allowed the monks of Whalley Abbey to collect water easily. It has been suggested that was one of the main reasons for the abbey being built where it was. The river here has two small islands made of pebbles and rocks. The Dam/weir was built to guide water to a channel,that fed a water wheel in the Corn Mill,(there is a sluice gate where the dam meets the channel, this turns the wheel on and off) this gave power to grind the various products (Wheat, Barley etc.). The power to the Mill was all belt driven through a pulley system. The Mill has now been transformed into condominiums, but you can still see the remains of the wheel through an opening at the back of the building.
[edit] Shops and amenities
Whalley has many independent shops, hairdressers, numerous take-aways and estate agents, a SPAR minimarket, Lloyds Pharmacy and wine shop. Barclays Bank has a branch on the main street. The centre of the town is dominated by four pubs - The Dog, The Whalley Arms, The Swan Hotel (established in 1780) and The DeLacy Arms. There is also a small club named Rendezvous (Rio's) and a public library,[5] doctors' surgery and an adult learning centre.
Whalley is home to the Calderstones Partnership NHS Mental Health Trust. The hospital was founded in 1915 as "Queen Mary's Military Hospital". It then became "Whalley Asylum" and eventually, from 1929 to 1993, "Calderstones Hospital".[6]
[edit] Transport
There are hourly trains from the railway station to Blackburn and Manchester running over the dominant Whalley Viaduct. These are operated by Northern Rail
There are also frequent bus services to the surrounding Lancashire, North Yorkshire & Greater Manchester towns and cities including Accrington, Blackburn, Burnley, Bolton, Clitheroe, Darwen, Longridge, Skipton and Manchester from the village's central street and Whalley Bus Station. (Most bus services are operated by; Transdev in Lancashire, Holmeswood Coaches & M&M Coaches).
The small bus station consists of 3 stands for buses heading south; buses heading north towards Clitheroe and beyond use the bus stop located almost opposite, on King Street, the main street running through the village.
[edit] Sport
A local club staged speedway meetings at Dean's Pleasure Grounds in the late 1920s. The track was very small and only two riders were allowed to race at any one time. A contemporary photo shows the track on flat land adjacent to a river and the showground with a helter-skelter. Today there are sports facilities including tennis courts, football pitches, a bowling green and cricket ground. In 1867, Whalley hosted the first Roses Match between Lancashire County Cricket Club and Yorkshire County Cricket Club.[7]
[edit] Culture
Whalley Pickwick Night (named after the Charles Dickens novel The Pickwick Papers) is an event in December of each year with people in Victorian costume to raise funds for charity. The first event was in the 1980s as a late night (6pm–9 pm) Christmas shopping event, and in more recent years has since expanded with stalls, indoor events and a religious service.[8][9][10]
The town participates with the adjacent village of Billington in "Billington and Whalley Brass Band Club."
[edit] Gallery
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Anglo-Saxon cross in the churchyard of St Mary and All Saints parish church
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Second Anglo-Saxon cross in the churchyard
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Third Anglo-Saxon cross in the churchyard
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Whalley Arches, east side, detail
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Whalley Gateway from the west'
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Whalley Gateway from the east
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Terrace Row, Grade II listed
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The Swan Hotel
[edit] References
- ^ Office for National Statistics - 2001 Census Data, accessed 10 January 2011
- ^
- The Lancashire Witches at Project Gutenberg (1849)
- ^ Engineering Timelines - Whalley Viaduct
- ^ The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Vol 1, 1969, J. Marshall, David and Charles, Newton Abbot
- ^ "Welcome to the Library and Information Service web site - Whalley Home Page". Lancashire County Council. http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries/librarydetails/libsearch1.asp?name=Whalley. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- ^ Calderstones NHS Trust, Clitheroe at nationalarchives.gov.uk
- ^ Cox, Richard William; Vamplew, Wray; Jarvie, Grant (2000). Encyclopedia of British sport. ABC-CLIO. p. 329. ISBN 978-1-85109-344-1. OCLC 45914207. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JWQTAQAAIAAJ&dq=Whalley.
- ^ "Dickens of a fundraiser". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn: Newsquest Media Group. 2007-05-19. http://archive.lancashireeveningtelegraph.co.uk/2007/5/19/993542.html. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ "Pickwick Night safe.". Clitheroe Advertiser & Times. Johnston Publishing. 2007-11-09. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171036571.html. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ "Sixteen Years of Whalley’s Yuletide Festivities". This is Lancashire. Newsquest Media Group. http://www.communigate.co.uk/lancs/whalleypickwick/page5.phtml. Retrieved 2008-11-06.[dead link]
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Whalley, Lancashire |
- [2] - LANCASHIRE HISTORIC TOWN SURVEY PROGRAMME, WHALLEY, HISTORIC TOWN ASSESSMENT REPORT, Lancashire County Council, May 2006.
