Borough of Pendle
Borough in England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 surrounding villages and rural areas. Part of the borough lies within the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Borough of Pendle | |
|---|---|
Borough | |
Skyline of Nelson from Barkerhouse Road | |
Shown within Lancashire and England | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | North West England |
| Ceremonial county | Lancashire |
| Admin. HQ | Nelson |
| Government | |
| • Type | Pendle Borough Council |
| • Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| • MPs: | Jonathan Hinder (Lab, Pendle and Clitheroe) |
| Area | |
• Total | 65 sq mi (169 km2) |
| • Rank | 155th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 99,777 |
| • Rank | Ranked 249th |
| • Density | 1,530/sq mi (590/km2) |
| Ethnicity (2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion (2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ONS code | 30UJ (ONS) E07000122 (GSS) |
| NUTS 3 | UKD46 |
The neighbouring districts are Burnley, Ribble Valley, North Yorkshire, Bradford and Calderdale.
Etymology
The name Pendle comes from "Penhill", combining the Cumbric "pen" meaning hill and the Saxon "hill", also meaning hill. The name was used for Pendle Hill (literally "hill hill hill"), a prominent outlier of the Pennines. The name was then also used for the ancient Forest of Pendle around the hill, and for Pendle Water, a river which rises on the hill and flows into the River Calder.[2] The name also became associated with the Pendle witches, tried for witchcraft in 1612, as the accused were all from the area.[3]
History
The modern local government district of Pendle was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of seven former districts and parts of another two, all of which were abolished at the same time:[4]
- Barnoldswick Urban District
- Barrowford Urban District
- Brierfield
- Burnley Rural District (part)
- Colne Municipal Borough
- Earby Urban District
- Nelson Municipal Borough
- Skipton Rural District (part)
- Trawden Urban District
The Barnoldswick, Earby and Skipton elements were in the West Riding of Yorkshire prior to 1974. The term West Craven is often used for the area transferred from Yorkshire to Lancashire in 1974. The new district was named Pendle after the hill, forest and river.[5] The district was awarded borough status on 15 September 1976, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]
Under current local government reorganisation plans, all district councils in Lancashire, as well as the county council, will be abolished in 2028, with the district becoming part of a new Pennine Lancashire unitary authority.[7][8]
Governance
- See main article: Pendle Borough Council
Economy
The three main employers in the borough are Rolls-Royce plc, Silentnight and the Daisy Group.[citation needed]
Media
In terms of television, the area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada which broadcast from Salford. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter and the local relay TV transmitter located in the Forest of Pendle.[9] A small part of the borough around Barnoldswick and Earby is served by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire broadcasting from Leeds. This area is served by a local transmitter in Skipton which is relayed from the Emley Moor TV transmitter.[10]
Radio stations for the area are:
- BBC Radio Lancashire
- Heart North West
- Capital Manchester and Lancashire (formerly 2BR)
- Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire
- Smooth North West
- Pendle Community Radio, the borough's local community based station which broadcast from its studios in Nelson.
The area is served by the regional newspaper, Lancashire Telegraph. Other local newspapers include Pendle Express and The Nelson Leader.
Places in Pendle
The borough is entirely covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Barnoldswick, Brierfield, Colne, Earby and Nelson take the style "town council".[11]

| Contemporary civil parish | Map ref |
Medieval jurisdiction | Medieval jurisdiction | Early modern jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barley-with-Wheatley Booth | 1 | Pendle Forest, manor of Ightenhill | Forest of Blackburnshire | Whalley, Lancashire: once a much larger parish than today. It encompassed a large part of eastern Lancashire. It also included areas outside Pendle. |
| Barrowford | 3 | |||
| Blacko | 4 | |||
| Old Laund Booth | 15 | |||
| Goldshaw Booth | 10 | |||
| Reedley Hallows | 16 | |||
| Roughlee Booth | 17 | |||
| Higham-with-West Close Booth | 11 | |||
| Trawden Forest | 19 | Trawden Forest, manor of Colne | ||
| Nelson | 14 | manor of Ightenhill, not in Forest | Blackburnshire, not in Forest | |
| Brierfield | 6 | |||
| Colne | 7 | manor of Colne, not in Forest | ||
| Foulridge | 9 | |||
| Laneshaw Bridge | 13 | |||
| Barnoldswick | 2 | Now referred to as "West Craven". This is a part of Lancashire, which was once in the neighbouring West Riding of Yorkshire. (Within the Wapentake of Staincliffe, Deanery of Craven.) | ||
| Bracewell and Brogden | 5 | |||
| Salterforth | 8 | |||
| Kelbrook and Sough | 12 | |||
| Earby | 18 | |||
Freedom of the Borough
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Pendle.
Individuals
- Steven Burke: 3 August 2012.[12][13][14]
Military Units
- The Queen's Lancashire Regiment: 2001.
- The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 1 July 2006.