Rishton is a town in the
Hyndburn district of
Lancashire, England, about west of
Clayton-le-Moors and north east of
Blackburn. It was an
urban district from about 1894 to 1974. The population at the census of
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
was 6,625.
[
]
History
Its name means “village (or farmstead) where rushes grow”.
In late 1776, a handloom weavers shop in Rishton, belonging to Thomas Duxbury may have been the first place that the cotton cloth calico was woven for sale in Great Britain.
Rishton Colliery on the Burnley Coalfield was begun by P.W. Pickup Ltd in late November 1884 and mining continued until 1941. A tramroad from the pit connected to a coaling wharf on the canal. The National Coal Board used it as a pumping station from 1955 until 1970.
Governance
The two tiers of local government are Hyndburn Borough Council (a non-metropolitan district with borough status) and Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control.
Prior to the 2009 La ...
. Prior to the creation of Hyndburn district in 1974, Rishton had been an urban district, with its own council. It is not within a civil parish. Rishton currently has five elected representatives on the local authorities, all of whom are Labour: two County Councillors (Miles Parkinson and Jenny Molineux) and three Borough Councillors (Michael Miller, Jeff Scales, Kate Walsh).
Rishton is represented in the House of Commons as part of the Hyndburn constituency.
Geography
Rishton is situated in an area of low moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...
north east of Blackburn and north west of Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
. Its elevation above sea level varies from in the east, where Norden Brook flows into the River Hyndburn, to on Rishton Height, north west of the town.
Geology
Around 0.7 miles from the town is a former sandstone quarry, known locally as ''Star Delph Quarry''. Its use as a sandstone quarry ended in 1897. Part of the quarry contains rocks formed around 314 to 315 million years ago in the Carboniferous period, These rocks contain an imprint from where the roots of a Lepidodendron, which are known as Stigmaria. This quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
, and so it is protected by law with those that damage the site facing fines. The exposed rock layers are Fletcher Bank Grit, this is a subgroup of the Millstone Grit.
Demography
The 2001 census recorded a population of 7,350, in 2,973 households. 97% of the population were in the White British ethnic group.
The 2011 census recorded a population of 6,625 - a decrease of 9.8% from ten years earlier. 96% of the population were in the White British ethnic group. 74.8% of residents identified only as English, while 11.2% identified only as British, and 10.9% identified as British and English. A majority of residents identified as Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
(76.6%), with 16.4% identifying as irreligious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
, as well as small minorities of Muslims (0.8%) and Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
(0.6%) existing in the town.
Transport
The main road through Rishton is the A678 Blackburn to Burnley Road; there is also the B6535 (formerly A6064), which connects the town to Great Harwood. The Blackburn Southern Bypass section of the M65 motorway opened in December 1997, bypassing the A678.
In the 19th century, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was a major transport route in the area. The section of the canal through Rishton was completed in 1810. Rishton Reservoir, which provides water to the canal, was built in 1828. The East Lancashire Railway, which was opened in 1848, crossed the reservoir on a viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
until 1858; it is now on an embankment.
Rishton railway station
Rishton railway station is in the southern part of the town of Rishton, Lancashire, England. The station is on the East Lancashire Line, operated by Northern.
History
A wooden platform was opened on 19 June 1848, when the line was first opened ...
, south west of the town centre, is on the East Lancashire line. As of 2018, the route is operated by Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
, and consists of one train per hour between Blackpool South and Colne. Bus services are more frequent, and include the Hyndburn Circular routes and Route 152, both operated by Blackburn Bus Company.
Sport
Cricket
Rishton has over the years been famous for its cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
team, based at Rishton Cricket Club
Rishton Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Blackburn Road in Rishton, Lancashire, England. For the 2017 season their captain is Matt Lambert and professional is Shaun von Berg.
The club was ...
. Notable professionals who have played for the club include Viv Richards in 1987. Other former professionals include former England coach Duncan Fletcher, Michael Holding (former West Indies international), Aussie fast bowler Jason Gillespie, former South African cricket captain Allan Donald
Allan Anthony Donald (born 20 October 1966) is a South African former cricketer who is also the current bowling coach of Bangladesh national cricket team. Often nicknamed 'White Lightning' due to his lightning quick bowling, he is considered ...
and Sri Lankan right-handed batsman and right arm offbreak bowler Kumar Dharmasena
Deshabandu Handunnettige Deepthi Priyantha Kumar Dharmasena (born 24 April 1971), popularly as Kumar Dharmasena, is a Sri Lankan cricket umpire and former international cricketer. He is a member of the ICC Elite Panel Umpires and the first and ...
.
See Rishton Cricket Club
Rishton Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Blackburn Road in Rishton, Lancashire, England. For the 2017 season their captain is Matt Lambert and professional is Shaun von Berg.
The club was ...
Football
Rishton United FC provides junior and senior football for over 20 teams for both children and adults. The football club is currently developing its own ground known as the Primtetime Project located next to the canal behind Hyndburn Academy. This will see the club have its own grass pitches and in time, clubhouse and parking. The club has teams ranging from nippers (U7s) through to U16s and men's senior teams.
Golf
Rishton Golf Club is located off Petre Crescent, and is an eleven-hole course.
Sailing
Sailing has taken place on Rishton Reservoir since the start of the 20th century
East Lancashire Sailing Club
is based at the reservoir, and is a RYA Rya or RYA may refer to:
Biology
* Rya sheep, breed of sheep native to Sweden
* ''Rya'', a genus in subfamily Blennocampinae
People
* Rya Kihlstedt (born 1970), American actress
* Rya W. Zobel (born 1931), judge of the United States District Cou ...
Recognised Training Centre.
Culture
Leisure and tourism
The facilities at Cutwood Park, between Blackburn Road and the reservoir include a football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
pitch and a children's playground.
Churches
*Rishton Christian Fellowship, Commercial Street.
*Rishton Baptist Church, Commercial Street
*Rishton Methodist Church, Albert Street[
*St Charles Borromeo RC Church, St Charles Road]
*St Peter and St Paul Church (Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
), Blackburn Road
*Primitive Methodist
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
Church, School Street
* United Methodist Church, Mary Street
Education
There are three primary schools in Rishton: St. Peter and St. Paul's Church of England Primary School, St. Charles' Roman Catholic Primary School and Rishton Methodist Primary School. There is also one high school: The Hyndburn Academy.
Notable people
* Martin Dobson – Burnley and Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and has compe ...
footballer
* Ernest Marsden – assistant to Ernest Rutherford
* Brett Ormerod – Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
footballer
* Hardy Falconer Parsons – winner of the Victoria Cross,
* George Tomlinson – Education Minister to Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
's Government and MP for the Farnworth constituency in Bolton
* Christine Walkden
Christine Helen Walkden is a British television presenter and gardener, best known for her appearances on gardening programmes and ''The One Show''. She has hosted her own series centred on her home garden in Sawbridgeworth, ''Christine's Garden'', ...
– gardener
* Mark Felix – strongman
See also
* Listed buildings in Rishton
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Towns in Lancashire
Unparished areas in Lancashire
Geography of Hyndburn