Read, Lancashire

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This article is about the English village. For other uses of the word "read", see Reading. For people named Read, see Read (surname).

Read is an English village situated in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. Read lies on the A671 which was originally built as a turnpike road from Portfield to Padiham in the 1840s.

The 16th century saw the gradual development of what is now the old village of Read, along the main mediaeval road between Whalley and Padiham. Read Hall was the seat of the Nowell family from the 1300s and Roger Nowell played a central role in the trials of the Pendle Witches of 1612. The Battle of Read Old Bridge was fought in 1643 between a Royalist force and Parliamentarians, resulting in the downfall of the Lancashire Royalist cause.

In the 1870s Victoria Mill, together with a few houses for employees, was built alongside the turnpike road by the Kemp family and this area of Read became known as Newtown. More houses and shops were built using stone quarried in the village and Read now has a variety of small businesses catering for many needs.