Rawtenstall is a Town in the county of Lancashire.
Rawtenstall in Lancashire is a typical English northern town boasting cobbled streets, stone architecture and dramatic landscape. Rawtenstall was mentioned in the Domesday Book and it also had connections with an important Roman road.
The town grew rapidly in the 19th century with people drawn by jobs in cotton mills and coal mining. The opening of two railway lines starting in 1846 aided its growth further, but its population started to decline after World War II due to out-migration towards larger cities, especially Manchester.
Today rawtenstall is a busy town and has become an important shopping centre in the south of Rossendale.
The area around Rawtenstall has been occupied since the end of the last ice age with evidence of pre-historic activity, mainly in nearby Trawden Forest. There are remains of settlements dating back to AD 43 when it was part of Roman Britain.
Moorland Around Rawtenstall
The North West of England is an area characterised by high moorland. The rawtenstall area is no exception, with the Trawden Forest bordering rawtenstall to the South. The moors are mainly heather moorland used for grazing sheep, but there are areas where denuded peat soils are exposed and Rawtenstall’s raw land is a result of extensive mining in the 19th century.
Towns and Villages
Rawtenstall has several smaller towns and villages contained within its boundaries including Whitworth, Crawshawbooth, Newchurch, Edenfield and Helmshore. These have been subsumed into rawtenstall’s broad definition but maintain a sense of distinct identity.
The Railway and the River
Rawtenstall had two railway lines, one from Bury to Rawtenstall via Bacup and another from Manchester Victoria to Rawtenstall via Edenfield. Both opened in 1901 but Rawtenstall’s rail traffic declined over the decades with these railways finally closed down in 1970and 1960 respectively.
The Rawtenstall area was once a hive of industry with coal mining, cotton mills and other manufacturing activities. Rawtenstall itself had a woollen mill which used the waters from raw land to drive the looms. The town also has a history of silk production.
Rawtenstall postcode: BB4 6QS
There are great places to visit near Rawtenstall including some great towns, villages, parks, waterfalls, woodlands, rivers and streams, old mines, ruins, historic buildings, ancient sites, historic monuments, hiking areas, hills, round cairns, lakes, bluebell woods, geological features, gardens, country parks, nature reserves, historic sites, canals, roman sites, museums, caves, limestone pavements, sssis, beaches, shopping centres, cities and castles.
There are a number of towns near Rawtenstall including Darwen, Chorley, Leyland, Nelson, Blackburn, Burnley, and Blackpool.
The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best villages including Ryal Fold, Tockholes, Brinscall, White Coppice, Heath Charnock, Higher Wheelton, and Ribchester.
There are a number of parks near Rawtenstall including Bold Venture Park, Sunnyhurst Wood, Astley Park, Worden Park, Cuerden Valley Country Park, and Ball Grove Park.
Rawtenstall has some unmissable waterfalls nearby like Bold Venture Waterfall, Sunnyhurst Waterfalls, Hatch Brook Waterfall, Holts Flat Waterfall, Lead Mines Clough Waterfall, Sheep Pen Waterfall, and Old Brooks Waterfall.
Woodlands to visit near Rawtenstall include Sunnyhurst Wood, Wheelton Plantation, High Bullough Wood, Back Plantation, Spen Wood, Duxbury Woods, and Longworth Clough.
Rawtenstall's best nearby rivers and streams can be found at Sunnyhurst Brook, Hatch Brook, Dean Black Brook, Eller Brook, River Yarrow at Duxbury Woods, Ease Gill, and River Roddlesworth.
The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best old mines including Old Lyons Colliery (ruin), Lead Mines Clough Lead Mines, Coppice Stile Lead Mine Trial, White Coppice Lead Mine, Duxbury Park Colliery (ruin), Ellerbeck Collieries (ruin), and Sykes Mine.
There are a number of ruins near Rawtenstall including Old Lyons Colliery (ruin), Higher Pasture Barn (ruin), Ripping (ruin), Wheelton Plantation, Blackhurst (ruin), Heatherlea (ruin), and Shop Fold (ruin).
There are a number of historic buildings near Rawtenstall including Church of Saint Stephen at Tockholes, Astley Hall, Chorley Lodge, Belmont Paper Mills (Derelict), Blacko Tower, The Wishing Well at Hollinshead Hall, and Hoghton Tower.
