Altham 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Borough of Hyndburn, in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. The village is west of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, north of

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 ...

, and north-east of Clayton-le-Moors, and is on the A678

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

to Burnley road. The village is located in the north east corner of the parish on the River Calder, and in the south west is ''Altham West'', a suburb of Accrington. The census of 2001 recorded a population for the parish of 897, increasing to 1,137 at the 2011 Census. However the village's 2011 population was only 343. The

Ham class minesweeper The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers (IMS), known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. All of the ships in the class are named for British place na ...

was named after the village.

Governance

Altham is in

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying ...

, a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

with

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

status in

. Altham was once a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the ancient parish of Whalley, this became a

in 1866. From 1894 to 1974, the parish was in the Burnley Rural District. Hyndburn Borough Council has a total of 35 councillors, two of which are elected by the ward of Altham. , the ward is represented by two Labour Party councillors. Altham has a parish council; its meetings are usually in Altham village. The facilities at Accrington Stanley's

Crown Ground The Crown Ground is a multi-use stadium in Accrington, Lancashire, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Accrington Stanley. Opened in 1968, the stadium has a capacity of 5,450. Stands/terraces *J ...

stadium have allowed some meetings to be held there, a more convenient location for the residents of Altham West. Altham is the only civil parish in the Borough of Hyndburn.

Industry

Coal mining was the major industry in Altham in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

was opened in the 1810s, pits were located near the canal, and supplied coal to the industries of East Lancashire. Later in the century Altham Colliery (later renamed Moorfield Colliery) was opened. The colliery closed in 1949, and Moorfield Industrial Estate is now on the site. An explosion at the colliery in 1883 resulted in the deaths of 68 people. Altham is now home to two

industrial estate An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

s, Altham Industrial Estate within the village, which is home to the building manufacturing company Easy-Trim Roofing and Construction Products Ltd, and Moorfield Industrial Estate in the southwest of the parish near Clayton-le-Moors.

Education

Altham St. James C.E. Primary School is located in the village. The nearest secondary schools are in Accrington.

Religious sites

Altham has an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, dedicated to St James and situated on Burnley Road. The current building, which is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, was built in the 16th century. However, a church has existed in the village since 1140. At first, it was dedicated to St Mary. Until 1870 it was the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Transport

Altham is on the A678 road; the nearest motorway junctions are M65 junctions 7 (west of Clayton-le-Moors) and 8 (near

Huncoat Huncoat is a village in Lancashire, England; situated in the North West England, North West. It is located to the east of Accrington. It is a ward of Hyndburn where the population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 4,418. ...

). As of September 2016, the village is served by only one bus route; the 152 operated by Blackburn Bus Company, which connects the village to

and Preston.

Notable People

Ian Ashworth (1958-) professional footballer

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Lancashire Geography of Hyndburn Civil parishes in Lancashire