Littleborough
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Littleborough | |
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  Littleborough shown within Greater Manchester |
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| Population | 13,807 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| Metropolitan borough | Rochdale |
| Metropolitan county | Greater Manchester |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ROCHDALE |
| Postcode district | OL15-OL16 |
| Dial code | 01706 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| List of places: UK • England | |
Littleborough is a town on the western side of the Pennines, which forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England.
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[edit] Geography and administration
Between 1894 and 1974, Littleborough was in the administrative county of Lancashire. Since 1974, Littleborough has been a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale of Greater Manchester.
The River Roch and the Rochdale Canal run through the centre. Hollingworth Lake, built as a reservoir to supply water to the canal, is a water sports venue with a country park and nature reserve.
The Pennine Way runs along the top of Blackstone Edge, with a view across Greater Manchester and Lancashire to the north.
[edit] History
[edit] Etymology
The name Littleborough is derived from the words "Gatehouse" and "shore", and was a name made to signify that Littleborough was the only low-lying area around the centre of town.
[edit] Early history
Littleborough began as a scattering of weaving hamlets within the Parish of Hundersfield, a large area stretching from Rochdale to Todmorden. Then, a small town developed, merging the names of Blatchinworth and Calderbrook, which were areas to the east and west of the River Roch. Only recently, did the name become changed to Littleborough.
[edit] Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution brought roads, canals, and railways, as well as mills, foundries and coal-workings. Major civil engineering projects took place in town during the 19th century, the stretch of the Rochdale canal which passes through Littleborough still has one of the largest concentrations of canal locks in the world and Summit Tunnel was at the time of its construction one of the longest tunnels ever built.
During Victorian and Edwardian times, as Littleborough began to grow, and made closely knit relationships between each set of professions, and grew as people moving in began to expand the edge of the town, three churches were built. There were however mostly more chapels which followed the nonconformist principles of the time, predominant around the area of Littleborough at the time.
[edit] Present day
Today, Littleborough is a quite small, mainly white town, which is expanding, with more and more houses being built where old cotton mills were, which has particularly attracted young people to the town.
Littleborough centre consists of Church Street, which runs towards Rochdale from the centre of the town, and Hare Hill Road, which is perpendicular to Church Street.
[edit] Education
- St Mary's R.C. Primary School, which is positioned next to the Roman Catholic church of Saint Mary on the main A58 Featherstall Road.
- Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, which is relatively close to the centre of Littleborough across from the coach house.
- Littleborough County Primary School, which is also an infant school, is the largest school in Littleborough, and is also the home of the Littleborough Juniors, and the Littleborough football fields, on which pub league teams play every Sunday.
The school is often referred to locally as "Central", a name derived from the school's history as one of the last central board schools in England and Wales. The original school building was an impressively large stone building overlooking Harehill Park. In the mid 1990s the building was demolished and the school moved to what had been the site of Littleborough High School before it was amalgamated with Roch Valley High School to form Hollingworth High School.
The school is close to Littleborough Cricket Club, which is the notable cricket team of the town.
[edit] Churches
- Saint Barnabas Church - Church located around the Shore area of Littleborough, and is built on a field thought to once be a lake.
- Saint Mary's Church - The local Roman Catholic church and is situated on the main A58 Featherstall Road.
- Holy Trinity (Littleborough Parish Church) - Located across from the Coach house, is one of the larger churches in the area, and features gargoyles dating from the time it was built, somewhere near the inception of Littleborough in Edwardian times.
[edit] Places of interest
- Hollingworth Lake, as well as the carnival which is set up every few months, along with miniature casinos.
- Blackstone Edge, and the toll roads near it.
- The "Roman" Road over Blackstone Edge, believed by many to have been a significant Roman site (although this has been contested on many occasions).
- Annually (usually in September) the town hosts "Littleborough Arts Week", an art event comprising of a number of exhibitions from individual artists and organisations, as well as an open arts exhibition and arts events.
- One of the significant buildings in the town is Littleborough Coach House, which was restored by a confederation of local voluntary groups and is now a community space, cafe and shop. Hare Hill Park is another focus point for the community, which also houses Littleborough library and municipal buildings.
- On the outskirts of Littleborough, towards Rochdale, lies Clegg Hall, the ruin of a once impressive manor house.
[edit] References
Clegg Hall is now being re-built and restored. It can be seen from the railway or the canal.
[edit] External links
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