Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider

Borough of Chorley The Borough of Chorley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The population of the Borough at the 2011 census was 107,155. It is named after its largest settlement, the town of Chorley. History The non-met ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, north of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, south west of

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 ...

, north west of

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, south of Preston and 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 ...

. The town's wealth came principally from the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

industry. In the 1970s, the skyline was dominated by factory chimneys, but most have now been demolished: remnants of the industrial past include Morrisons chimney and other mill buildings, and the streets of terraced houses for mill workers. Chorley is the home of the

Chorley cake Chorley cakes are flattened, fruit filled pastry cakes, traditionally associated with the town of Chorley in Lancashire, England. Chorley cake A Chorley cake is made using currants, sandwiched between two layers of unsweetened shortcrust pastr ...

History

Toponymy

The name ''Chorley'' comes from two

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

words, and , probably meaning "the

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s' clearing". (also or ) is a common element of place-name, meaning a clearing in a woodland; refers to a person of status similar to a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

or a

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

Prehistory

There was no known occupation in Chorley until the Middle Ages, though archaeological evidence has shown that the area around the town has been inhabited since at least the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. There are various remains of prehistoric occupation on the nearby

Anglezarke Anglezarke is a sparsely populated Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is an agricultural area used for sheep farming, also site of reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool. T ...

Moor, including the

Round Loaf Round Loaf is a late-Neolithic or Bronze Age tumulus on Anglezarke Moor in the West Pennine Moors near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The bowl barrow is a scheduled monument considered to be of national importance. It was first scheduled in Ma ...

tumulus which is believed to date from 3500 BC. A pottery burial urn from this period was discovered in 1963 on land next to Astley Hall Farm and later excavation in the 1970s revealed another burial urn and four cremation pits dating from the

Roman period

During the

Roman 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 letter ...

era a Roman road ran near Chorley between

and Walton-le-Dale. Hoards dating from the Roman period have also been found at nearby at

Whittle-le-Woods Whittle-le-Woods (commonly shortened to Whittle) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 5,434. Whittle-le-Woods lie ...

and

Heapey Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The village is two miles from Chorley and on the western fringe of the West Pennine Moors. In 2001 the population was 955, increasing to 1,001 at the 2011 c ...

Medieval period

Chorley was not listed in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' of 1086, though it is thought to be one of the twelve berewicks in the

Leyland Hundred The Leyland Hundred (also known as Leylandshire) is a historic subdivision of the English county of Lancashire. It covered the parishes of Brindle, Chorley, Croston, Eccleston, Hoole, Leyland, Penwortham, Rufford, Standish and Tarleton. ...

. Chorley first appears in historical records in the mid thirteenth century as part of the portion of the

Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century when ...

Lordship acquired by William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, around 1250. The Earl established Chorley as a small borough comprising a two-row settlement arranged along what later became Market Street. It appears that the borough was short lived, as it does not appear in a report of a commission on the Leyland Hundred in 1341. It is most likely that the borough was sacked by the Scots during the

Great Raid of 1322 The Great Raid of 1322 was a major raid carried out by Robert the Bruce, during the First Scottish War of Independence, on Northern England between 30 September and 2 November 1322, resulting in the Battle of Old Byland. Numerous raids began ...

, with Chorley being one of the southernmost points reached in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. This led to the construction of a

Peel tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standin ...

, which said to have been located somewhere close to

Duxbury Hall Duxbury Hall was a 19th-century country house in Duxbury Park estate in Duxbury Woods, Lancashire that has been demolished. The hall was a plain two-storey building faced in millstone grit ashlar standing in a well-wooded park 1½ miles (2.5&n ...

. The manorial history of Chorley is complex as the manor had no single lord throughout most of this period, as it had been split into moieties and was managed by several different families. This led to Chorley having several manorial halls, which in this period included Chorley Hall, built in the 14th century by the de Chorley family, which has since the 19th or 20th century been demolished. Very little is known of Chorley Hall, although according to what the painter John Bird painted in 1795, its location to where it once stood is said to have been where The Parish of St Laurence Church of England Primary School now stands. There is also Lower Chorley Hall, which was owned by the Gillibrand family from 1583 (later rebuilt in the 19th century as Gillibrand Hall). It is believed the borough of Chorley was not a success in this period because of the lack of manorial leadership and the dispersed nature of the small population.

