Parbold 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 ...

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...

, England.

Local government

Parbold had a population of 2,582 at the 2011 Census. West Lancashire is divided into 19 parish councils, the first tier of local government. Parbold is bordered by Hilldale to the north,

Wrightington Wrightington is a civil parish in West Lancashire, England, with an area of 3,915½ acres. The surface is hilly, rising to over 400 ft. at Harrock on the border of Parbold, and then falling to the north, northeast and southeast. On the sou ...

to the east,

Dalton Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist Entertainment * Dalton (Buffyverse), minor cha ...

to the south and Newburgh to the west. From 1894 to 1974 Parbold was part of the

Wigan Rural District Wigan Rural District was an administrative district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. The rural district comprised an area to the north, but did not include the town of Wigan. The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894 a ...

, along with

, Haigh,

Shevington Shevington is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, England. The population of the Wigan ward called Shevington and Lower Ground had increased to 11,482 at the 2011 Census. Lying within the historic county boun ...

Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...

and

Location

Parbold lies in the valley of the River Douglas, at the bottom of the western side of Parbold Hill. The village centre is about west of junction 27 of 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 ...

on the A5209. The village can also be reached by rail on the line from

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 ...

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

. Close to the village centre 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 ...

passes over the River Douglas. The nearest sizable towns are

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

(about 5 miles away),

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

(7 miles), and

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 ...

(9 miles). The village is dominated by Parbold Hill which rises to 400 feet above sea level, the top of which is approximately 1 mile to the east of the village. The top of the hill overlooks the West Lancashire plain and the North West of England across to Liverpool, Manchester and Wales. Wood Lane, just off the main road, is also known for its views of the surrounding countryside.

History

The earliest known reference to Parbold is in the late 12th century, where grants of land were made to nearby

Burscough Priory Burscough Priory, at Burscough, Lancashire, England, was an Augustinian foundation, established in around 1190 and dissolved in around 1536. Some remains of the church survive. History The priory was founded in c. 1190 by Robert Fitz-Henry, Lord ...

(pronounced ''Bursk-owe'').Virgoe, J. M. (1994). ''A History of Parbold''. Carnegie. . After the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, Parbold was part of the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

. Little development occurred from this time to the mid 18th century. Parbold became a

in 1894. During the 18th and 19th centuries, a number of

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s worked nearby, rather meagre, seams; hard

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

was also quarried. Both coal and sandstone could be exported over the waterways;

boatbuilding Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and methods Wood W ...

was a minor economic activity in Parbold around this time. The old windmill that is located next to the canal replaced an earlier water cornmill which once stood on Alder Lane, and was in use until 1985.

Parbold railway station Parbold railway station, on the Manchester to Southport Line, serves the village of Parbold and the nearby village of Newburgh in West Lancashire, England. It is currently operated by Northern Trains. History The station was built by the Ma ...

, built in the mid 19th century by the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

, radically altered the village; it allowed

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

workers to live in Parbold and commute to urban areas throughout the

north-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

. In recent years a direct hourly service has operated to

Manchester Airport railway station Manchester Airport station is a railway, tram, bus and coach station at Manchester Airport, England which opened at the same time as the second air terminal in 1993. The station is south of Manchester Piccadilly, at the end of a short branch f ...

giving quick access (less than 1 hour and 15 minutes journey time) to flights from

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 ...

. The railway station also provided a natural centre for the village which it still is today. Parbold's

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

is in the local

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 ...

church, Christ Church, near the top of Parbold Hill. The village's other church – Our Lady and All Saints – was consecrated by Bishop Robert Cornthwaite on 28 May 1884. Composer

Hugh Wood Hugh Wood (27 June 1932 – 14 August 2021) was a British composer. Biography Wood was born in Parbold, Lancashire and grew up in a musical family; while still a teenager, he was encouraged by the composer Alan Bush. He says that his "earlies ...

(1932-2021) was born in Parbold.

Amenities

Parbold has two churches, two primary schools and a nursery, a library built in 1989, a purpose-built village hall which doubles as a cinema and community centre, a telephone exchange, a doctor's surgery, a sub post office and a number of other shops including a

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

, a newsagent, an estate agent, three hairdressers and both Chinese and Indian takeaways plus a greengrocery. There are two

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

along the main road through the centre of the village – the ''Windmill'' and the ''Stocks Tavern''. Along with a branch of the Miller and Carter Steakhouse at the top of the hill and the Wayfarer: Brew Pub and Dining Rooms providing Al A Carte and Italian style foods. The windmill in the village was built in 1794 but has not milled since about 1850 and is now a gallery for James Bartholomew.

Sport

Parbold's former local amateur football team, Parbold FC, plays in the South Lancashire Counties League. In 2005-06, they were crowned Division 3 Champions, and promptly gained a further promotion in 2006-07 finishing runners-up of Division 2. The 2009-10 season saw Parbold crowned Division 1 Champions and they now play in the Premier League. Although the team still bears the village name, they moved to Ormskirk in 2008 and connections to the village are few. Two semi-professional football clubs are based nearby:

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footb ...

(

Northern Premier League Division One North The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

) and

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale. The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin M ...

(

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

). Shevington Sharks ARLFC youth teams train and play on the Alder Lane Playing Fields. An annual

fell race Fell running, also sometimes known as hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off-road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty. The name arises from the origins of the English sport o ...

is run over Parbold Hill.

References

External links

Parbold Community WebsiteParbold FC
*[http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=350000&Y=411000&width=700&height=400&gride=350000&gridn=410000&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=&pc=&zm=0&scale=25000&multimap.x=212&multimap.y=214 Aerial photo of Parbold from Multimap.]
Parbold Surgery
{{authority control Parbold, Villages in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of West Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire