Eccleston is a village 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 ...

of the

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-me ...

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 beside the River Yarrow, and was formerly an

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

and later a

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

settlement.

History

Its name came from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

word ''"eglēs"'' meaning a church, and the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word ''"tūn"'' meaning a farmstead or settlement, i.e. a settlement by a

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

. Evidence of the settlement dates back hundreds of years; St. Mary's Church dates back to the 14th century AD. The village was mentioned 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, the book ordered by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, to detail all settlements and farms in England for the purpose of tax collection. Ingrave Farm, located on the northern side of the River Yarrow, is built on a moated site of an earlier building thought to date from the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The partly waterlogged

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

about is wide and deep in places. About to the west is a smaller site about square, the moat of which has since been infilled. It was linked to the larger moat by a still waterlogged channel. Bradley Hall Farm on the eastern side of the village is also on a moated site of an earlier building, thought to be of similar age. Although partially infilled, the moat survives best on the south-east and north-east sides where its width is between and depth of up to . Around the moat there are also three fishponds that were connected to it by water channels. The present farmhouse is excluded from the

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

protection, but it is Grade II listed.

Population

According to the

United Kingdom Census 2011 A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

, the parish has a population of 4,263.

Governance

Since 2010, Eccleston has been in the constituency of

South Ribble South Ribble is a borough in the county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The population, at the 2011 Census, was 109,057. Notable towns and villages include Walton le Dale, Bamber Bridge, Leyland and Penwortham. It ...

for elections for Westminster. Before this, the village was in the constituency of Chorley. Local government consists of councils at

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, district and parish level. At district level, Eccleston is part of the three member Eccleston,

Heskin Heskin 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 883 increasing to 898 at the 2011 Census.This increased to 906 at the 2021 Census. ...

and

Charnock Richard Charnock Richard is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,748. History The village was named in the early 13th century by the local ...

ward of Chorley Council, created in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

it was previously part of a 3 member ward with

Mawdesley Mawdesley is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, which had a population of 1,702 at the 2011 Census. History The name Mawdesley is thought to have originated in the reign of Edward I (1272–1308). The suffix -''ley'' describ ...

From 2002-

and before that was combined with Heskin.

Economy

In agrarian times the local speciality was fruit from orchards, few of which now remain. The more recent weaving industry has also passed, as the two local

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

s are now closed. The "Old Mill" building is now being used as an antique, collectable and nostalgia retail space called "Bygone Times". The "New Mill" was converted into a small village shopping centre which was recently demolished entirely and a new smaller shopping center built with houses being built on the extra space. Consequently, the village has developed a more suburban role than some of its neighbours.

Transport

The town is served by an hourly bus service to

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 ...

, Preston,

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 ...

and Chorley (daytimes only) with more infrequent daytime services available to Southport and Ormskirk. The nearest railway stations are at

and Euxton Balshaw Lane.

Education

The village has two schools, Eccleston St. Mary's Church of England Primary School and Eccleston Primary School.

Religion

There are three churches in the village, the 14th Century St Mary the Virgin Church of England Church to the north of the village (until the reformation this was formerly the Catholic Church), constructed from distinctive Liverpool sandstone, similar to Euxton Parish Church, Eccleston Methodist Church and St Agnes Roman Catholic Church to the south.

Social

Gold Post Box, Eccleston Post Office - geograph

The village public house scene has consolidated in recent years. The Original Farmer's Arms is predominantly an eatery located at the Northern end of the village. The village is also served by the Working Men's Institute Club ("th'insty") and the Eccleston Cricket Club (game days only). The site of the former Blue Anchor pub has been converted to the Anchorfields housing estate and the site of the former windmill pub has been converted to high end apartments. Pubs just outside the village include the Rose and Crown (Ulnes Walton), Farmers Arms (Heskin), Red Lion (Mawdesley). The village also has a popular children's play area situated adjacent to the football pitches, popularly known as "the rec", an abbreviation of recreation area.

Notable people

* St. John Rigby, martyr * Sir

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

, professional cyclist

References

External links

Eccleston Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of Chorley