Higham is a village in the

Borough of Pendle Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire boroughs of Calderdale and Bradford. It ha ...

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 Lancas ...

, England, south of

Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the ...

. The

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 authorit ...

is named Higham with West Close Booth. The village is north-east of Padiham and about south-west of Nelson along the A6068 road. According to the

United Kingdom Census 2011 A 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 Internet. The Office for Nationa ...

, the parish has a population of 778, a decrease from 808 in the 2001 census. The parish adjoins the other Pendle parishes of

Goldshaw Booth Goldshaw Booth is a civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 248, and contains the village of Newchurch in Pendle and the hamlets of Spen Brook () and Sabden Fold (). Pendle Hill lies to the north. ...

Old Laund Booth Old Laund Booth is a civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 1,459, and contains the villages of Fence and Wheatley Lane. Old Laund Booth was once a township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This b ...

and

Reedley Hallows Reedley Hallows or Reedley is a civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. It forms part of Burnley and Brierfield. It had a population of 1,994, reducing to 1,960 at the 2011 Census. It is on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal ...

, the

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 Br ...

parishes of Ightenhill and Padiham, and 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 Clith ...

parishes of Simonstone and

Sabden Sabden is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Sabden is located south of Pendle Hill, in a valley about three miles north west of Padiham. The parish covers , of which is occupied by the village. It lies in the ...

. The area of the parish north of Stump Hall Road is part of 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 (howe ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

(AONB).

Governance

Higham with West Close Booth was once a

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, ...

in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a

in 1866, forming part of the

Burnley Rural District Burnley was a rural district of Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include the large town of Burnley, which was a county borough. The district and its council was created in 1894 under the Local Government Ac ...

from 1894. The township included a detached area south of the village of

Fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

, but this part transferred to

in 1898. A part of the parish also transferred to

on its creation in 1904. The neighbouring civil parish of North Town (historically associated with Padiham) was merged into Simonstone in 1983. However, after a public campaign to move Simonstone into the Borough of

and Boundary Commission review completed in 1985, a part of North Town lying north of the A6068 Padiham Bypass was added to this parish. Along with Goldshaw Booth,

Barley-with-Wheatley Booth Barley-with-Wheatley Booth is a civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 298, and contains the village of Barley and the hamlet of White Hough or Whitehough (). To the west of Barley is Pendle Hill; ...

and

Roughlee Booth Roughlee is a village in Pendle, Lancashire, England, in the civil parish of Roughlee Booth. It is close to Nelson, Barrowford and Blacko. The village lies at the foot of Pendle Hill, well known for the Pendle Witches, and includes the haml ...

, the parish forms the Higham with Pendleside ward of Pendle Borough Council.

Facilities

The centre of Higham is a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. The buildings in the area are stone-built, mainly from the 19th century with a few even older. Several farmhouses and barns have been converted to houses. Outside the Conservation Area most buildings are from later periods, including modern housing estates. Amenities include a pub, the Four Alls Inn, est. 1798 where one can discover the meaning of "Four Alls";Parish Council website section for the Four Alls Inn
/ref> the Church of St. John the Evangelist (C of E) built 1874, Higham C of E (Controlled) Primary School, and the Village Hall.

Buildings and features

The Spout is a feature in the centre of the village, providing constant natural spring water. Nearby is the historic site of a

pinfold An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. Etymology The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...

or poundfield, a walled area with grass and running water which was used to temporarily impound animals. Other buildings of note include the village hall, 1837, which was built as the National School and also used for Church of England services until St. John's Church was built. Higham Hall, 17th century, had been used for meetings of the court of the

Forest of Pendle The Forest of Pendle is the name given to an area of hilly landscape to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire, roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder. The forest is not identical to t ...

. Clover Croft Mill stood in the centre of the village, having latterly been used as a furniture factory. The demolition was completed in 2006 to enable a housing development to be built on the site. On the road to Nelson are three buildings of interest: Lower White Lee (18th century), Higher White Lee birthplace of Jonas Moore (see below), Ashlar House has a porch dated 1594 with the names Richard Grimshaw and John Box, but the house seems to have been rebuilt in the 17th century.

Notable residents

* Herbert Butterworth (1902–1938) professional footballer, born in Higham. * Harry Hargreaves (1896–1975) professional footballer, born in Higham. * Jonas Moore (1617–1679) later Sir Jonas Moore FRS, was an English mathematician, surveyor,

Ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense * Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Uni ...

officer and patron of astronomy, born at White Lee, now Higher White Lee Farm, Higham. *The

Pendle Witches The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged w ...

. One of the families swept up in the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 was the 'Chattox' clan, based in West Close where the old crone Mother Chattox lived and her family pursued their work of professional begging. In Alizon Device's confession she told that "Anne Whittle, alias Chattox, was suspected for bewitching the drinke of John Moore of Higham, gentleman"The Pendle Witches
/ref> and for causing one of his sons to die. The landlord of the pub, The Four Alls, accused Chattox of putting a curse on his brew. The suspected witches were first examined at Ashlar House, by local Magistrate Roger Nowell of nearby Read Hall.

References

Notes Citations

External links