Whitechapel is a tiny hamlet in 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 ...

Goosnargh Goosnargh ( ) is a village and civil parish in the City of Preston district of Lancashire, England. The village lies between Broughton and Longridge, and mostly lies in the civil parish of Whittingham, although the ancient centre lies in ...

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. It lies on the border 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 ...

near the foot of Beacon Fell, and close to the neighbouring village of

Inglewhite Inglewhite is a small village in the parish of Goosnargh in Lancashire, England. It lies at the intersection of the roads from Longridge to Garstang and from Broughton to Beacon Fell. Etymology The origin of the name Inglewhite is uncertain ...

. Its name is marked as ''White Chapel'' on some maps. The area was known as "Threlfall" 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 manus ...

. A tiny 27×13-foot private chapel was built for the Threlfall family in Elizabethan times, and was rebuilt as St James' Church about 1738.Dewhurst, p.7 The churchyard contains a sundial dated 1745 which is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The name "Whitechapel" came into use in the early nineteenth century, named after the church. It was originally a part of Goosnargh ecclesiastical parish, but acquired independent parish status in 1846. The village primary school originated in 1705, within the church, acquiring its own building in 1810. On

Pancake Day A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying wit ...

the children of Whitechapel, Inglewhite and the surrounding area keep alive an age-old tradition that was once more widespread in the

Garstang Garstang is an ancient market town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north of the city of Preston and the same distance south of Lancaster. In 2011, the parish had a total resident population of 4,268; ...

and Fylde areas of Lancashire. They visit local households and ask "please a pancake", to be rewarded with oranges or sweets. It is thought the tradition arose when farm workers visited the wealthier farm and manor owners to ask for pancakes or pancake fillings. In 1888, Richard Cookson wrote, "The children go from house to house and are treated with ginger-bread, toffies and other sweet meats."Cookson, p.285 WICE (Whitechapel and Inglewhite Community Enterprises) is a community organisation to enable a sustainable and resilient community.

References

Citations Sources *Cookson, R (1888)
''Goosnargh: Past and Present''
Henry Oakey, Preston *Dewhurst, A (1985), ''Times Past in Goosnargh'', Countryside Publications Ltd, Chorley, *Lofthouse, J (1967), ''Portrait of Lancashire'', Robert Hale, London,

External links

Hamlets in Lancashire Goosnargh Forest of Bowland {{Lancashire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links