Longridge
| Longridge | |
|---|---|
 Longridge town centre | |
  Longridge Shown within Ribble Valley  Longridge Location withinLancashire | |
| Population | 7,724(2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SD606374 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRESTON |
| Postcode district | PR3 |
| Dialling code | 01772 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
Longridgeis amarket townandcivil parishin the borough ofRibble ValleyinLancashire,England. It is situated 8 miles (13 km) north-east of the city ofPreston,at the western end ofLongridge Fell,a longridgeabove theRiver Ribble.The nearest villages areGrimsargh,2 miles (3 km) to the southeast, andRibchester4 miles (6 km) to the southeast. The parish of Longridge had a population of 7,546 recorded in the2001 census,[2]increasing to 7,724 at the 2011 Census.[1]
History
[edit]Longridge initially developed outwards from an area around St. Lawrence's Church, at the boundary of the townships of Dilworth and Alston and to the south of the modern-day town centre. Though there was athoroughfarecalled 'Market Place', there was no development around that area. Most of the development of the town occurred after 1800.[3]After this time, development occurred at a much faster pace, with expansion northwards including a mill to the north of Kestor Lane.
The demand forstonefrom Longridge'squarriesled to the opening of thePreston and Longridge Railwayin 1840 to carry the stone away, for use in such places asLiverpool Docks.The arrival of the railway led to the opening of severalcotton millsand the town grew considerably larger from the mid-19th century. The mills and quarries have now all closed, although stone quarried in the town was used to construct theM55 motorwayin the 1970s. One of the quarries was used asLongridge motor-racing circuitbetween 1973 and 1978.Longridge railway stationclosed to passengers in 1930, and the railway was dismantled in 1967. The station buildings were then used as offices for theparish counciluntil 2010 when the Longridge Town Council began a project to renovate and reopen the buildings to the public with help from the Lottery Heritage Fund. Longridge railway station is now managed by Longridge Social Enterprise Company and is home to a heritage centre, the Old Station Cafe and has various business facilities available.[4]
Governance
[edit]
There are three tiers of local government covering Longridge, at parish (town), district and county level: Longridge Town Council,Ribble Valley Borough Council(based inClitheroe) andLancashire County Council(based inPreston). The town council has its headquarters in the former Longridge railway station buildings on Berry Lane.[5]
Longridge was historically part of theancient parishofRibchester,which contained a number oftownships.Longridge straddled the two townships of Alston and Dilworth.[6][7]Anecclesiastical parishof Longridge was created in 1861 covering the whole of the two townships, with the existingchapel of easeof St Lawrence becoming the parish church.[8]The same area was made alocal government districtcalled Longridge in 1883, governed by a local board.[9]Such local government districts were reconstituted asurban districtsin 1894.[10]
Longridge Urban District Council bought a large Victorian house called The Limes on Berry Lane in 1947 to serve as its headquarters.[11]The urban district was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the newRibble Valleydistrict. Asuccessor parishwas created covering the former urban district, with its parish council taking the name Longridge Town Council.[12]
Community
[edit]The town is home to eleven pubs, several restaurants, a public library,[13]and a number of primary and high schools. It is also home to anAir Training Corpssquadron[14]and anArmy Cadet Forcedetachment.[15]Longridge parish is also the location ofAlston Hall,a residentialadult educationcollege operated by Lancashire Adult Learning. The local football club,Longridge Town F.C.,has two senior teams and plays in the NWCFL, at Step 5 of the FA Football Pyramid. Its ground and clubhouse are situated off Inglewhite Road, behind the Alston Arms. As of 2011, Longridge had its own monthly farmers' market but has now stopped.[citation needed]
TheAnglican churchof St. Lawrence is located on Lower Lane and the Anglican church of St. Paul is located on Church Street.[16]
Sport
[edit]Longridge Golf Clubis located on Forty Acre Lane on Longridge Fell.
Media
[edit]Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC North WestandITV Granada.Television signals are received from theWinter HillTV transmitter.[17]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Lancashire,Heart North West,Smooth North West,Capital Manchester and Lancashire,Greatest Hits Radio LancashireandCentral Radio North West,a community-based station.[18]
TheLancashire Telegraphis the local newspaper that covers the town.[19]
People
[edit]John Farnworth,a freestyle footballer;Alan Kelly,footballer who played for the Irish national team along withPreston North End;cricketerAndrew Miller.ActressChristina Chonglived in Longridge and trained at the Sutcliffe School of Dance.[20]
ComposerErnest Tomlinsonlived close to Longridge until his death in 2015. His library of light orchestral music was housed in his barn.[21][22]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^abUK Census(2011)."Local Area Report – Longridge Parish (1170215115)".Nomis.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved2 February2018.
- ^"Parish headcount"(PDF).Lancashire County Council.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 December 2006.Retrieved10 January2009.
- ^Lancashire County Council (June 2006)."Longridge Historic Town Assessment Report"(PDF).www.lancscc.gov.uk.Lancashire County Council. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 October 2007.Retrieved1 June2006.
- ^"longridgestation.co.uk".www.longridgestation.co.uk.
- ^"Meetings".Longridge Town Council.Retrieved15 October2023.
- ^"Alston Township / Civil Parish".A Vision of Britain through Time.GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.Retrieved15 October2023.
- ^"Dilworth Township / Civil Parish".A Vision of Britain through Time.GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.Retrieved15 October2023.
- ^"No. 22478".The London Gazette.8 February 1861. p. 506.
- ^Kelly's Directory of Lancashire.London. 1905. p. 601.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Local Government Act 1894
- ^"Longridge Heritage Trails"(PDF).Visit Lancashire.2007.Retrieved15 October2023.
- ^"The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,SI 1973/1110,retrieved15 October2023
- ^"County Library and Information Service: Longridge Home Page".Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2008.
- ^"143 (Longridge) SQN".
- ^"Lancashire Army Cadets".Army Cadets UK.
- ^"Where to Find St Lawrence's Church, Longridge".
- ^"Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter".UK Free TV. May 2004.Retrieved13 November2023.
- ^"Central Radio".Retrieved13 November2023.
- ^"Lancashire Telegraph".British Papers.30 May 2014.Retrieved13 November2023.
- ^"Christina's acting star is rising".Longridge News.8 August 2011.Retrieved27 February2013.
- ^"Light music concert for composer's 90th".2 April 2020.
- ^"Classical Music magazine - Ernest Tomlinson (1924-2015) has died at 90 - Classical Music".classicalmusicmagazine.org.Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2015.
External links
[edit]
- Longridge Town Council Website
- Longridge Conservation Area Appraisal
- History of Longridge and District,Thomas Charles Smith (1888),Google Books(free)