Clayton-le-Moors is an industrial town in the borough of

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington and covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Ha ...

in the county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England. located two miles north of Accrington. The town has a population of 8,522 according to the 2011 census. To the west lies Rishton, to the north

Great Harwood Great Harwood is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, located north east of Blackburn and adjacent to the Ribble Valley. Great Harwood is the major conurbation of the 'Three Towns'; the three towns being Great Harwood, Clayton- ...

, and two miles to the south, Accrington. Clayton-le-Moors is situated on the

A680 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...

alongside the M65 motorway.

History

It is thought that the town developed with the fusion of the two hamlets of Oakenshaw (bottom end) and Enfield (top end) which began during the construction of the Leeds Liverpool Canal, which pre-dated the railways. The merger continued with the development of the cotton textile industry, particularly that of weaving and cloth finishing. The stretch of canal between Burnley and Enfield Wharf (now alongside the Enfield Bridge on Blackburn Road) was opened in 1801. By 1808 it had been extended to Church. The final link up between Leeds and Liverpool was completed 1816. Clayton-le-Moors now lies at the midpoint of the Leeds Liverpool Canal although there is no marker. The canal continued to be used for the commercial transportation of coal between Bank Hall Colliery,

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

and the now demolished power generating station at

Whitebirk Whitebirk is a suburb in the east of Blackburn, in Lancashire, England. Most of the suburb is in Blackburn with Darwen, a unitary area, with the east of the suburb being in the borough of Hyndburn. Whitebirk is part of the Blackburn urban are ...

, Blackburn, until 1963. During the harsh winter of 1963 the thickness of the ice on the canal prevented the movement of barges and coal had to be transported by road. Subsequently, canal transportation was never resumed. The canal is now used solely for leisure boating and is managed and maintained by a charitable trust, the

Canal and River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, th ...

. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

St. Mary's Church which opened in 1819, was originally sited on Burnley Road, east of the town, on the boundary with Altham, as a replacement for the chapel at

Dunkenhalgh The Dunkenhalgh is a country manor in Lancashire, on the outskirts of Clayton-le-Moors near the river Hyndburn. Originally a large country house in Tudor style, later converted into a hotel. It is grade II listed. History The name ''Dunkenha ...

. The present-day St. Mary's in Clayton-le-Moors was built in 1959 and the old one demolished, with only the graveyard surviving. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, All Saints' Church was erected in 1840. The town's two main thoroughfares are the A680 Whalley Road, which still has some canal workers' cottages, and A678 which is named Blackburn Road to the west of the junction with Whalley Road and Burnley Road to the east. Mercer Park, once the grounds of Mercer House, is freely open to the public, and contains an updated war memorial. The house was previously Oakenshaw Cottage, where John Mercer lived towards the end of his life. Mercer, a self-taught chemist born in Great Harwood, invented the

mercerisation Mercerisation is a textile finishing treatment for cellulose fabric and yarn, mainly cotton and flax, which improves dye uptake and tear strength, reduces fabric shrinkage, and imparts a silk-like luster. Development The process was devise ...

process for treating cotton which is still in use today. He was also a pioneer of colour photography. Clayton-le-Moors is said to be a town of two halves. Residents were either 'top-enders' or 'bottom-enders', depending on which side of the Whalley Road canal bridge they lived. The two communities had firm opinions about each other and were said to rarely mix. With the mixing of the town's children at common schools, this is no longer the case but the distinction between top and bottom enders still remains. There was, however, an annual football match between them at the running track at Wilson's Playing Fields (formerly the Woodlands Playing Fields), which lie behind woodland close to Sparth House in lower Whalley Road. The synthetic running track there is surrounded by football pitches, a cricket pitch and changing rooms. It also hosts

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

, a timed 5 km run every Saturday morning.

Governance

Clayton-le-Moors was once a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

in the ancient parish of Whalley, with

in the south-west and Hyndburn Brook forming the boundary with Rishton and

as far as the River Calder. This became a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in 1866. Between 1894 and 1974 the area was administered by an Urban District Council. As a consequence of the re-organisation of Local Government in 1974, Clayton became an unparished constituent of the Borough of

, centered on Accrington.

Demography

In 2001 town had a population of 8,290.Lancashire Profile
lancashire.gov.uk There is also a ward with the same name in Hyndburn however it does not cover all of the town. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 4,725.

Sport

*Clayton Amateur Boxing Club serves the local area providing opportunities for young people to express themselves through sport, health and fitness. Head coach is John Brindle who is supported by an outstanding group of coaches. Clayton ABC have created dozens of North West Regional Champions, national and international Box Cup Champions and National Champions and continues to grow year on year. *Clayton Le Moors Harriers founded in 1922, is one of the largest athletic clubs in the North of England, catering for cross-country, fell and road running. * Kuon Ji Ju Jitsu Association is a martial arts club established in October 1982, by ''Sensei'' Tony Gregson under the guidance of ''Sensei'' Thomas Duckett it meets at the Civic Library on Pickup Street. * Hyndburn athletics club is the biggest track and field club in the area and is a successful club winning mid-Lancs championships back to back also has many Lancashire champions, combined event champions, English school competitors and competitors for Lancashire. County Medallists such as Marnie Shirtcliffe, Robert Schofield, Stephen Sumner *

Enfield Cricket Club Enfield Cricket Club is a cricket club in the Lancashire League, which plays its home games at Dill Hall Lane in Accrington. For the 2011 season its captain is Adam Bracewell, and its professional is Werner Coetsee of South Africa. The club has ...

is the town's cricket club and competes in the Lancashire League. * Clayton le Moors also has a thriving junior football club Clayton Park Rangers FC. Named after the former town club which was dissolved in the early 1980s. The club currently runs 7 teams from the age of 7 to 16.

