Higham is a village in the

Borough of Pendle Pendle is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Nelson, the borough's largest town. The borough also includes the towns of Barnoldswick, Brierfield, Colne and Earby along with the sur ...

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, south of

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 ...

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

is named Higham with West Close Booth. The village is north-east of

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...

and about south-west of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

along the

A6068 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the la ...

. 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 778, a decrease from 808 in the 2001 census. The parish adjoins the other Pendle parishes of

Goldshaw Booth Goldshaw Booth is a civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 248, and contains the village of Newchurch in Pendle and the hamlets of Spen Brook () and Sabden Fold (). Pendle Hill lies to the north. Th ...

Old Laund Booth Old Laund Booth is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 1,459, and contains the villages of Fence, Lancashire, Fence and Wheatley Lane. Old Laund Boo ...

and

Reedley Hallows Reedley Hallows or Reedley is a civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. It forms part of Burnley and Brierfield. It had a population of 1,994, reducing to 1,960 at the 2011 Census. It is on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal ...

, the

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 ...

parishes of

Ightenhill Ightenhill is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a population of 1,975. Since its creation as Ightenhill Park in 1866 the parish has seen a number of boundary changes. The modern civil parish includes Gawth ...

and

, and the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

parishes of Simonstone and

Sabden Sabden is a village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. Sabden is located south of Pendle Hill, in a valley about three miles north west of Padiham. The parish covers , of which is occupied by the village. It lies in t ...

. The area of the parish north of Stump Hall Road is part 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 ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

(AONB).

Governance

Higham with West Close Booth 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, forming part of the

Burnley Rural District Burnley was a Rural district of Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after but did not include the large town of Burnley, which was a county borough. The district and its council was created in 1894 under the Local Government A ...

from 1894. The township included a detached area south of the village of

Fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

, but this part transferred to

in 1898. A part of the parish also transferred to

on its creation in 1904. The neighbouring civil parish of North Town (historically associated with

) was merged into Simonstone in 1983. However, after a public campaign to move Simonstone into the Borough of

and Boundary Commission review completed in 1985, a part of North Town lying north of the A6068 Padiham Bypass was added to this parish. Along with Goldshaw Booth,

Barley-with-Wheatley Booth Barley-with-Wheatley Booth is a civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 298, and contains the village of Barley and the hamlet of White Hough or Whitehough (). To the west of Barley is Pendle Hill; ...

and Roughlee Booth, the parish forms the Higham with Pendleside ward of Pendle Borough Council.

Facilities

The centre of Higham is a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. The buildings in the area are stone-built, mainly from the 19th century with a few even older. Several farmhouses and barns have been converted to houses. Outside the Conservation Area most buildings are from later periods, including modern housing estates. Amenities include a pub, the Four Alls Inn, est. 1798 where one can discover the meaning of "Four Alls";Parish Council website section for the Four Alls Inn
/ref> the Church of St. John the Evangelist (C of E) built 1874, Higham C of E (Controlled) Primary School, and the Village Hall.

Buildings and features

The Spout is a feature in the centre of the village, providing constant natural spring water. Nearby is the historic site of a

pinfold An animal pound is a place where stray livestock were impounded. Animals were kept in a dedicated enclosure, until claimed by their owners, or sold to cover the costs of impounding. Etymology The terms "pinfold" and "pound" are Saxon in origi ...

or poundfield, a walled area with grass and running water which was used to temporarily impound animals. Other buildings of note include the village hall, 1837, which was built as the National School and also used for Church of England services until St. John's Church was built. Higham Hall, 17th century, had been used for meetings of the court of the

Forest of Pendle The Forest of Pendle is a hilly area to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire, roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder. The area is not a forest in the modern sense of being heavily w ...

. Clover Croft Mill stood in the centre of the village, having latterly been used as a furniture factory. The demolition was completed in 2006 to enable a housing development to be built on the site. On the road to Nelson are three buildings of interest: Lower White Lee (18th century), Higher White Lee birthplace of Jonas Moore (see below), Ashlar House has a porch dated 1594 with the names Richard Grimshaw and John Box, but the house seems to have been rebuilt in the 17th century.

Notable residents

Herbert Butterworth Herbert Butterworth (September quarter 1902 – March quarter 1938) was an English professional footballer who played as a left half. He played nine matches in the Football League for Nelson and also assisted several non-league clubs. In 1929, h ...

(1902–1938) professional footballer, born in Higham. * Harry Hargreaves (1896–1975) professional footballer, born in Higham. * Jonas Moore (1617–1679) later Sir Jonas Moore FRS, was an English mathematician, surveyor, Ordnance officer and patron of astronomy, born at White Lee, now Higher White Lee Farm, Higham. *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 ...

. One of the families swept up in the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 was the 'Chattox' clan, based in West Close where the old crone Mother Chattox lived and her family pursued their work of professional begging. In Alizon Device's confession she told that "Anne Whittle, alias Chattox, was suspected for bewitching the drinke of John Moore of Higham, gentleman" and for causing one of his sons to die. The landlord of the pub, The Four Alls, accused Chattox of putting a curse on his brew. The suspected witches were first examined at Ashlar House, by local Magistrate Roger Nowell of nearby Read Hall.

References

Notes Citations

External links