Rivington
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2008) |
| Rivington | |
|---|---|
| Population | Expression error: "144 (2001 Census)" must be numeric |
| OS grid reference | SD626144 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BOLTON |
| Postcode district | BL6 |
| Dialling code | 01204 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Rivington is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it had a population of 144.
Geography and toponymy
The village lies below Rivington Pike and further east is Winter Hill, and was a location for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The village extended a little further to the west until 1847 when Liverpool Corporation began the construction of the Rivington Reservoirs. The two reservoirs were completed in 1857, five years later than Anglezarke Reservoir to the north, formerly a small Chorley Reservoir. The form of the name of the village has varied in earlier times: mostly as Rovington, citing the 1566 Charter (Lancashire Record Office DDX94/100) and through to the land deeds for the School until 1827. The first land deed noted for the school being Acknowledgment: George Pilkington of Rovington, Esq., re lease of schoolhouse and feoffment DDX94/194 18 Jul. 1587 (Lancashire Record Office). For a short time 'Roynton' was made the name of the area through a connection to a family of that name connected to the Levers of Bolton, hence the name of the 'Bungalow' is one such form and 'Riventon' is another, although rare. The etymology is said to be from a combination of 'Roving' (a name for Rivington Pike) with '-ton' (a homestead or village) and is first recorded in the 13th century when the Pilkington family owned six bovates of land by that name.
Notable buildings and landscape
In the countryside around the village may be seen many sculptures and buildings built by Lord Leverhulme who converted a large area into a public park (Lever Park) from 1904 onwards. Notable buildings in the village include the parish church and school founded 1566 by Grant of Queen Elizabeth I as the Rovington, alias Rivyngton Free School of Queen Elizabeth I and by this grant created a Parish by charter in 1566 (Lancashire Record Office DDX94/100) a Unitarian chapel featuring a grand monument to the Lord's Willoughby of Parham (build 1703), two anglo saxon barns, Old Rivington Hall was occupied from medieval times to 1910 by the Pilkington family and their heirs and a replica (grid reference SD6286513025) of Liverpool Castle. Rivington was used heavily in World War II as a storage and training post under The DORA Act. The larger properties were used for troops, including The Bungalow and Rivington Hall.
The Bungalow (Roynton Cottage)
The parish was the site of a number of buildings built for Leverhulme including Roynton Cottage (grid reference SD6391514010) (usually called The Bungalow though it had two floors), Japanese garden, Roman bridges and Pigeon Tower. The bungalow was destroyed in an arson attack by suffragette Edith Rigby on 8 July 1913.[1] A second bungalow was built from stone, improving on the old wooden structure. The larger stone bungalow stood for many years and was subject to neglect after Leverhulme's death in 1925, the last owners were a brewing family called McGee. The building was used as a billet for troops in World War II and was damaged in use. A demolition order by Bolton Council was served on the bungalow shortly after the end of the war and as the country was recovering from war the bungalow was at that time not considered a high priority and it was pulled down in 1946. In its heyday in the 1920s the Bungalow and grounds hosted balls and garden parties: traces of this bungalow and gardens are still visible on the slopes of Rivington Pike. There were proposals to rebuild The Bungalow but these were blocked by Liverpool Corporation.
Work has been undertaken recently to restore the gardens to their former glory, clearing many of the rhododendron bushes that had overgrown the site.[citation needed]
Hill summits
Notable peaks [2].
- Winter Hill $$ 456m / 1496' SD659149
- Counting Hill 433m / 1421' SD671141
- Two Lads Hill $$ 389m / 1276' SD655133
- Noon Hill $$ 380m / 1247' SD647150
- Crooked Edge Hill 375m / 1230' SD654134
- Rivington Pike 362m / 1188' SD643138
- Adam Hill 360m / 1181' SD660126
- White Brow 358m / 1175' SD661124
- Whimberry Hill 340m / 1115' SD686139
- Egg Hillock 328m / 1076' SD684142
- Brown Hill 325m / 1066' SD644135
- Brown Lowe 325m / 1066' SD669130
- Burnt Edge 325m / 1066' SD667125
$$ denotes walker's cairn or similar.
Bibliography and external links
Bibliography
- Hampson, Thomas (1893) History of Rivington. Wigan and Horwich: Roger & Rennick; 'Chronicle' Office.
- Hesketh, Phoebe (1966) My Aunt Edith. London: Peter Davies (biography of Edith Rigby)
- Hesketh, Phoebe (1972) Rivington: the story of a village. London: Peter Davies.
- Potter, Louisa (1879) Lancashire memories. London: Macmillan.
- Rawlinson, John (1969) About Rivington. Chorley: Nelson Brothers.
References
Further reading
- Smith, Malcolm David (1984), Leverhulme's Rivington: the story of the Rivington "Bungalow", Wyre Publishing, ISBN 0-9526187-3-7. Chorley: Nelson Bros. ISBN 0950877212
External links
- Rivington chorley.gov.uk
- [1] Detailed History by Local Historian.
- [2] Lancashire Records Office.
- [3] National Archives.
- Account of Rivington in the early 19th century