Clitheroe () is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the Borough of Ribble Valley,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England; it is located north-west of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. It is near the

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Clitheroe built-up area had an estimated population of 16,279. The town's most notable building is

Clitheroe Castle Clitheroe Castle is a ruined early medieval castle in Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It was the ''caput'' of the Honour of Clitheroe, a vast estate stretching along the western side of the Pennines. Its earliest history is debated but it is ...

, which is said to be one of the smallest

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

s in Great Britain. Several manufacturing companies have sites here, including Dugdale Nutrition,

Hanson Cement Hanson Cement is a cement production company located in the United Kingdom. It was called Castle Cement until it was rebranded in 2009. The company is now owned by HeidelbergCement. History The company was formed in 1981 through an amalgamatio ...

Johnson Matthey Johnson Matthey is a British multinational speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Early years ...

and

Tarmac Tarmac may refer to: Engineered surfaces * Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902 * Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...

History

The name ''Clitheroe'' is thought to come from the Anglo-Saxon for "Rocky Hill", and was also spelled ''Clyderhow'' and ''Cletherwoode'', amongst others. The town was the administrative centre for the lands of the

Honour of Clitheroe The Honour of Clitheroe is an ancient grouping of manors and royal forests centred on Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England; an honour traditionally being the grant of a large landholding complex, not all of whose parts are contiguous. In the ...

. The

Battle of Clitheroe The Battle of Clitheroe was a battle between a force of Scots and English knights and men at arms which took place on 10 June 1138 during the period of The Anarchy. The battle was fought on the southern edge of the Bowland Fells, at Clitheroe, ...

was fought in 1138 during

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

. These lands were held by

Roger de Poitou Roger the Poitevin (Roger de Poitou) was born in Normandy in the mid-1060s and died before 1140. He was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat, possessing large holdings in both England and through his marriage in France. He was the third son of Roger of Mon ...

, who passed them to the

De Lacy de Lacy (Laci, Lacie, Lascy, Lacey, Lassey) is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorde ...

family, from whom they passed by marriage in 1310 or 1311 to

Thomas, Earl of Lancaster Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...

. It subsequently became part of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...

until Charles II at the Restoration bestowed it, on

George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cru ...

, from whose family it descended through the

house of Montagu The House of Montagu ( ; historically Montagud, Montaigu, Montague, Montacute and Litinised as ''de Monte Acuto'' ("from the sharp mountain" (French: "mont aigu")) is an English noble family founded in Somerset after the Norman Conquest of ...

e to that of Buccleuch. At one point, the town of Clitheroe was given to Richard, 1st Duke of Gloucester. Up until 1835, the Lord of the Honor was also by right

Lord of Bowland The Lordship of Bowland is a feudal barony associated with the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, England. The lordship fell into disuse between 1885 and 2008, during which time it was widely believed to have lapsed; it was revived in 2008. In 18 ...

, the so-called

Lord of the Fells Lord of the Fells is a customary title of the Lords of Bowland. The title is thought to have become customary during the high medieval period as a description of the Lords' rugged upland demesne. Bowland Fells, more widely known as the Fore ...

. The town's earliest existing charter is from 1283, granted by

Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1251February 1311), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I. He served Edward in Wales, France, and Sco ...

, confirming rights granted by one of his forebears between 1147 and 1177. According to local legend, stepping stones across the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

near the town are the abode of an evil spirit, who drowns one traveller every seven years.

Jet engine development

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...

was developed by the

Rover Company The Rover Company Limited was a British car manufacturing company that operated from its base in Solihull in Warwickshire. Its lasting reputation for quality and performance was such that its first postwar model reviewed by '' Road & Track'' i ...

. Rover and

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

met engineers from the different companies at Clitheroe's Swan & Royal Hotel. The residential area 'Whittle Close' in the town is named after

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for ...

, being built over the site of the former jet engine test beds.

Ancient monuments

The town only has three Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Bellmanpark Lime kiln and embankment, Edisford Bridge and

Governance and representation

The town elected two members to the

Unreformed House of Commons "Unreformed House of Commons" is a name given to the House of Commons of Great Britain and (after 1800 the House of Commons of the United Kingdom) before it was reformed by the Reform Act 1832, the Irish Reform Act 1832, and the Scottish Reform ...