St Laurence's Church St. Laurence's Church, Saint Lawrence's Church, or ''variations'' on those names or spellings, may refer to: Australia * Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney Austria * Basilica of St. Lawrence, Enns Czech Republic * Church of St. Lawrence, Roman ...

is the oldest remaining building in Chorley and first appears in historical records when it was dedicated in 1362, though it is believed there was already an earlier

chapel on the site which was a daughter foundation of Croston Parish Church. It is believed that the church is named after

Saint Laurence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

, an Irish saint who died in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

in the 12th century, whose bones were conveyed to the church by local noble Sir Rowland Standish

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...

, an ancestor of

Myles Standish Myles Standish (c. 1584 – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer and colonizer. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims. Standish accompanied the Pilgrims on ...

(an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military adviser for their Plymouth expedition to the New World). As happened in many other instances following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, these relics went missing in the turmoil of the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

under the rule of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. A market was held every Tuesday in Chorley and a fair was held annually on the feast of

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

since 1498.

19th century to present

Chorley, like most Lancashire towns, gained its wealth from the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

of the 19th century which was also responsible for the town's growth. Chorley was a vital cotton town with many mills littering the skyline up to the late twentieth century. Most mills were demolished between the 1950s and 2000s with those remaining converted for modern business purposes. Today only a minority remain in use for actual manufacturing, and the last mill to stop producing textiles was Lawrence's in 2009. Also, given its location on the edge of

Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Romans may have been the fir ...

, Chorley was vital in

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mining. Several pits existed in

Duxbury Woods Duxbury Woods is an area of woodland and parkland situated in Chorley, Lancashire, at the foot of the West Pennine Moors. The area originally existed as a township with the council meeting at the Yarrow Bridge pub; this was absorbed into Chorl ...

, the Gillibrand area and more numerously in

Coppull Coppull is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is part of the Borough of Chorley, lies around above sea level. Its population is around 8,000, having been counted at 7,959 in the 2011 Census. It is bounded by Whittle Brook, Cl ...

. Chisnall Hall Colliery at

was considered the biggest Lancashire pit outside of Wigan and one of many located in the Chorley suburb. The last pit in the area to close was the

Ellerbeck Colliery Ellerbeck Colliery was a coal mine located on the border of Coppull and Adlington in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. The Hilton House and Red Moss Coal Company sank the first shaft in 1876 and the colliery closed in 1928. In 189 ...

in 1987 which was located south of Chorley, between

and Adlington. The town played an important role during the

Second World War 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 ...

, when it was home to the

Royal Ordnance Factory Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministr ...

, a large munitions manufacturer in the village of

Euxton Euxton ( ) is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was 9,993, however, the population is now estimated to be around 14,000 due to the incre ...

about from the town centre. A smaller factory was also built near the railway line of Blackburn–Wigan in

Religion

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

of St Laurence, located on Union Street, has been a place of Christian worship for over 800 years. The Church of England parish church of St George, situated on St George's Street, is an important example of the work of architect

Thomas Rickman Thomas Rickman (8 June 17764 January 1841) was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his ''Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'' ...

, a major figure in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It was built as a

Commissioners' church A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplied ...

in 1822. St Mary's Roman Catholic Church is based in the town centre at Mount Pleasant. The parish was founded in 1847, in a chapel in Chapel Street. The land for the church was purchased in 1851 and the first building erected in 1853. It was opened in June 1853. The church can sit 750 persons.

