Colne

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Coordinates: 53°51′19″N 2°10′32″W / 53.8554°N 2.1756°W / 53.8554; -2.1756

Colne
Colne, with its town hall on the horizon
Colne shown within Lancashire
Population	20,118 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SD884399
District	Pendle
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	COLNE
Postcode district	BB8
Dialling code	01282
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Pendle
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of around 20,000. It lies 6 miles north-east of Burnley, 25 miles east of Preston, 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds. It is often confused with the nearby but unrelated Colne Valley.

History

The history of the local area dates back to the Stone Age. A Mesolithic camp site, a Bronze Age burial site, and stone tools from the Bronze and Stone Ages have been discovered at nearby Trawden, and there are also the remains of an Iron Age fort, dating from the 6th century BC, above Colne at Castercliff.

The name Colne is of Celtic origin. The first settlement is thought to have been founded between the 4th and 1st centuries BC by the Brigantes, and was located along the Trans-Pennine ridgeway, a major trade route dating back to the Bronze Age.

Although a Roman road passes through nearby Barnoldswick, and some Roman coins have been discovered, there is no conclusive evidence of the Romans having occupied the area. There is, however, some debate among local historians as to whether the Romans may have stayed at Castercliff.

During the period of Colne's history lasting from the early 6th century to the late 10th century, Colne came under Northumbrian and then Viking rule, finally coming firmly under Norman control in the 11th century. It is claimed that the Battle of Brunanburh was fought near Trawden, in the year 937 AD.

From the 1090s until 1311, the area was controlled by the de Lacys of Pontefract from their outpost at Clitheroe Castle. Pendle Forest and Trawden Forest date from this period, forests in those times being hunting grounds for royals and other nobles. St. Bartholomew's Church dates from before 1122 when the town's market was located in the churchyard. The churchyard used to house wooden stocks on wheels - these are now in the library. People were placed in them on market days. http://www.thornber.net/famhist/htmlfiles/colne.pdf see Memories of Colne by Mrs Cryer 1910.

The town developed in two parts: Colne, on top of the ridge; and Waterside, at the base of the southern side of the ridge, next to the river. By 1296, a corn mill and a fulling mill had been established down by the river. Later, coal was also mined here.

By the 15th century, Colne had become a major centre for the woollen trade, in particular for the production of lightweight kersey. With the Industrial Revolution, cotton manufacturing became the main industry in the town, aided by the completion of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816, and by the arrival of the railway.

The town was made an urban district in 1894 and designated a borough in 1895. It grew down the two sides of the hill into what are called the North and South Valleys and towards Nelson and Laneshawbridge. The town's population declined during the 20th century, as with many Lancashire mill towns, from 26,000 in 1911 to 19,000 in 1971.^[1] In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Colne became part of the Borough of Pendle.^[2][3][4] In 2008 a town council was reestablished.

Economy

Today, Colne's cotton industry has all but disappeared, although other types of industry have taken its place. Many of the old weaving mills that used to dot the landscape have either been demolished to make way for retail space, or now accommodate alternative manufacturing industries. The service sector is a growth industry, and now occupies some town centre locations. The main industrial area, Whitewalls,^[5] is on the boundary with Nelson, next to the end of the M65 motorway, and houses a range of employers, including an abattoir, retail, automotive components, electronics, equipment hire and engineering/manufacturing.

Landmarks

Situated on the edge of the Pennines, Colne has views of several well-known hills. Boulsworth Hill overlooks most of the town and lies on the Lancashire and West Yorkshire county boundary just south of Trawden. Noyna Hill overlooks Colne from the north east, close to Foulridge; from there it is possible to see most of east Lancashire and into the Yorkshire Dales. Blacko Tower (Stansfield Tower) is clearly visible to the north west, and between Noyna Hill and Blacko Tower is Weets Hill and its long eastern slope, White Moor.

Arguably the most well-known local landmark is Pendle Hill. Colne is about 5 miles east of Pendle Hill, which many people walk up, particularly at Halloween, owing to its association with the Pendle witches; several nearby farmhouses are reputed to be haunted, and have featured on the TV programmes Most Haunted and Most Haunted Live!

The town is also known for the British in India Museum,^[6] and the Wallace Hartley Memorial, in memory of the bandmaster of the RMS Titanic who used to live in Colne and is buried in the cemetery.

Sir William Pickles Hartley born 1846 in Colne made jam in the town and Hartley's Jam is still on the market though not linked to Colne now. He gave some of his profits to build Hartley Hospital and Hartley Homes on the boundary with Laneshawbridge. http://www.burnleycitizen.co.uk/news/742669.tourist_guide_to_colne/ John Tillotson was educated in Colne Grammar School and was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 until 1694.http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9RemUlDfabwC&pg=RA2-PA241&lpg=RA2-PA241&dq=john+tillotson+canterbury+colne&source=web&ots=UJ1g7a0kwd&sig=6ZOt1vQZ-V41t5_HrfCnJAOKH5c&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PRA2-PA242-IA1,M1

Transport

Colne is connected to the national railway network.^[7] The railway station is ¾m (1 km) west of the town centre. It forms the eastern terminus of the East Lancashire Line, which runs to Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley, and on to Preston and Blackpool.

