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.
Don't miss Darwen, Chorley, Leyland, Nelson, Blackburn, Burnley, and Blackpool's towns if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
Rawtenstall has some unmissable villages nearby like 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.
There are a several good waterfalls in the Rawtenstall area 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 has some unmissable rivers and streams nearby like Sunnyhurst Brook, Hatch Brook, Dean Black Brook, Eller Brook, River Yarrow at Duxbury Woods, Ease Gill, and River Roddlesworth.
There are a several good old mines in the Rawtenstall area like 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.
Old Lyons Colliery (ruin), Higher Pasture Barn (ruin), Ripping (ruin), Wheelton Plantation, Blackhurst (ruin), Heatherlea (ruin), and Shop Fold (ruin) are some of Rawtenstall best ruins to visit near Rawtenstall.
Rawtenstall's best nearby historic buildings can be found at 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.
The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting ancient sites 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.
The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best historic monuments including Jubilee Tower, Bevis and the Ruined Summerhouse, and Cromwell's Bridge.
The area around Rawtenstall boasts some of the best hiking areas including Anglezarke, Lead Mines Clough, High Bullough Wood, Stronstrey Bank, Lister Mill Quarry, Great Hill, and White Coppice.
Standing Stones Hill, Great Hill, Healey Nab, Spitlers Edge, Will Narr, Warton Crag, and Parlick are some of Rawtenstall best hills to visit near Rawtenstall.
There are a several good round cairns in the area around Rawtenstall like Jepsons Gate Cairn.
Don't miss High Bullough Reservoir, Anglezarke Reservoir, White Coppice Mill Pond, Big Lodge Water, Top Lodge, The Blue Lagoon, and Lower Ogden Reservoir's lakes if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting bluebell woods including High Bullough Wood, Duxbury Woods, Hill Top Wood, Warton Crag, and Roddlesworth Woods.
Stronstrey Bank, White Coppice Quarry, Warton Crag and Grisedale Wood Limestone Pavement, Sykes Mine, and The Great Stone of Fourstones are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like geological features.
Rawtenstall's best nearby gardens can be found at The Evaders' Garden, Astley Walled Garden, and Hoghton Tower.
There are a number of country parks near Rawtenstall including Yarrow Valley Country Park, Worden Park, Cuerden Valley Country Park, Witton Country Park, Beacon Fell, Langroyd Country Park, and Wyre Estuary Country Park.
Don't miss Top Lodge, Longworth Clough, Leighton Moss, Brockholes Nature Reserve, Ball Grove Park, Upper Ball Grove Lodge, and Mere Sands Wood's nature reserves if visiting the area around Rawtenstall.
Black Coppice Mill Stone Factory is one of Rawtenstall's best, nearby historic sites to visit in Rawtenstall.
Rawtenstall's best nearby canals can be found at 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.
Roman Sites to visit near Rawtenstall include Ribchester Roman Bath House, and Ribchester Roman Museum.
The area around Rawtenstall features a number of interesting museums including Ribchester Roman Museum, The British Commercial Vehicle Museum, and Harris Museum - Art Gallery and Library Preston.
There are a number of caves near Rawtenstall including Dog Holes Cave, Fairy Hole, and County Pot.
There are a several good limestone pavements in the area around Rawtenstall like Warton Crag and Grisedale Wood Limestone Pavement.
There are a number of sssis near Rawtenstall including Warton Crag S.S.S.I, and West Pennine Moors.
Rawtenstall's best nearby beaches can be found at Blackpool, Half Moon Bay, The Shore (Bolton-le-Sands), and Hest Bank Wharf.
There are a number of shopping centres near to Rawtenstall including The Concourse Shopping Centre.
Preston, and Lancaster are great places to visit near Rawtenstall if you like cities.
The area around Rawtenstall's best castles can be found at Clitheroe Castle.
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
Lidl Bacup Road, Wood Top
Lidl supermarket
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