Pugin & Pugin Pugin & Pugin ( fl. 1851– c. 1958) was a London-based family firm of church architects, founded in the Westminster office of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812–1852). The firm was succeeded by his sons Cuthbert Welby Pugin (1840–1928) a ...

of London and

Hansom The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, ...

are the architects. Chorley United Reformed Church is home to one of the oldest and largest

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 ...

es in the north west. Founded in 1792 as an Independent Church it later affiliated to the

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

and in 1972 voted to become part of the new United Reformed Church (URC). The church is home to the oldest

Scout Troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted inf ...

in the town, established in 1919. In January 2017 it was announced that the church building, which had been at its current site since 1792, would be demolished, and the congregation relocated to other premises. The church enjoys extensive youth work, with two church youth groups affiliated to the URC's youth fellowship FURY, and a Junior Church together with Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. During 2012, the church became the first church to advertise from the air when a very large cross was painted on the church car park. The cross is now visible on earth mapping websites such as

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

. In the north of the town, there is a park containing a meeting house and a temple of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). The temple, which is regarded as a local landmark, is the largest LDS temple in Europe and named the

Preston England Temple The Preston England Temple is the 52nd operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The temple is located in the town of Chorley, south of Preston, in Lancashire, England. The temple serves Latter-day Sain ...

. Construction on the temple commenced in 1994 and was completed in 1998. Connected to the temple campus is the England Missionary Training Centre for the LDS Church which houses church representatives preparing to fill proselytizing and service assignments in Great Britain and other parts of Europe. Chorley's only

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

is to be found on the corner of Brooke Street and Charnock Street. The building officially opened in March 2006, having been in planning for over three years.

Governance

In 1837, Chorley joined with other

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

s (or

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 ...

es) in the area to become head of the Chorley Poor Law Union which took responsibility for the administration and funding of the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

in the area. Chorley became incorporated as 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 ...

in 1881, and was governed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and council of eight

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

and twenty four

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s. The population of the

Municipal Borough of Chorley The Municipal Borough of Chorley was a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England, with municipal borough status and coterminate with the town of Chorley. History Lying within the boundaries of the historic co ...

remained roughly static in the 20th century, with the 1911 census showing 30,315 people and the 1971 census showing 31,665. Under 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 ...

, Chorley became the core of a larger non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974. The present

has forty-two councillors, representing 14 three-member

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...

in Chorley town council. The Member of Parliament for the constituency of Chorley, since 1997, is

Lindsay Hoyle Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957)'HOYLE, Hon. Lindsay (Harvey)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 201 Retrieved 31 December 20 ...

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

. He was formerly a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP.Deputy Speakers: Hoyle, Primarolo and Evans elected
BBC News, 8 June 2010

Geography

The principal river in the town is the

Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...

. The Black Brook is a tributary of the Yarrow. The name of the River Chor was back-formed from "Chorley" and runs not far from the centre of the town, notably through Astley Park. Chorley is located at the foot of the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separat ...

and is overlooked by

Healey Nab Healey Nab or "The Nab" is an area of countryside owned partly by Lancashire County Council containing rolling hills, moorland, woodland, ponds and streams to the east of Chorley, Lancashire, between the M61 and the West Pennine Moors. To its ...

, a small hill which is part of the

. It is the seat for the

which is made up of Chorley and its surrounding villages. Chorley had a population of 33,424 at the 2001 census, with the wider borough of Chorley having a population of 101,991. Chorley forms a conurbation with Preston and Leyland and was once proposed as being designated part of the

Central Lancashire Central Lancashire is an area of Lancashire, England. Central Lancashire New Town Central Lancashire New Town was the largest of the post-war English new towns, designated in 1970 and covering : the County Borough of Preston, parts of Chorley, ...

New Town under the New Towns Act, a proposal which was eventually scaled back.

Economy

The first signs of industry as with many towns in Lancashire was mining, evidence of which can be seen by the various abandoned

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

on the outskirts of the town. One of these is Anglezarke Quarry, between Chorley and

Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Prior to 1974 in the historic county of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It l ...

. Remnants of mining include an old railway bridge from the Duxbury Mine off Wigan Lane. Eventually the mining industry was replaced by cotton mills. Manufacture of

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

s was inherited from the neighbouring town of Leyland. A large factory on Pilling Lane produced, including military vehicles and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s during the

. After the Second World War, production was reduced, and the final part of the site was closed in 2008 by

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

. A large part of the site has been redeveloped for residential and industrial use as

Buckshaw Village Buckshaw Village (often shortened to Buckshaw) is a 21st-century residential and industrial area between the towns of Chorley and Leyland in Lancashire, England, developed on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Chorley. It h ...