. The

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

reduced this to one. The

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

was abolished under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. It was one of the boroughs reformed by the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

, and remained a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

, based at Clitheroe Town Hall, until the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

came into force in 1974, when it became a

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the fo ...

within the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...

district. Since 1991, the town of Clitheroe has elected at least 8 out of the 10 Liberal Democrat borough councillors on

Ribble Valley Borough Council Ribble may refer to: * River Ribble, in North Yorkshire and Lancashire, England ** Ribble and Alt Estuaries * River Ribble, West Yorkshire, England * Ribble Motor Services, a former bus company in North West England * Ribble Valley, a local gover ...

, while Clitheroe Town Council has been Liberal Democrat-controlled for that period too. Likewise, since 1993, the town has elected a Liberal Democrat County Councillor to

County Council.

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

was one of earliest seats to elect a Labour MP, when

David Shackleton Sir David James Shackleton (21 November 1863 – 1 August 1938) was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, following the formation of the Labour Representation Committee. He ...

won the

1902 Clitheroe by-election The 1902 Clitheroe by-election was held on 1 August 1902 after the incumbent Liberal MP Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth was elevated to the House of Lords. The Labour Representation Committee candidate David Shackleton won the by-election unopposed ...

for the Labour Representation Committee. He was the first Labour MP to win a by-election, and the third ever elected. He was returned unopposed, but easily won the subsequent 1906 general election, at which he was challenged by an

Independent Conservative Independent Conservative is a description which has been used in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and elsewhere, to denote a political conservative who lacks a formal affiliation to the party of that name. In the United Kingdom As a de ...

. Shackleton was General Secretary of the Textile Factory Workers Association, and at the time, there were a large number of mill workers living locally. Labour lost the seat at the 1922 election, and did not regain it until their 1945 landslide victory. The Conservatives won the seat back at the next general election, in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, and held it from then until

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, when the constituency was abolished due to boundary changes. From 1885 to 1983, when the seat existed, the boundaries covered areas outside Clitheroe itself, including parts of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

. As part of the

constituency, Clitheroe has been represented by a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament for many years, with the exception of Michael Carr, who won a by-election in 1991 for the Liberal Democrats, but who lost the seat at the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

which followed a year later. The current MP is

Nigel Evans Nigel Martin Evans (born 10 November 1957) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ribble Valley (UK Parliament constituency), Ribble Valley constituency in Lancashire si ...

, who was first elected in 1992. Prior to this, the MP was the high-profile

David Waddington David Charles Waddington, Baron Waddington, (2 August 1929 – 23 February 2017) was a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1974 a ...

Climate

Economy

Industry

ICI founded a chemical plant in 1941, which was sold for a reported £260 million in September 2002, to

. Conservatory manufacturer Ultraframe was started in Clitheroe, by John Lancaster in 1983. In March 1997, it floated on the stock exchange, being valued at £345 million in 2003. In June 2006, however, a downturn led to a takeover by Brian Kennedy's Latium Holdings.

has been criticised for using

industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...

in its kilns. The company claims that its filters remove these and that government inspectors have approved the plant. Another local firm, the family-owned

animal feed Animal feed is food given to domestic animals, especially livestock, in the course of animal husbandry. There are two basic types: fodder and forage. Used alone, the word ''feed'' more often refers to fodder. Animal feed is an important input to ...

producer Dugdale Nutrition can trace its history back to John Dugdale who was trading at Waddington Post Office in 1850.

Retail

Historically, Dawsons green grocers was a significant player in the town retail fabric, circa late sixties & early seventies. Batemans Boys Wear fulfilled a retail need from approx 1968-1980. There are numerous banks and building societies, including

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

, and

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

. Clitheroe has three jewellers, with ''Nettletons Jewellers'' being on the high street. In November 2000,

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

('' Perrys'') opened a dealership in the town.

Majestic Wine Majestic Wine is Great Britain’s largest specialist retailer of wine. The company employs over 1,400 staff nationwide, and operates more than 200 stores in the United Kingdom. The business is headquartered in Watford and has a distribution cen ...

now occupies the site. In May 2007, planning permission was granted for a

Homebase Homebase is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, unti ...

, although the store didn't open until April 2009. In April 2015, work officially started on a new development, consisting of

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

and Pets at Home. In October 2015, Aldi officially opened, with Pets at Home and Vets4pets following shortly afterwards. Clitheroe has five supermarkets:

Booths Booths is a chain of high-end supermarkets in Northern England. Most of its branches are in Lancashire, but there are also branches in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It has been described as the "Wait ...