There are a number of ancient sites near Rawtenstall including Church of Saint Stephen at Tockholes, The Quernmore Burial, Standing Stones Hill, Pikestones Chambered Long Cairn, Jepsons Gate Cairn, Black Coppice Chambered Cairn, and Dog Holes Cave.
Jubilee Tower, Bevis and the Ruined Summerhouse, and Cromwell's Bridge are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like historic monuments.
Don't miss Anglezarke, Lead Mines Clough, High Bullough Wood, Stronstrey Bank, Lister Mill Quarry, Great Hill, and White Coppice's hiking areas if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
Don't miss Standing Stones Hill, Great Hill, Healey Nab, Spitlers Edge, Will Narr, Warton Crag, and Parlick's hills if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
Places near Rawtenstall feature a number of interesting round cairns including Jepsons Gate Cairn.
Lakes to visit near Rawtenstall include High Bullough Reservoir, Anglezarke Reservoir, White Coppice Mill Pond, Big Lodge Water, Top Lodge, The Blue Lagoon, and Lower Ogden Reservoir.
High Bullough Wood, Duxbury Woods, Hill Top Wood, Warton Crag, and Roddlesworth Woods are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like bluebell woods.
Geological Features to visit near Rawtenstall include Stronstrey Bank, White Coppice Quarry, Warton Crag and Grisedale Wood Limestone Pavement, and Sykes Mine.
Rawtenstall has some unmissable gardens nearby like The Evaders' Garden, Astley Walled Garden, and Hoghton Tower.
Don't miss Yarrow Valley Country Park, Worden Park, Cuerden Valley Country Park, Witton Country Park, Beacon Fell, Langroyd Country Park, and Wyre Estuary Country Park's country parks if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting nature reserves including Top Lodge, Longworth Clough, Leighton Moss, Brockholes Nature Reserve, Ball Grove Park, Upper Ball Grove Lodge, and Mere Sands Wood.
Rawtenstall is near some unmissable historic sites like Black Coppice Mill Stone Factory,
Rawtenstall has some unmissable canals nearby like Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Heath Charnock, Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Higher Wheelton, Leeds and Liverpool Canal - Summit to Wigan Section, Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Adlington, Lancaster Canal at Bolton-le-Sands, and Leeds and Liverpool Canal - Rufford Branch.
There are a several good roman sites in the Rawtenstall area like Ribchester Roman Bath House, and Ribchester Roman Museum.
Ribchester Roman Museum, The British Commercial Vehicle Museum, and Harris Museum - Art Gallery and Library Preston are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like museums.
Dog Holes Cave, Fairy Hole, and County Pot are some of Rawtenstall best caves to visit near Rawtenstall.
The area close to Rawtenstall boasts some of the best limestone pavements including Warton Crag and Grisedale Wood Limestone Pavement.
Warton Crag S.S.S.I, and West Pennine Moors are some of Rawtenstall best sssis to visit near Rawtenstall.
Don't miss Blackpool, Half Moon Bay, The Shore (Bolton-le-Sands), and Hest Bank Wharf's beaches if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
The Concourse Shopping Centre is one of Rawtenstall's best, nearby shopping centres to visit in Rawtenstall.
There are a several good cities in the Rawtenstall area like Preston, and Lancaster.
Clitheroe Castle is a great place to visit close to Rawtenstall if you like castles.
Rawtenstall History
There are some historic monuments around Rawtenstall:
Places to see near Rawtenstall
History of Rawtenstall
As with many small mid-Lancashire towns, it saw a population decline in the 20th century, going from 30,000 inhabitants in the 1911 census to 21,500 in the 1971 census. With the decline of the traditional manufacturing industries, shoemaking became one of the last survivors. The firm of H. W. Tricketts, in nearby Waterfoot, had been a major producer and exporter of footwear across the British Empire, but eventually the last shoemaking firms closed as production moved overseas.
Lakes near Rawtenstall
Canals near Rawtenstall
Rivers near Rawtenstall
Shopping in Rawtenstall
M&S Foodhall A682, Wood Top
M&S Foodhall supermarket
ALDI 8, Swanney Lodge Road
ALDI supermarket
Tesco Bury Road, Wood Top
Tesco supermarket
Asda Holly Mount Way, Wood Top
Asda supermarket
Lidl Bacup Road, Wood Top
Lidl supermarket