. Through the twentieth century, especially the latter half, Chorley suffered the loss of much of its manufacturing capacity with great losses in or the completely disappearance of its coal, textiles, motor vehicles and armaments industries.

Leyland Trucks Leyland Trucks is a medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturer based in Leyland, Lancashire, England. It can trace its origins back to the original Leyland Motors, which was founded in 1896, and subsequently evolved into British Leyland. Aft ...

and

are the Central Lancashire area's largest employers at their sites in Leyland and

Samlesbury Samlesbury () is a village and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is in the village, as is Samlesbury Aerodrome and a large modern brewery owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The population at the ...

respectively. Companies with a presence in the borough are: *

Telent Telent Technology Services Limited (styled as telent) is a British radio, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure systems installation and services provision company. The name was used from 2006 for those parts of the United Kingdom and G ...

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

, North West depot located in the town *

DXC Technology DXC Technology is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. History DXC Technology was founded on April 3, 2017 when the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) ...

, two locations, one in

and the other in

Clayton-le-Woods Clayton-le-Woods (Commonly shortened to Clayton) is a large village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it has a population of 14,528. At the 2011 census the population of Cuerde ...

, north of Chorley *

Multipart Solutions TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS) is a firm that supplies spare parts and components to customers in the automotive, defence and utility sectors in the United Kingdom, Europe and the US. It is part of the TVS Group of companies. The company i ...

Limited, successor to the parts arm of the

Leyland DAF Leyland DAF was a commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Leyland, United Kingdom, and a subsidiary of DAF NV. In February 1993, Leyland DAF was placed into receivership. History Leyland DAF was formed in February 1987, when the ...

* Porter Lancastrian is a manufacturer of beer pumps, under the Porta brand In 2011, Chorley Council launched an initiative, "Choose Chorley", to encourage SME's and large businesses to relocate to Chorley. The initiative offers red carpet introductions to key people in the town, financial incentives and tailored support for business growth. The town is the home of the

. In October "Chorley Cake Street Fair", restarted in 1995, promotes the cakes, with a competition for local bakers to produce the largest ever Chorley cake.

Healthcare

Chorley is served by the local

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

hospital Chorley and South Ribble Hospital which is located on Euxton Lane, in addition to a private hospital located in

. The town also had another major hospital formerly on Eaves Lane, before this closed in the 1990s. There was also the

Heath Charnock Heath Charnock is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 2,065, reducing to 2,026 at the 2011 Census. Location Heath Charnock is next ...

isolation hospital A fever hospital or isolation hospital is a hospital for infectious diseases such as scarlet fever and smallpox. Their purpose is to treat affected people while isolating them from the general population. Early examples included the Liverpool ...

on Hut Lane which dealt with infectious diseases before reverting to use for long term patients, before closing in the 1990s.

Transport

Road

Chorley is bisected by the A6 Roman road which goes straight through the town centre. The town is also near to the M61 of which Junction 6 and 8 serving the town. Also the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

serves the west of the town with Junction 27 connecting the town to the motorway,

Charnock Richard services Charnock Richard Services is a motorway service area between Junctions 27 and 28 of the M6 in England. The services are in the Lancashire borough of Chorley and were the first on the M6 when they opened in 1963. Originally operated by Trust ...

on the M6 are located in Chorley Borough.

Bus

The town's bus station,

Chorley Interchange Chorley Interchange is a bus station in Chorley, England. History Chorley Interchange opened in February 2003 replacing the previous structure. It is owned by Lancashire County Council and operated by Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire. ...

