West Bradford 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 authorit ...

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 Lancash ...

, England, 27 miles (43 km) west of the larger city of Bradford,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

and 2.5 miles (4 km) north of

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 ...

. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 788. It covers some 2000 acres 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 (however ro ...

. In Domesday, it is recorded as ''Bradeford'' and in the thirteenth century, ''Braford in Bouland''. It was part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

until 1974. "West Bradford" was introduced in the nineteenth century at the time of the introduction of postal services to help distinguish the village from its larger eastern neighbour of the same name. Along with Waddington, Grindleton and Sawley the parish forms the Waddington and West Bradford

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

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. ...

Borough Council.

History

Since the fourteenth century, West Bradford has formed part of the

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of Slaidburn. In turn, Slaidburn was part of the ancient

Lordship 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 1 ...

which comprised a

Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

and a Liberty of ten manors spanning eight townships and four parishes and covered an area of almost on the historic borders of

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. The manors within the Liberty were Slaidburn ( Newton-in-Bowland, West Bradford, Grindleton), Knowlmere, Waddington, Easington, Bashall Eaves, Mitton, Withgill (Crook), Leagram ( Bowland-with-Leagram), Hammerton and Dunnow (Battersby).

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

stayed here (Heys Farm Guest House) in 1931 when he came to visit the cotton mills of Lancashire.

Media gallery

File:3 Millstones Inn, West Bradford - geograph.org.uk - 759012.jpg, 3 Millstones Inn File:St Catherine's Church, West Bradford - geograph.org.uk - 758958.jpg, St Catherine's Church File:Waddington and West Bradford Primary School - geograph.org.uk - 758948.jpg, Waddington & West Bradford Primary School File:West Bradford Methodist Church - geograph.org.uk - 759021.jpg, West Bradford Methodist Church File:West Bradford Brook - geograph.org.uk - 759017.jpg, West Bradford Brook File:Horrocksford Bridge, West Bradford - geograph.org.uk - 241553.jpg, Horrocksford Bridge over the Ribble

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of Ribble Valley History of Yorkshire Forest of Bowland

History

Media gallery

See also

References

External links