Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood is a

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 ...

in the

Borough of Burnley The Borough of Burnley () is a local government district with the borough status in Lancashire, England. It has an area of and a population of (), and is named after its largest town, Burnley. Other notable settlements include Padiham, Hap ...

, 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 Lancashi ...

, England. Situated on the eastern outskirts of

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 ...

, in 2011 it had a population of 2,963. The parish contains part of the Pike Hill and Brownside

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s of Burnley, the village of

Worsthorne Worsthorne is a rural village on the eastern outskirts of Burnley in Lancashire, England. It is in the civil parish of Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood and the borough of Burnley. At the 2011 census the village had a population of 1,028. The vill ...

and the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Hurstwood and the rural area east of the town. The parish adjoins the Borough of Burnley parishes of

Briercliffe Briercliffe (historically Briercliffe-with-Extwistle) is a civil parish in the borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Burnley. The parish contains suburbs of Burnley (including Harle Syke and Haggate), and the ru ...

and

Cliviger Cliviger is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, England. It is situated to the southeast of Burnley, and northwest of Todmorden. According to the 2011 census, the parish has a population of 2,238. Although the whole parish ...

, the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...

and the

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 ...

district of

Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the u ...

History

The second element in the name Worsthorne is probably from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

, a thorny bush. Its first is less certain, possibly (homestead) or a personal name as in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

. With Hurstwood, is thought to mean a wooded prominence, as 'wood' (OE ) has been appended, it may just mean a prominence in this case. A

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

round cairn A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

and

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

are located on Hameldon Pasture, with a

ring cairn A ring cairn (also correctly termed a ring bank enclosure, but sometimes wrongly described as a ring barrow) is a circular or slightly oval, ring-shaped, low (maximum 0.5 metres high) embankment, several metres wide and from 8 to 20 metres in ...

nearby on Slipper Hill. The remains of two

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

farmsteads known as Ring Stones camp is also in the area. All are protected as

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

s. Traces of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

have been reported heading north-west from Ring Stones. After the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

, the area may have been part of

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, Ca ...

, and the lords of Clitheroe appear to have divided Worsthorne among a number of free tenants. In 1292

Henry de Lacy Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1251February 1311), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I. He served Edward in Wales, France, and Sc ...

granted the homage and service of the free tenants of Worsthorne to Oliver de Stansfield, his receiver for

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

. In 1311 Worsthorne was listed as a manor, and by 1332 it was regarded as an independent township. Control of the manor would stay with the Stansfield family until 1560. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a Starfish site bombing decoy was constructed off Gorple Road to the east of Worsthorne, part of a network designed to protect

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. Also a

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

from the 491st Bombardment Group

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

crashed on Black Hameldon in February 1945.

Geography

Hurstwood and Cant Clough reservoirs are in the south-east of the parish, both are passed by the

Mary Towneley Loop The Mary Towneley Loop is a circular route that forms part of the Pennine Bridleway National Trail, along the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The loop was opened in 2002, the first section of the Pennine Bridleway. It is named in memory ...

section of the

Pennine Bridleway The Pennine Bridleway is a National Trail in Northern England. It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horse riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long, extending from Derbyshire to Cumbria. ...

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wa ...

and the Burnley Way footpath. Swinden and Lea Green reservoirs are in the north on the boundary with Briercliffe.

Governance

Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood was once a

in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a

in 1866, forming part of the Burnley Rural District from 1894. Since 1974 Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood has formed part of the

. The parish is part of the Cliviger with Worsthorne

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 ...

of the borough council, along with the neighbouring parish of

. The ward elects three councillors, currently Cosima Towneley and Ivor Emo of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, and Andrew Newhouse (

Burnley and Padiham Independent Party The Burnley and Padiham Independent Party was a registered political party in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2023, focused on the neighbouring Lancashire towns of Burnley and Padiham. In 2017, four members of the local Liberal Democrats lef ...

). The parish is represented on

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

as part of the Burnley Rural

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

, represented since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

by Cosima Towneley. The Member of Parliament for

, the constituency into which the parish falls, is

Antony Higginbotham Antony Higginbotham (born 16 December 1989) is a British Conservative politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Burnley in the 2019 general election. Early life Higginbotham was born in Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancash ...

(Conservative), who was first elected in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Demography

According to the

United Kingdom Census 2011 A Census in the United Kingdom, 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 Inter ...

, the parish has a population of 2,963, a decrease from 2,986 in the 2001 census. This represents a decline of over ten years. The parish has an area of , giving a population density of . The developed parts of the parish were included in the

Burnley Built-up area The Burnley Built-up area is an urban area or conurbation which extends from the town of Burnley to Padiham, Brierfield, Lancashire, Brierfield, Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, Barrowford and Colne in Lancashire, England. The area takes in parts of t ...

, defined in the 2011 census which had a population of 149,422. In 2011 the average (

mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the ''arithme ...

) age of residents was 44.7 years, with a distribution of 51.1% female and 48.9% male. The racial composition was 99% White (98% White British), 0.6% Asian and 0.6% Mixed. The largest religious groups were Christian (77.6%) and Muslim (0.2%). 71.6% of adults between the ages of 16 and 74 were classed as economically active and in work.

Media gallery

Image:Hurstwood Hall - geograph.org.uk - 924882.jpg, Hurstwood Hall, built in 1579 Image:Shedden Heys - geograph.org.uk - 695572.jpg, Shedden Heys Image:Cant Clough reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 118934.jpg, Cant Clough reservoir Image:ChurchOfStJohnTheEvangelistWorsthorne(AlexanderPKapp)Oct2005.jpg,

St John the Evangelist's Church, Worsthorne St John the Evangelist's Church is in Church Square in the village of Worsthorne, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Burnley, the archdeaconry of Burnley, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is re ...

Image:Hollins Hall - geograph.org.uk - 655066.jpg, Hollins Hall Image:Brownside - geograph.org.uk - 678501.jpg, Brownside Road, Brownside

References

External links

Map of Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood township boundary
{{Borough of Burnley Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of Burnley