Rawtenstall in Lancashire

Rawtenstall is a Town in the county of Lancashire.

Rawtenstall in Lancashire is a typical English northern town boasting cobbled streets, stone architecture and dramatic landscape. Rawtenstall was mentioned in the Domesday Book and it also had connections with an important Roman road.

The town grew rapidly in the 19th century with people drawn by jobs in cotton mills and coal mining. The opening of two railway lines starting in 1846 aided its growth further, but its population started to decline after World War II due to out-migration towards larger cities, especially Manchester.

Today rawtenstall is a busy town and has become an important shopping centre in the south of Rossendale.

The area around Rawtenstall has been occupied since the end of the last ice age with evidence of pre-historic activity, mainly in nearby Trawden Forest. There are remains of settlements dating back to AD 43 when it was part of Roman Britain.

Moorland Around Rawtenstall

The North West of England is an area characterised by high moorland. The rawtenstall area is no exception, with the Trawden Forest bordering rawtenstall to the South. The moors are mainly heather moorland used for grazing sheep, but there are areas where denuded peat soils are exposed and Rawtenstall’s raw land is a result of extensive mining in the 19th century.

Towns and Villages

Rawtenstall has several smaller towns and villages contained within its boundaries including Whitworth, Crawshawbooth, Newchurch, Edenfield and Helmshore. These have been subsumed into rawtenstall’s broad definition but maintain a sense of distinct identity.

The Railway and the River

Rawtenstall had two railway lines, one from Bury to Rawtenstall via Bacup and another from Manchester Victoria to Rawtenstall via Edenfield. Both opened in 1901 but Rawtenstall’s rail traffic declined over the decades with these railways finally closed down in 1970and 1960 respectively.

The Rawtenstall area was once a hive of industry with coal mining, cotton mills and other manufacturing activities. Rawtenstall itself had a woollen mill which used the waters from raw land to drive the looms. The town also has a history of silk production.

Rawtenstall postcode: BB4 6QS

Retail in Rawtenstall

There are great places to visit near Rawtenstall including some great towns, villages, parks, waterfalls, woodlands, rivers and streams, old mines, ruins, historic buildings, ancient sites, historic monuments, hiking areas, hills, round cairns, lakes, bluebell woods, geological features, gardens, country parks, nature reserves, historic sites, roman sites, museums, caves, limestone pavements, sssis, canals, beaches, shopping centres, cities and castles.

Darwen, Chorley, Leyland, Nelson, Blackburn, Burnley, and Blackpool are some of Rawtenstall best towns to visit near Rawtenstall.

Rawtenstall has some unmissable villages nearby like Ryal Fold, Tockholes, Brinscall, White Coppice, Ribchester, Belmont, and Chipping.

Parks to visit near Rawtenstall include Bold Venture Park, Sunnyhurst Wood, Astley Park, Worden Park, Cuerden Valley Country Park, and Ball Grove Park.

The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best waterfalls including Bold Venture Waterfall, Sunnyhurst Waterfalls, Hatch Brook Waterfall, Holts Flat Waterfall, Lead Mines Clough Waterfall, Sheep Pen Waterfall, and Old Brooks Waterfall.

The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting woodlands including Sunnyhurst Wood, Wheelton Plantation, High Bullough Wood, Back Plantation, Spen Wood, Duxbury Woods, and Longworth Clough.

There are a number of rivers and streams near Rawtenstall including Sunnyhurst Brook, Hatch Brook, Dean Black Brook, Eller Brook, River Yarrow at Duxbury Woods, Ease Gill, and River Roddlesworth.

Old Lyons Colliery (ruin), Lead Mines Clough Lead Mines, Coppice Stile Lead Mine Trial, White Coppice Lead Mine, Duxbury Park Colliery (ruin), Ellerbeck Collieries (ruin), and Sykes Mine are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like old mines.

Rawtenstall has some unmissable ruins nearby like Old Lyons Colliery (ruin), Higher Pasture Barn (ruin), Ripping (ruin), Wheelton Plantation, Blackhurst (ruin), Heatherlea (ruin), and Shop Fold (ruin).