, opened in February 2003, replacing an older bus station also in the town centre. Bus services are provided by several operators: * Stagecoach North West operate bus services which connect the town to

, Leyland, Preston and

and the

Network Chorley Stagecoach North West was a major operator of bus services in North West England. It was a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and had its origins in the purchase of Cumberland in 1987 and Ribble Motor Services in 1988 from the National Bus Com ...

routes within the borough. *

Blackburn Bus Company The Blackburn Bus Company operates both local and regional bus services in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire ...

operate the bus service between Blackburn and Chorley. *

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

also operate a daily service from Chorley Interchange to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Rail

The main central railway station is

Chorley railway station Chorley railway station serves the town of Chorley in Lancashire, England. Since 2004 it has been linked with Chorley Interchange bus and coach station. It is on the Manchester–Preston line. History of the station The current railway stati ...

in the town centre. The railway station is used by: *

TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...

whose line runs between

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...

direct to Scotland without changing. * Northern

Manchester to Preston Line 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 two ...

runs through Chorley and also connects the town to Bolton, Preston and

. The railway station was also served by the Wigan-Blackburn Railway line up until it was closed in 1960. The line also had stops at

Brinscall Brinscall is a village in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. Located approximately five miles north-east of Chorley, Brinscall borders the similar-sized villages of Withnell and Abbey Village. Brinscall is part of the civil parish o ...

Withnell Withnell is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it had a population of 3,631, reducing to 3,498 at the census of 2011. Withnell is about north-east of Chorley itself and ...

and the

White Bear railway station White Bear railway station, on Station Road, Adlington, Lancashire, England, was on the Lancashire Union Railway line between St Helens and Blackburn. The station was named in some timetables as White Bear (Adlington) or White Bear for Adling ...

at Adlington. Elsewhere in the borough there are railway stations at

on the Wigan–Preston line, at Adlington and

on the Manchester–Preston line, and at

on the

Ormskirk Branch Line The Ormskirk branch line is a railway line in Lancashire, England, running between Preston and Ormskirk. The train service is operated by Northern Trains, who usually operate class 150, 156, and 158 units. The line is the northern section of th ...

Waterways

White Bear Marina, on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, Adlington, Chorley, Lancashire

The

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

runs parallel to Chorley and several marinas and locks are located on the Chorley area. Marinas along the canal include: *White Bear Marina, Adlington *Cowling Launch, Chorley *Top Lock, Whittle * Botany Brow * Botany Bay Boatyard *Riley Green,

Hoghton Hoghton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 802. Brindle and Hoghton ward also includes the parish of Brindle. Hoghton Tower is a fortified manor hous ...

Education

Chorley is home to numerous primary schools, both council and church supported. Chorley has the following six high schools: *

Holy Cross Catholic High School Holy Cross Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic Voluntary aided comprehensive school in Chorley, Lancashire, England. The school provides co-educational education for approximately 830 pupils in the 11-16 age range, most of whom reside in ...

Albany Academy The Albany Academy is an independent college preparatory day school for boys in Albany, New York, USA, enrolling students from Preschool (age 3) to Grade 12. It was established in 1813 by a charter signed by Mayor Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer ...

* Bishop Rawstorne CE Academy * Parklands High School *

Southlands High School Southlands High School is a coeducational secondary school in Chorley, Lancashire, United Kingdom. It has approximately 1,000 students per annum. Awards * Lancashire Evening Post School Of The Year 201Lancashire Evening Post Best in Educatio ...

* St. Michael's CE High School Some

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

are also present just outside the borough. Most Chorley children go on to attend the nearby

Runshaw College Runshaw College is a further and higher education college based at three centres in Leyland and Chorley, Lancashire, England. History Runshaw College was established in 1974. It initially catered solely for school leavers from Balshaw's High ...

in Leyland. Runshaw College has also expanded into the former administration site of ROF Chorley and is using, amongst others, the main administration building. Lancashire College, based in Chorley, is a part of

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

's Lancashire Adult Learning, offering a wide range of courses, a speciality being intensive residential language courses. From 1905 to 1981, the town was home to Chorley Training College (from the 1960s known as Chorley 'Day' Training College), designed by the Victorian and Edwardian architect Henry Cheers, and the town centre building now occupying this site is now Chorley Public Library.

Sport

Chorley is home to the semi professional football team,

Chorley F.C. Chorley Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chorley, Lancashire, England. They currently compete in and play their home matches at Victory Park. The club was founded as a rugby union club in 1875 but switched to footba ...

