Whitewell

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Whitewell
Whitewell shown within Lancashire
OS grid reference	SD655465
Parish	Bowland Forest Low
District	Ribble Valley
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CLITHEROE
Postcode district	BB7
Dialling code	01200
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Ribble Valley
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°54′47″N 2°31′26″W / 53.913, -2.524

Whitewell is a hamlet within the Ribble Valley borough of administrative Lancashire, England, in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Historically it lies right on the border of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The hamlet is the site of a restaurant and hotel, "The Inn at Whitewell". During the 14th century The Inn was a manor house in which dwelled the keepers of the royal forest, but became a resting place for travellers on their way to Lancaster in the eighteenth century. Beside the hotel is a Chapel of Ease built in 1817, and which came under the Lancashire parish of Whalley.^[1]

Much of the land and property in the area belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster estate, as the black plaques on each building serve to remind. The surrounding forest was once the hunting ground of Henry VII, and his descendant, the present monarch, is said to be fond of the area, visiting the hotel in 2006 for lunch. Nearby settlements include Dunsop Bridge which claims to be the centre of the United Kingdom, and Clitheroe, the administrative centre of the borough.