Simonstone is a small village and
civil parish in the
Ribble Valley district of
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 population of the civil parish taken at the
2011 census was 1,154.
It is about west of
Burnley and south of
Pendle Hill and
Clitheroe along the
A671 road. The village adjoins the village of
Read, Lancashire and neighbours
Padiham.
History
St Peter's CE Church is the local
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
building in the village and was founded in 1841. The interior of the building is modern and part is also used as the school hall and gym during the week. The building dates from 1879 and was originally a
National School.
The Higher Trapp Hotel is part of the
Best Western chain of hotels. It was originally built in the early 1900s as a private house, and now converted into a country hotel with 29 bedrooms.
Simonstone railway station was south of the village and closed in 1957.
Granville Technology Group was based in the village, until its closure in 2005.
Governance
Simonstone was once a
township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a
civil parish in 1866, forming part of the
Burnley Rural District from 1894 to 1974. With the creation of the new local government districts in 1974 Simonstone was included in
Borough of Burnley. However, after a public campaign and
Boundary Commission review completed in 1985, it subsequently became part of the Borough of
Ribble Valley. During the process the neighbouring civil parish of Northtown was abolished with part transferred to Simonstone, and small adjustments occurred to the boundaries with
Padiham and
Altham along the river.
Together with
Read, the parish forms the
Read and Simonstone ward of Ribble Valley Borough Council.
Landmarks
Huntroyde Hall
Huntroyde Hall was originally built for Edmund Starkie in the 16th-century and has since been modified many times. Its estate, Huntroyde Demesne (known locally as 'Huntroyde') separates Simonstone from Padiham. The house remained in the ownership of the Starkie family until 1983.
Simonstone Hall
The Hall dates from the 17th century and was originally the home of the Whitaker family. It is a privately owned
listed building
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, Hi ...
. The house was substantially re-built in the 18th century as an early example of
Jacobean revival architecture.
[Pevsner (2009), pp. 490–496] Ancillary buildings include a 17th-century barn and an 18th-century stables.
Education
St Peter's CE Primary School is the village's only school, with around 120 pupils. The school hosts several village events throughout the year, including the 'School Gala' (or Summer Fair) held late in June. The village is in the catchment area of the
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Simonstone, Lancashire
References
External links
Parish Council website
{{authority control
Villages in Lancashire
Geography of Ribble Valley
Jacobean architecture in the United Kingdom