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

(including an

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...

, and Aldi. There is a

shopping arcade A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

known as the '' Swan Courtyard'', and two petrol stations, run by BP and

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...

(which includes a Subway). In May 2007, when

Kwik Save Kwik Save is a British convenience store chain. Prior to 2007, it was also a discount supermarket chain that had shops across the United Kingdom. It went into administration in July 2007, but was brought back in April 2012. Its shops were sma ...

entered administration, its store on Station Road closed. In September 2008, Booths bought the site, and expanded their store, where it currently houses charity shop ''YMCA''.

Demographics

Clitheroe had a population of 14,765 and is made up of 5 wards (Salthill, Littlemoor, Edisford and Low Moor, St Mary's and Primrose). It has small Eastern European and Asian Populations which are both of similar sizes.

Religion

There are three

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

churches: the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene; St James' Church; St Paul's in Low Moor. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church of St Michael and St John Church is at Lowergate and St Augustine's High School in Billington is the local Roman Catholic secondary school. Trinity

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church is on the edge of Castle Park in Clitheroe. There is also a

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

in the town; the Clitheroe Community Church and a

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

citadel. Since 2017, there is also a

Quaker Meeting House A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Steeples, spires, and ...

. A former church at Lowergate was granted permission in December 2006 to become a multi faith centre, with a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

prayer room. It is open for all faiths to use the rest of the building. The conversion was completed in March 2014.

Landmarks

The castle

is argued to be the smallest

keep in the whole of England. It stands atop a 35-metre knoll of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and is one of the oldest buildings in

. The castle's most prominent feature is the hole in its side which was made in 1649 as was ordered by the government. Dixon Robinson was in residence as Steward of the Honour of Clitheroe from 1836 until his death in 1878 and resided at the castle for the same period."Death of Dixon Robinson". The Blackburn Standard (2233): 8. 27 July 1878. His son Aurthur Ingram Robinson lived at the Castle after 1878, and inherited the Steward title too (see

Transport

The town has good local public transport links, centred around Clitheroe Interchange.

Railway

Clitheroe railway station Clitheroe railway station serves the town of Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. The station is the northern terminus of the Ribble Valley Line / Clitheroe Line operated by Northern Trains and is north of Blackburn. The station forms part of C ...

is on the Ribble Valley line, providing hourly passenger services to

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was ...

and

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

; the route is operated by

Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT) ...

. Services are operated usually by Class 150

diesel multiple units A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

, but sometimes by British Rail Class 153, Class 153, British Rail Class 156, Class 156 and British Rail Class 158, Class 158 units. Regular passenger train services had ceased in 1962; they resumed in 1994, though only south towards Blackburn at first. ''Ribble Valley Rail'', a community rail group, is campaigning for services from Clitheroe to be extended north to Hellifield railway station, Hellifield. On summer Sundays, DalesRail trains run to Settle and Carlisle and the ''Ribble Valley Rambler'' runs as far as Hellifield in the winter months. A number of freight trains also pass through Clitheroe each week.

Buses

There are frequent bus services from Clitheroe Interchange to the surrounding Lancashire and Yorkshire settlements. Transdev Blazefield, with its Blackburn Bus Company and Burnley Bus Company subsidiaries, is the most prominent operator; it operates mainly interurban services to other towns in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire. Other operators include Pilkington Bus, Holmeswood Coaches and Stagecoach in Lancashire.

