Wheatley Lane is a village in
Pendle Pendle may refer to:
* Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England
** Pendle (UK Parliament constituency)
* Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England
** Forest of Pendle, hilly landscape surrounding the hill
* Pendle College of the University of Lancaster
* ...
,
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 close to
Nelson,
Barrowford and
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 Bru ...
. It lies to the north of the
A6068 road, known locally as the
Padiham
Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...
bypass, or "The New Road".
Wheatley Lane is an extended village consisting of a ribbon development along 'Wheatley Lane Road' and abuts the sister village of
Fence. The present village has now effectively absorbed the original hamlets of Wheatley Lane and Higher & Lower Harpers.
Historically, it lies in
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 bec ...
, in the Hundred of Blackburn. Up until Late Mediaeval times it lay in 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 th ...
, the hunting preserve of the King.
The older properties on the village consist largely of small stone-built cottages, with some later Victorian terraces and some 1950s council properties. Since the 1960s the remaining open fields on either side of the road have been developed for housing. There is unbroken countryside with walking country to the North to
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 Pe ...
and surrounding areas.
There is a Methodist Chapel and attached primary school in the village, and to the east, on the edge of the village, one of the few remaining
Inghamite Chapels, which has an extensive graveyard. It is the burial place of
Thomas Whitham who won the Victoria Cross in 1917.
Local tradition has it that the Harpers Inn, a local hostelry, was also originally built as a Methodist Chapel, but when the money ran out, it was sold and completed as a pub. The original name was the 'Who'd have thought it'.
Sports are catered for b
Pendle Forest Sports Club
Wheatley Lane has links with 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 ...
. In 1633,
Edmund Robinson of Wheatley Lane reported that he had been taken by a witch to a barn at Hoarstones
[Hoarstones was a stone circle, the site of which is now occupied by the house of the same name, although unconfirmed reports suggest that some stones were still visible up to the 1950s] where he had seen 40 witches engaged in various devilish activities. He subsequently identified 19 witches and they were sent to trial in 1634, including Jenet Davies, a witness at the 1612 trial, and the daughter-in-law of Alice Nutter (one of the previous Pendle Witches). However, the judge deferred sentence and sent seven of them to London for further examination; only three survived the ordeal. After an enquiry all 19 were acquitted and Robinson later admitted that the story was a fabrication.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Old Laund Booth
References
External links
{{Borough of Pendle geography
Towns and villages in the Borough of Pendle