Eccleston 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 ...

of the Borough of Chorley 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. It is beside the River Yarrow, and was formerly an

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

and later a

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

settlement.

History

Its name came from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

word ''"eglēs"'' meaning a church, and the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word ''"tūn"'' meaning a farmstead or settlement, i.e. a settlement by a

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, ...

church. Evidence of the settlement dates back hundreds of years; St. Mary's Church dates back to the 14th century AD. The village was mentioned 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, the book ordered by

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, to detail all settlements and farms in England for the purpose of tax collection. Ingrave Farm, located on the northern side of the River Yarrow, is built on a moated site of an earlier building thought to date from the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. The partly waterlogged

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

about is wide and deep in places. About to the west is a smaller site about square, the moat of which has since been infilled. It was linked to the larger moat by a still waterlogged channel. Bradley Hall Farm on the eastern side of the village is also on a moated site of an earlier building, thought to be of similar age. Although partially infilled, the moat survives best on the south-east and north-east sides where its width is between and depth of up to . Around the moat there are also three fishponds that were connected to it by water channels. The present farmhouse is excluded from the

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, visu ...

protection, but it is Grade II listed.

Population

According to the

2011 United Kingdom census 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 4,263.

Governance

Since 2010, Eccleston has been in the constituency of

South Ribble South Ribble is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The borough includes the towns and villages of Penwortham, Leyland, Farington, Farington Moss, Hutton, Longton, Walmer B ...

for elections for Westminster. Before this, the village was in the constituency of

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

. Local government consists of councils at

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, district and parish level. At district level, Eccleston is part of the three member Eccleston, Heskin and Charnock Richard ward of Chorley Council, created in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

it was previously part of a 3-member ward with

Mawdesley Mawdesley is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, which had a population of 1,702 as per the 2011 Census. History The name Mawdesley is thought to have originated in the reign of Edward I of England, Edward I (1272–1308). Th ...

From

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and before that was combined with Heskin.

Economy

In agrarian times the local speciality was fruit from orchards, few of which now remain. The more recent weaving industry has also passed, as the two local

textile mill Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

s are now closed. The "Old Mill" building is now being used as an antique, collectable and nostalgia retail space called "Bygone Times". The "New Mill" was converted into a small village shopping centre which was demolished entirely in 2015 and a new smaller shopping centre built with houses being built on the extra space. Consequently, the village has developed a more suburban role than some of its neighbours.

Transport

The town is served by an hourly bus service to

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, Preston, Croston and Chorley (daytimes only) with more infrequent daytime services available to Southport and Ormskirk. The nearest railway stations are at Croston and Euxton Balshaw Lane.

Education

The village has two schools, Eccleston St. Mary's Church of England Primary School and Eccleston Primary School.

Religion

There are three churches in the village, the 14th Century St Mary the Virgin Church of England Church to the north of the village (until the reformation this was formerly the Catholic Church), constructed from distinctive Liverpool sandstone, similar to Euxton Parish Church, Eccleston Methodist Church and St Agnes Roman Catholic Church to the south.

Social

The village public house scene has consolidated in recent years. The Original Farmer's Arms is predominantly an eatery located at the Northern end of the village. The village is also served by the Working Men's Institute Club ("th'insty"), the Eccleston Cricket Club (game days only) and top ot Green, a small bar located opposite the working men's institute. The village also has a popular children's play area situated adjacent to the football pitches, popularly known as "the rec", an abbreviation of recreation area.

Notable people

* St. John Rigby, martyr * Sir

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...

, professional cyclist

References

External links

Eccleston Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of Chorley