Barnoldswick

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Barnoldswick

Coordinates: 53.9147° N 2.1895° W
Population	12,000
OS grid reference	SD875465
District	Pendle
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BARNOLDSWICK
Postcode district	BB18
Dial code	01282
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Pendle
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Barnoldswick (colloquially known as Barlick) is a town in Lancashire, England, with an approximate population of 12,000, just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is administered as part of the Lancashire district of Pendle, and lies within the historic boundaries of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Nestling on the lower slopes of Weets Hill in the Pennines, astride the natural watershed between the Ribble and Aire valleys, it is the highest town on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, in-between Clitheroe in Lancashire and Skipton in Yorkshire, and approximately 30 miles from the cities of Leeds, Manchester and Preston.

[edit] History

Barnoldswick dates back to Viking times. It was listed in Domesday Book as Bernulfsuuick, meaning Bernulf's Town (uuic being an archaic spelling of wick, meaning settlement).

A Cistercian monastery was founded there in 1147 by monks from Fountains Abbey. However they left after six years, before construction was complete, driven out by crop failures and locals unhappy at their interference in the affairs of the local church. They went on to build Kirkstall Abbey. They returned after another ten years to build the isolated church of St Mary-le-Gill close to Barnoldswick to Thornton in Craven road.

For hundreds of years Barnoldswick remained a small village, however the arrival of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and later the (now closed) railway, spurred the development of the existing woolen industry, and helped it to become a major cotton town.

Barnoldswick was historically administered as part of the West Riding of Yorkshire (although Blackburnshire in Lancashire sometimes claimed the area). However, following the Local Government Act 1972, Barnoldswick has formed part of the Non-metropolitan county of Lancashire since 1974.

[edit] Misc. Information

Barnoldswick is the longest place name in the United Kingdom without repeating any letters. The model number of many Rolls Royce jet engines start with the initials RB (eg. RB199) stands for Rolls Barnoldswick, as Rolls Royce aero's design centre is situated in Barnoldswick.