Rivington
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Rivington | |
---|---|
Population | 144 (2001 Census) |
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) [1]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.
Lever Park
Lever Park, as we know it today was named after the peer of the realm, Lord Leverhulme. Lever Park came into existence in 1904 located between the village of Rivington and Horwich. The village of Rivington had adopted the same name as the area around it. The tiny village comprises of two large houses, one chapel, a church, a school, a ruined barn and a row of cottages.[2] The village is not part of Lever Park.
Rivington Village and what remains now of the ancient buildings were partially saved by the intervention of W.H. Lever.
The entrance to Lever Park from Horwich has two pillars inscribed with the words: William Hesketh Lever 1st viscount Leverhulme. Lever park the gift of William Hesketh Lever 1st viscount Leverhulme born at 6 Wood street, Bolton September 19th, 1851 died at Hampstead, London. May 7th, 1925. For the benefit of the citizens of his native town and neighbourhood by act of parliament in 1902 the ownership and care of the park were vested in the corporation of the city of Liverpool.
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), Japanese garden, Roman bridges and Pigeon Tower. The bungalow was destroyed in an arson attack by suffragette Edith Rigby on 8 July 1913.[3] 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, prior to the death of Lord Leverhulme in 1925 the Bungalow and grounds hosted balls, garden parties and public open days with a big attraction being the Zoo at the park: 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.
Action commenced after Defra in 2003 warned of sudden Oak death, a disease from rhododendron bushes, then prominent at Rivington [4] In 2006 a new threat emerged called Ramorum Blight. This was discovered in 2005 among the rhododendron resulting in the need for more bushes to be destroyed [5] Clearing the rhododendron in 2007 is explained by P BROADLEY in his letter in 2007 in the Bolton News[6]
Hill summits
Notable peaks.[7]
Name | Elevation | OS grid reference |
---|---|---|
Winter Hill † | 456 metres (1,496 ft) | |
Counting Hill | 433 metres (1,421 ft) | |
Two Lads Hill † | 389 metres (1,276 ft) | |
Noon Hill † | 380 metres (1,247 ft) | |
Crooked Edge Hill | 375 metres (1,230 ft) | |
Rivington Pike | 362 metres (1,188 ft) | |
Adam Hill | 360 metres (1,181 ft) | |
White Brow | 358 metres (1,175 ft) | |
Whimberry Hill | 340 metres (1,115 ft) | |
Egg Hillock | 328 metres (1,076 ft) | |
Brown Hill | 325 metres (1,066 ft) | |
Brown Lowe | 325 metres (1,066 ft) | |
Burnt Edge | 325 metres (1,066 ft) | |
† 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
- ^ DDX94/100.
- ^ A Short History of Rivington 1904.
- ^ Hesketh (1966); pp. 72-77
- ^ Bolton News Report - Sudden Oak Death.
- ^ Bolton News Report - Ramorum Blight.
- ^ Bolton News Letter Page.
- ^ Book: Kenneth Fields. Lancashire Country Walks (2): Five Short Circular Walks From Anglezarke and White Coppice, Unpriced, available from Rivington Lower Barn; p. 17
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