, known as the Magpies due to their black and white strip. Founded as a rugby team in 1875, they switched to playing football eight years later. Since then they have had limited success, with their most memorable moments being two appearances in the second round of the FA Cup, and two seasons in the Football Conference in the late 1980s. They played in the National League in the 2019/20 season having won promotion from the National League North in the previous season, but were relegated back to the National League North. The team gained fame after qualifying for the 4th round of the 2020-21 FA Cup, 2020-21 season of the FA Cup. The town and surrounding boroughs boast a number of cricket clubs, with two teams taking the town's name. Chorley Cricket Club currently play in the Northern Premier Cricket League, Northern League, and were finalists in the ECB National Club Cricket Championship for three consecutive seasons from 1994 to 1996, winning the trophy on the first two occasions. Chorley St James Cricket Club are the second side in the town, competing in the Southport & District Amateur Cricket League, having been members of the Chorley League until its demise in 2005. The town is home to the Chorley Buccaneers American Football Club. Founded in the year 2000, the Bucs now have eight competitive teams and over 120 players competing in the BAFA National Leagues structure. They are based at Parklands Academy in Chorley. The club has three National Championship titles to their name in their 17-year existence, most recently in 2016. Chorley RUFC was founded in the early 1970s and initially their matches were on played on fields at Astley Park. Since there was no club house in the early days the team played from the Prince of Wales pub, near the town's covered market. Work started on a new clubhouse on 22 March 1984 , on an area of land off Chancery Road, situated on the edge of the freshly constructed Astley Village Estate. The club currently run two senior sides and a mini section, the 1st XV playing in the Rugby Football Union, RFU North Lancs 2 division. Until 2004, Chorley had a rugby league side, Chorley Lynx, who played in League Two of the Rugby League Championships, Rugby League National Leagues. The club was forced to close in 2004 due to small crowds and the withdrawal of funding by backer Trevor Hemmings. Many of the club's players and staff joined nearby Blackpool Panthers. Chorley is home to track cycling, track cyclists including Olympic gold medal winners Jason Queally and Bradley Wiggins, and Paralympic silver medallist Rik Waddon, due in part to the proximity of the town to the Manchester Velodrome. Chorley is also the home town of Paralympic gold medallist Natalie Jones. The council owned leisure centre contains a swimming pool, sports hall, squash courts and a small fitness suite. The borough also includes other gym facilities, two other council-owned leisure centres, at Clayton Green and

, and another public swimming pool at Brinscall. The town is also home to a Next Generation fitness centre, other private pools and leisure centres, and a David Lloyd (tennis), David Lloyd Tennis Centre. south of Chorley town centre is Duxbury Park municipal golf course. The town is home to many amateur football, rugby and cricket teams. There are also several grass football pitches, bowling greens and tennis courts. A public outdoor swimming pool in Astley Park was demolished in the 1990s for health and safety reasons. Chorley Athletic and Triathlon Club regularly compete in road, cross country, fell, athletics and triathlon events. Chorley Cycling Club was formed in 2011, resurrecting a club which had disbanded around 1953. The club caters to both leisure and racing members and runs regular training and social rides on local roads. Chorley JKS Shotokan Karate Club established a club in the town 2012.

Media

Chorley has two local newspapers: the weekly ''Chorley Guardian'' and the free ''Chorley Citizen''. A British comedy television show, ''Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, Phoenix Nights'', cited Chorley's radio station, Chorley FM, whose slogan was "Coming in your ears". The station, based in Chorley, originally broadcast for only a few weeks, but in 2005 received a licence to broadcast from Chorley Community Centre (see ''Chorley FM''). Chorley is the hometown of Lee Mack, creator and central actor in the BBC sitcom ''Not Going Out''. It is also the home of actor Joseph Gilgun, of Brassic (TV series), ''Brassic'', ''This is England'', Misfits (TV series), ''Misfits'' and Preacher (TV series), Preacher. As well as ''Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, Phoenix Nights'', comedian Dave Spikey based his comedy series Dead Man Weds in, and filmed most of it in, Chorley. Steve Pemberton, the creator of The League of Gentlemen, based most of its characters on folk from Adlington.