Sport

Clitheroe F.C. play in the Northern Premier League Division One North. Originally established in 1877 as Clitheroe Central, they play their home games at the Shawbridge Stadium. There is also a youth football club, Clitheroe Wolves, founded in 1992. Cricket has been played in Clitheroe since the 1800s, with Clitheroe Cricket Club being formed in 1862 as an amalgamation of two sides, Clitheroe Alhambra and the local Rifles Corps. Based at Chatburn Road and members of the Ribblesdale League since its inception, the club won the league title and both the Ramsbottom and Twenty-20 cups in the 2006 season. The ''Clitheroe Golf Club'' was founded in 1891, and originally the course was at Horrocksford on land now quarried away. The current course was designed by James Braid (golfer), James Braid, and play began in the early 1930s. It is located south of the town in the neighbouring parish of Pendleton, Lancashire, Pendleton. Clitheroe Rugby Union Football Club, formed in 1977, play at the Littlemoor Ground on Littlemoor Road in the town and run two adult rugby teams. In August 2005, a cycle race, the ''Clitheroe Grand Prix'', took place in the town, with Russell Downing finishing ahead of Chris Newton. In August 2006, Ben Greenwood won, with Ian Wilkinson (cyclist), Ian Wilkinson second, but in April 2007, the council decided not to support another event, citing poor attendance. The town was also the start point of the second stage of the 2015 Tour of Britain. Public sports facilities are available at Edisford, with the Ribblesdale Pool and Clitheroe Tennis Centre located there, along with a number of football pitches and netball courts. The site is shared with the Roefield Leisure Centre, developed and operated by a registered charity whose supporters began fund-raising in 1985. In April 2006, Clitheroe Skatepark officially opened in the Castle grounds, built and funded by the Lancaster Foundation charitable trust. In June 2016, Clitheroe-raised mixed martial artist, Michael Bisping, won the UFC Middleweight Championship, by defeating Luke Rockhold by way of knockout in the first round of the fight. On 5 July 2019 he was inducted into The UFC Hall of Fame. He is the first English fighter to be inducted.

Culture

In 2018, the short documentary
Alfie the Odd-Job Boy of Clitheroe
' featured on BBC Three. The film follows the ups and downs of 18-year-old Alfie Cookson, who set up his own business on a tandem pushbike and trailer after struggling to work for other people.

Festivals

The first ''Ribble Valley Jazz Festival'' for over forty years, held from 30 April to 3 May 2010, was organised by the Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues Club, based in Clitheroe. The annual Clitheroe Food Festival takes place in early August. Eighty or more Lancashire food and drink producers are selected to participate by the festival organisers. Lancashire's top professional chefs, the town's retailers, groups and volunteer organisations also take part.

Education

The three main secondary schools in the town are Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, Ribblesdale High School and Moorland School. There are several primary schools in the town. These are St James's Church of England Primary School, St. Michael and John's

Primary School, Pendle Primary School, Edisford Primary School and Brookside Primary School.

Health

Clitheroe has a health centre, accommodating the Pendleside Medical Practice and the Castle Medical Group. There is a community hospital. The area is served by the East Lancashire Commissioning Care Group. Clitheroe also has its own ambulance station, Ambulance, fire station, Fire and police stations.

Twin town

Clitheroe is town twinning, twinned with a small town in France. * – Rivesaltes, France

Clitheronians

* Adam Barton (footballer), professional footballer * Michael Bisping, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC World Middleweight Champion. * Robert de Cliderhou (d. 1339?), Chancery clerk and pastor * Jimmy Clitheroe (1921–1973) a comedian well known for his radio shows, was born in the town but raised in Blacko, near Colne. * Peter Hargreaves CBE, co founder of Hargreaves Lansdown plc. * James King (Royal Navy officer), James King (1750–1784), a Royal Navy officer who was with James Cook on his last voyage around the world. * John Lund (racing driver), John Lund, Eight-time BriSCA F1 Stock Cars World Champion. * Samantha Murray, a modern pentathlon, modern pentathlete, considers Clitheroe to be her hometown. * Dixon Robinson (1795–1878) Steward of the

, Blackburn Lawyer and major landowner / employer of Clitheroe and Chatburn. Built the Pendle Hotel. Owned the Horrocksford Lime Co, Bold Venture Kiln, Limeworks, Gasworks and Quarry from 1837 to his death in 1878. Lived at

. * Arthur Joseph Wrigley (1902–1983), obstetrician and gynaecologist

Media gallery

File:Clitheroe Library.JPG, List of Carnegie libraries in Europe#England, Clitheroe Library and Market Street. File:Clitheroe street.JPG, The main street in Clitheroe, taken from Swan Court Shopping Arcade. File:Clitheroe park enterance.jpg, The main park in Clitheroe; its entrance. File:Clitheroe Park.jpg, A part of the original Houses of Parliament, a gift from London in the 'rose garden'. File:Clitheroe View.JPG, View from Clitheroe Castle. In the distance is Pendle Hill. File:View of Clitheroe.JPG, View towards the railway station from Clitheroe Castle

References

External links

Clitheroe Town Council
{{Authority control Clitheroe, Market towns in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of Ribble Valley Towns in Lancashire