Nelson, Lancashire

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Nelson
Statistics
Population:	29,000
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	SD856376
Administration
District:	Pendle
Shire county:	Lancashire
Region:	North West England
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Lancashire
Historic county:	Lancashire
Services
Police force:	Lancashire
Fire and rescue:	{{{Fire}}}
Ambulance:	North West
Post office and telephone
Post town:	NELSON
Postal district:	BB9
Dialling code:	01282
Politics
UK Parliament:	Pendle
European Parliament:	North West England

Nelson is a town in Lancashire in north-west England with a population of around 29,000. It is the headquarters of Pendle Borough Council.

Nelson is located 4 miles north of Burnley, 25 miles east of Preston, 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds.

[edit] History

The town was originally two villages, Little Marsden and Great Marsden. However, the advent of the railways in the late 19th Century resulted in the new town of Nelson being given its Town Charter by Queen Victoria: There was already a Marsden on the railway network in the neighbouring county of Yorkshire, so the new railway station was called the Nelson Inn, Great Marsden, after the adjacent public house and inn, the Admiral Lord Nelson Inn. The name stuck and the town of Nelson was born.

It grew up as an industrial town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its economy being mostly based upon the textile industry (mainly cotton weaving). The textile industry has now sharply declined, leaving the town with high unemployment. It was also associated with the production of confectionery, including Jelly Babies and Victory Vs. The Package Holiday company Airtours (formally Pendle Travel and recently taken over by the MyTravel Group) began life as an independent travel agent here. The town is also home to Nelson F.C., a formerly professional football club that spent ten years in the Football League but nows plays in the lower reaches of the semi-professional leagues.

Nelson was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1890. During the 20th century, in common with many mid-Lancashire mill towns, it suffered population decline, with a figure of 39,500 in the 1911 census slowly declining to 31,000 by the 1971 census. Under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974, it became part of the non-metropolitan district of Pendle, along with other settlements. [1] Nelson forms an unparished area with no separate town council; a consultation was conducted in October 2006 which is expected lead to a town council being set up in 2008.[2]

Cricket was extremely popular in the town during the inter-war period, and Nelson Cricket Club enjoyed the services of Learie Constantine, the great West Indian Cricketer. After the war, Constantine was involved in public service and politics in both his native Trinidad, and in the UK. In 1969 Constantine became the first person of African descent to be given a life peerage, being created Baron Constantine, of Maraval in Trinidad and Tobago and of Nelson in the County Palatine of Lancaster. There is no significant monument to a hero now almost forgotten in the Town.

[edit] Genral

Despite being home to a much larger South Asian community than adjoining Burnley, no "race riots" have occurred here yet (possibly due to the sheer imbalance of population). The British National Party gained a seat in the 4th May 2006 local elections in the borough. Brian Norton Parker took the Marsden Ward of the town, ousting a Labour candidate by 80 votes.

The town centre is often criticised for being shabby and having a poor retail offer. This is mainly due to the fact that many residents shop in the large nearby town of Burnley as well as the recent development of superstores and mill stores on Nelson's fringes.

Actor and star of BBC TV series Life On Mars John Simm was brought up in Nelson.