There are a several good historic buildings in the Rawtenstall area like Church of Saint Stephen at Tockholes, Astley Hall, Chorley Lodge, Blacko Tower, The Wishing Well at Hollinshead Hall, Hoghton Tower, and Stonyhurst College.

There are a several good ancient sites in the Rawtenstall area like Church of Saint Stephen at Tockholes, The Quernmore Burial, Standing Stones Hill, Pikestones Chambered Long Cairn, Jepsons Gate Cairn, Black Coppice Chambered Cairn, and Dog Holes Cave.

There are a several good historic monuments in the Rawtenstall area like Jubilee Tower, Bevis and the Ruined Summerhouse, and Cromwell's Bridge.

Rawtenstall has some unmissable hiking areas nearby like Anglezarke, Lead Mines Clough, High Bullough Wood, Stronstrey Bank, Lister Mill Quarry, White Coppice, and White Coppice Quarry.

The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting hills including Standing Stones Hill, Healey Nab, Spitlers Edge, Will Narr, Warton Crag, Parlick, and Pendle Hill.

Places near Rawtenstall feature a number of interesting round cairns including Jepsons Gate Cairn.

High Bullough Reservoir, Anglezarke Reservoir, White Coppice Mill Pond, Big Lodge Water, Top Lodge, The Blue Lagoon, and Lower Ogden Reservoir are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like lakes.

Don't miss High Bullough Wood, Duxbury Woods, Hill Top Wood, Warton Crag, and Roddlesworth Woods's bluebell woods if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.

Don't miss Stronstrey Bank, White Coppice Quarry, Warton Crag and Grisedale Wood Limestone Pavement, and Sykes Mine's geological features if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.

The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting gardens including The Evaders' Garden, Astley Walled Garden, and Hoghton Tower.

The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting country parks including Yarrow Valley Country Park, Worden Park, Cuerden Valley Country Park, Witton Country Park, Beacon Fell, Langroyd Country Park, and Wyre Estuary Country Park.

Rawtenstall's best nearby nature reserves can be found at Top Lodge, Longworth Clough, Leighton Moss, Brockholes Nature Reserve, Ball Grove Park, Upper Ball Grove Lodge, and Mere Sands Wood.

There are a number of historic sites near to Rawtenstall including Black Coppice Mill Stone Factory.

Roman Sites to visit near Rawtenstall include Ribchester Roman Bath House, and Ribchester Roman Museum.

There are a number of museums near Rawtenstall including Ribchester Roman Museum, The British Commercial Vehicle Museum, and Harris Museum - Art Gallery and Library Preston.

Rawtenstall's best nearby caves can be found at Dog Holes Cave, Fairy Hole, and County Pot.

The area around Rawtenstall's best limestone pavements can be found at Warton Crag and Grisedale Wood Limestone Pavement.

SSSIs to visit near Rawtenstall include Warton Crag S.S.S.I, and West Pennine Moors.

The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best canals including Leeds and Liverpool Canal - Summit to Wigan Section, Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Adlington, Lancaster Canal at Bolton-le-Sands, and Leeds and Liverpool Canal - Rufford Branch.

Beaches to visit near Rawtenstall include Blackpool, and Half Moon Bay.

Places near Rawtenstall feature a number of interesting shopping centres including The Concourse Shopping Centre.

The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best cities including Preston, and Lancaster.

Rawtenstall is near some unmissable castles like Clitheroe Castle,

Rawtenstall History

There are some historic monuments around Rawtenstall:

Places to see near Rawtenstall

History of Rawtenstall

As with many small mid-Lancashire towns, it saw a population decline in the 20th century, going from 30,000 inhabitants in the 1911 census to 21,500 in the 1971 census. With the decline of the traditional manufacturing industries, shoemaking became one of the last survivors. The firm of H. W. Tricketts, in nearby Waterfoot, had been a major producer and exporter of footwear across the British Empire, but eventually the last shoemaking firms closed as production moved overseas.

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Lakes near Rawtenstall

    Rivers near Rawtenstall

    Shopping in Rawtenstall

    M&S Foodhall A682, Wood Top

    M&S Foodhall supermarket

    Tesco Bury Road, Wood Top

    Tesco supermarket

    Lidl Bacup Road, Wood Top

    Lidl supermarket