Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall shown within Lancashire
Population	22,000
OS grid reference	SD808226
District	Rossendale
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROSSENDALE
Postcode district	BB4
Dialling code	01706
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Rossendale and Darwen
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°′″N 2°′″W / 53.6996, -2.2912

Rawtenstall is a town of industrial origin located at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire. It is the seat for the borough of Rossendale, in which it is located.

Geography

Its neighbouring communities in the valley are Bacup, Haslingden and Ramsbottom. The area is bounded to the north by Loveclough and Whitewell Bottom, to the east by Waterfoot and Cowpe and to the south by Townsend Fold and Horncliffe. The River Irwell passes through the town on the first part of its route between Bacup and Manchester. Over recent years the area has become increasingly popular with visitors, attracted by historic buildings, dramatic landscapes and fine walking country.

Etymology

The name Rawtenstall has been given two possible interpretations. The older is a combination of the Middle English routen ‘to roar or bellow’, from the Old Norse rauta and the Old English stall ‘pool in a river’ (Ekwall 1922, 92). The second, more recent one, relates to Rawtenstall’s identification as a cattle-farm in 1324 and combines the Old English ruh ‘rough’ and tun-stall ‘the site of a farm’ (Mills 1991, 269), or possibly, ‘buildings occupied when cattle were pastured on high ground’ (Mills 1976, 125).

History

The earliest settlement at Rawtenstall was probably in the early medieval period, during the time when it formed part of the Forest of Rossendale in the Honor of Clitheroe, and consisted of simple dwellings for forest servants and animals. More substantial buildings may have followed in the 15th and 16th centuries with corn and flour mills.

The town entered a major period of growth during the Industrial Revolution, as new mills were constructed to process cotton. The climate and weather were conducive to the industry, as was the town's nearby location to the rapidly developing industrial and mercantile centre at Manchester, dubbed 'Cottonopolis'. Only a few of these mills survive today, though none are operational anymore. During this period, David Whitehead and his brother became important entrepreneurs in the town. They built a number of mills, including one of the earliest mills in the valley, at Lower Mill, and the still existing Ilex Mill. They also built substantial houses for themselves at Holly Mount, as well as large numbers of terraced houses for their workers. The population of Rawtenstall quadrupled in the first half of the nineteenth century, and would double again in the second half. Other industries active in this period included quarrying and small scale mining, as well as an expanding commercial sector.

Rawtenstall was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1891. As with many small mid-Lancashire towns it saw a population decline in the 20th century, going from 30,000 inhabitants in the 1911 census to 21,500 in the 1971 census. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the town became part of the Rossendale district with other settlements. With the decline of the traditional manufacturing industries, shoemaking became one of the last survivors. The firm of H. W. Tricketts, in nearby Waterfoot, had been a major producer and exporter of footwear across the British Empire, but eventually the last shoemaking firms closed as production moved overseas.

Politics

Rawtenstall is part of the Rossendale and Darwen constituency, after the constituency of Rossendale was abolished in 1983. The constituency sends one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons. The current MP is Janet Anderson, of the Labour Party. As of August, 2007, Lancashire County Council is controlled by Labour, but the local council, Rossendale Borough Council, is controlled by the Conservative Party.

Transport

The town is served locally by Rossendale Transport, with a large bus station close to the centre, as well as other connections to neighbouring Manchester and Bury, via the Burnley & Pendle bus company. Rawtenstall railway station also serves the town, but since the closure of the main line to Manchester, it now operates mainly as a tourist route, as part of the East Lancashire Railway, of which Rawtenstall station forms the northern terminus. The M66 motorway from Manchester is linked to Rawtenstall via the A56 bypass, allowing for a driving time between Manchester and Rawtenstall of around half an hour.

Education

The town has a number of primary and seconday high schools, including Alder Grange Community and Technology School. Though located in Waterfoot, rather than Rawtenstall, the independent Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School takes part of its name from the town.

Facilities and recreation

The Rossendale Valley's local newspaper, the Rossendale Free Press is based here. Rawtenstall also has one of the largest indoor markets in Rossendale (a sign declaring it to be "probably the friendliest market in the world") and is home to the North of England's largest dry ski-slope. Ski Rossendale is located five minutes outside of Rawtenstall town centre in the Oakenhead area, directly above Whitaker Park and Rossendale Museum.

It is also home to the traditional Herbalist and Temperance Bar Fitzpatrick's Herbal Health, who claim to be the oldest brewers of sarsaparilla and dandelion and burdock in the country. Fitzpatrick's gained television acclaim in April 2005 when managers Gareth "G" Hawden and Chris Law won The Famous Sarsaparilla taste-off on ITV. The shop gained further acclaim when Hawden challenged Michael Howard to a fight during the 2005 general election.

Rawtenstall Cricket Club, who compete in the Lancashire League, have their home ground, Worswick Memorial Ground within the town.

Police facilities in Rawtenstall are one of five sites used for the training of new recruits to the Lancashire Constabulary. Rawtenstall is also the location of the area's County and Magistrates' Courts.

Whitaker Park is located on the outskirts of the town centre, and consists of the former house of the mill owner George Hardman, set in extensive landscaped grounds. Donated to the township in the early twentieth century for the purposes of civic recreation, the house now contains the Rossendale Museum, whilst the gardens and surrounding land are laid out as a public park. The museum contains exhibits of local history, or displays of the house as it was originally. Part of it is used to house an extensive exhibition of taxidermy, whilst other areas are used to display art. The park itself contains tennis courts, a bowling green, basketball court, a playground and an aviary, as well as formal gardens and fountains.

Other

Rawtenstall was featured in the television programme "Who Do You Think You Are?" which was aired on BBC2 at 9PM on 2nd February 2006. The subject, Jane Horrocks, was born in Rawtenstall in 1964.

On 5 July 2005 a policeman was shot during a routine arrest. After the shooting an 18 hour armed siege ensued ending when police finally entered the house finding the shooter, Stephen Hensby, dead in his bedroom.

The Irwell Sculpture Trail also runs through the town, where four of the sculptures are located; the Whispering Wall, the Gateway, the Willow Tree and the Bocholt Tree. The latter celebrates Rossendale's links with the town of Bocholt, Germany.

Halo is an artwork overlooking the town of Haslingden nr Rawtenstall, positioned to be clearly visible from the M66 and A56 approach to Lancashire. It is the fourth and final Panopticon in Lancashire and was launched in September 2007.

The 'Halo' is an 18m-diameter steel lattice structure supported on a tripod five metres above the ground. The core is open at the top, framing views of the sky. It lit after dark using low-energy LEDs powered by an adjacent wind turbine and glows a sky-blue colour, giving the effect of hovering above the town. It was designed by John Kennedy of LandLab.

www.haslingdenhalo.com