Places of interest

*Astley Hall (Chorley), Astley Park and Astley Hall HH icon

*Bank Hall HH icon

*Duxbury Woods, Duxbury Park and Golf Course UKAL icon

*White Coppice & Great Hill UKAL icon

*Heskin Hall HH icon

*Leeds & Liverpool Canal UKAL icon

*Rivington Pike CP icon

*Winter Hill (North West England), Winter Hill UKAL icon

*Worden Park CP icon

*Yarrow Valley Park, Yarrow Valley Country Park CP icon

Twin towns

Chorley is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Székesfehérvár, Hungary (1992) * Lanzhou, China (2019)

Notable residents

Hubert von Herkomer (1849-1914) - Sir Henry Tate - N03517 - National Gallery

*Loui Batley (born 1987), (actress and dancer) *Bill Beaumont (born 1952), (former England rugby union captain) *Walter Berg (astrologer), Walter Berg (born 1947), (astrologer) *Leonora Carrington (1917–2011), (painter) *Phil Cool (born 1948), (comedian) *C. D. Darlington (1903–1981), (biologist) *Derek Draper (born 1967), (former

spin doctor and newspaper columnist) *Simon Farnworth (born 1963), (footballer, later physiotherapist) *John Foxx (born 1948), (musician) *Joseph Gilgun (born 1984), (actor) *Paul Grayson (rugby player), Paul Grayson (born 1971), (England rugby union player) *Rick Guard (jazz singer and songwriter) *Sir Walter Haworth (1883–1950), (Nobel Prize winner) *Trevor Hemmings (1935-2021), (businessman) *Adam Henley (born 1994), (footballer, playing for Blackburn Rovers, later for Real Salt Lake in the MLS) *Teddy Hodgson (1885–1919), (from Chorley, played for Burnley F.C., F.A. Cup Winners against Liverpool in 1914) *Anna Hopkin MBE (born 1996), (swimmer and Olympic gold medallist) *

(born 1957), (MP) *Conrad Hunte (1932–1999), (former West Indian Test cricketer, lived in Chorley before the 1957 Test Series against England) *Charles Lightoller (1874–1952), (highest-ranking crew member to survive the Sinking of the RMS Titanic, sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'') *Paul McKenna (footballer), Paul McKenna (born 1977), (footballer) *Paul Mariner (1953–2021), (England international footballer) *Rifleman William Mariner (VC), William Mariner Victoria Cross, VC (1882–1916), soldier awarded the Victoria Cross at Cambrin in 1915. *Barry Mason (1935–2021), (songwriter) *Ken Morley (born 1943), (actor) *Sheila Parker (born 1947), (former captain of the England women's national football team) *Phil Parkinson (born 1967), (footballer, later football manager) *Steve Pemberton (born 1967), (actor) *Adam Nagaitis (born 1985), (actor) *Jason Queally (born 1970), (cyclist) *Thomas Rawlinson (industrialist), Thomas Rawlinson (18th-century industrialist, believed to have been born in Chorley) *Kevin Simm (born 1980), (musician of Liberty X and Wet Wet Wet fame, also winner of The Voice UK (series 5), the fifth season of ''The Voice UK'') *Tom Smith (cricketer born 1985), Tom Smith (born 1985), (cricketer) *

(c. 1584 – 1656), (founder of the Pilgrim Fathers) *Starsailor (band), Starsailor (pop group) *Tom Stephenson (activist), Tom Criddle Stephenson (1893–1987), (journalist and champion of walkers' rights) *Sir Henry Tate (1819–1899), (sugar magnate and founder of the Tate Gallery, London) *Josh Charnley (born 1991), (rugby league footballer) *David Unsworth (born 1973), (Everton footballer, later Everton U-23 manager) *Mickey Walsh (born 1954), (former Irish international footballer) *Holburt Jacob Waring, Sir Holburt Jacob Waring Bt CBE FRCS (1866–1953), vice-chancellor of the University of London from 1922 to 1924 *Rosemarie Wright (1931–2020), (pianist)

References

External links

Chorley Borough Council
* {{authority control Chorley, Towns in Lancashire Market towns in Lancashire West Pennine Moors Unparished areas in Lancashire Geography of Chorley