The local bus company, Burnley & Pendle, was part-owned until 1996 by the local borough council. There are buses every few minutes during the daytime on the 'The Main Line' service between Burnley bus station and Colne town centre. Most of these then fork in various directions at each end, and continue to Padiham, Clitheroe or Accrington from Burnley, and to Earby, Barnoldswick, Trawden or Keighley from Colne.

Pennine Transport, based in Skipton, operates an hourly service with distinctive orange buses each way from Skipton to Burnley via Colne.

Education

Colne and its nearby villages have nine primary schools, one of which is a Catholic school. There are three high schools in Colne, one of which is a Catholic school.

Nelson and Colne College is the main provider for post-16 education in the area – there is no grammar school or continuing sixth form centre, the nearest being in Burnley and Skipton. Nelson and Colne College offers AS-level and A-level qualifications, as well as BTEC, City and Guilds, Open College of the North West, and some professional qualifications. The college also has tie-ins with some higher education institutions.

Sports and leisure

Colne F.C. is the town's football team; it currently plays in the North West Counties Football League. (The local Football League team is Burnley F.C., which also enjoys strong support in the town.) The town also has a junior football club, Colne JFC, which runs teams for 8 to 16 year olds, as well as a senior team.^[8] Nelson & Colne Rugby Union Football Club is located next to Colne F.C.^[9]

The town has the oldest cricket club in the Lancashire League, Colne Cricket Club, which was formed in 1830. The first games were played on the Horsfield, the same field that is used today. It has been a continuous member of the Lancashire League since 1890.^[10]

Pendle Leisure Trust runs the Pendle Leisure Centre next to the railway station. This has two swimming pools, a fitness gym, a sauna, a sports hall and an outdoor all-weather pitch.^[11]

There are two large local parks. One is the King George Playing Fields next to Skipton Road (A56) between Colne and Earby. The other is Alkincoats Park, off the road between Colne and Barrowford (B6247). Alkincoats Park has bowling greens, hard surface tennis courts, pitch and put golf, a children's play area and footpaths that lead to areas close to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the now-dismantled Colne to Skipton railway line.^[12][13][14] The towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the trackbed of the dismantled Colne to Skipton railway are also popular leisure destinations, as is Ballgrove Picnic Area at the eastern edge of Colne, close to Laneshaw Bridge. It is possible to walk from here to historic Wycoller.

Since 2004 Colne has hosted an annual Grand Prix cycle race around the town centre. It follows the 800 metres of the town centre one way road system. Some 2500-4000 local people attend the event, which is part of the British Cycling Season Championship.^[15][16]

Ralph, the father of Roger Bannister the first sub-four minute miler was born in Colne, the family having lived here for 400 years. Roger Bannister and the Four-minute Mile By John Bale

Every August bank holiday, the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival takes place, which attracts people and artists from all over the world over three days.^[17] Many local pubs and clubs stage music gigs; others hold 'fringe' type gigs. The main focus of attention, where the larger events are staged, is the Municipal Hall close to the town centre. A second festival, The Colne Gala, has been held on most years for the last three decades, with a parade along a route through the town centre to the main Gala event at Alkincoats Park and Holt House.^[18]

Media

The town sits at the far eastern end of Lancashire, close to the counties of North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. New road signs on the A56 road between Earby and Colne mark the traditional historic boundary between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, and the original signs still exist on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal between Colne and Barnoldswick. As a result of this 1974 boundary change and the local geography of the area, the local area is served by TV from both the Granada and Yorkshire regions of ITV, and both BBC North and BBC North West. Colne is also served by radio from BBC Radio Lancashire, the commercial station 2BR, and Pendle Community Radio, a community radio service aimed at the borough's British Asian population.

A local newspaper, the Colne Times, a variant edition of the larger Burnley Express, is published on Fridays; a second, midweek edition, the Pendle Express, aimed at both Colne and neighbouring Nelson, is published on Tuesdays. The town is also served by the Lancashire Telegraph, which publishes a Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale edition six days a week and by a weekly freesheet, the 'Pendle Citizen', which appears on Thursdays.

Notable people

Wallace Hartley the lead member of the orchestra on board the Titanic was raised in Colne

Sir William Pickles Hartley jam manufacturer and philanthropist, founded the Hartley's Jam Company. He was born in Colne and attended a local British and Foreign School Society school.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Dorothy Harrison (ed.), The History of Colne, Pendle Heritage Centre, 1988

External links

• BBC Sunday stroll photos in Foulridge & Colne