Amenities

Schools

Secondary education is no longer available within the town. 11 - 18 year olds now have to travel to schools in adjoining Hyndburn townships or beyond. Three primary schools provide education for the under 11s. They are Mount Pleasant Primary School on Earl Street, All Saints Church of England Primary School on Church Street and St Marys Roman Catholic Primary School on Devonshire Drive.

Pubs

There are a few pubs: The Albion, Hare and Hounds, Hyndburn Bridge, Forts Arms, The Royal Oak, Old England Forever, Sparth Manor - built at an unknown date but sold for the first time in 1556, and the Conservative Club, founded in 1890. There were three Working Men's Clubs, known colloquially as the Top, Middle and Bottom Clubs. The Top Club closed in the late 2000s and became a Restaurant. The Come and Welcome was the Middle Club and no longer functions, but the Bottom Club – Park View – remains open. Perhaps its most famous pub was The Load O' Mischief, which was well known throughout Lancashire. It was situated by the traffic lights at the junction of the A678 and A670 trunk roads and gave its name to the 4 bus stops adjacent to its location in Whalley Road, Blackburn Road and Burnley Road for the routes to Accrington-Clayton Forts Arms and

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

- Burnley. Although the Load O' Mischief was closed and demolished to make way for the M65 motorway in the late 1970s, its name is still used to refer to the area around the traffic lights at the Whalley Road, Blackburn and Burnley Roads Junction.

Hotels

Hotels include the Dunkenhalgh in Blackburn Road, Maple Lodge in Blackburn Road, Sparth House in Whalley Road and a Bed and Breakfast Inn at Sparth Manor in Sparth Road. *Sparth House Hotel main house was built in 1740 with parts of the building dating back to 14th century. The Georgian architecture runs throughout the property. It also is the home to furniture from RMS ''Olympic'', sister ship of ''Titanic''. Sparth House Hotel began as a family home, then became as an antique shop and now is a family-owned and -run hotel. *The Dunkenhalgh is a four-star hotel built around a 700-year-old house – the manor of Dunkenhalgh. It was the former residence of Judge Walmesley and later the equally influential Petre family. *Maple Lodge offers four-star accommodation. The house was built in the early 1700s and retains many original features.

Notable people

* James Almond (1874-1923), footballer *

Jim Bowen James Brown Whittaker (born Peter Williams; 20 August 1937 – 14 March 2018), known professionally as Jim Bowen, was an English stand-up comedian, actor and television personality. He was the long-time host of the ITV game show ''Bullseye'', ...

(James Whittaker, born Peter Williams; 20 August 1937 – 14 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedian and television personality. * Jack Simmons MBE, the Lancashire and Tasmania off-spinner, was born and raised in Clayton. * Alan Ramsbottom was a professional racing cyclist from Clayton-le-Moors; he rode the Tour de France, finishing 16th in 1963. He later moved to Great Harwood, where there is a road named after him. * Comedian

Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew, (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's d ...

OBE (1926-1984), of the double act

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

, lived in Clayton while working in a nearby coal mine as a '

Bevin Boy Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in coal mines between December 1943 and March 1948, to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of World War II. The programme was named after Ern ...

'. *

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Worl ...

(1949-2010) lived in the town after his arrival from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. East Lancashire had a thriving snooker scene and Higgins was keen to learn from great players in the area. * Nicholas Freeston (1907-1978) was an English poet who spent most of his working life as a weaver. *

Vicky Entwistle Victoria Entwistle (born 15 September 1968) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Janice Battersby in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early life Entwistle grew up in Accrington; her father owned a newsagen ...

, the actress who played the factory worker Janice Battersby in '' Coronation Street'', has a link to Clayton-le-Moors. Her parents ran a newsagent shop close to the M65 bridge in Whalley Road. *

Netherwood Hughes Netherwood "Ned" Hughes (12 June 1900 – 4 April 2009) was one of the last two Tommy Atkins, Tommies who served the United Kingdom during the First World War, along with Harry Patch, although Patch was the only one to have seen action. Hughes wa ...

(1900-2009), originally from

, one of the last surviving veterans of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, died at the Woodlands Home for the Elderly in 2009, aged 108. * Sir

Clyde Walcott Sir Clyde Leopold Walcott KA, GCM, OBE (17 January 1926 – 26 August 2006) was a West Indian cricketer. Walcott was a member of the "three W's", the other two being Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell: all were very successful batsmen from Barb ...

(1926-2006), the West Indies test cricketer was the professional for

between 1951 and 1954, when he lodged in Clayton during the English cricket season. * Fred Brown OBE FRS (1925-2004), a virologist and molecular biologist, was born in Clayton-le-Moors.

Notable businesses

Karrimor International, a world-renowned manufacturer of

backpack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

s, footwear, and other outdoor pursuit equipment, was founded in Clayton-le-Moors in 1946. Prior to

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

and disposal of its UK manufacturing business and retail operations in 2004, it was considered to have a "tremendous tradition", a history that included "legendary" products, and a "very strong brand name", and past owner Industrialinvest stated in 2002 that the company had an "international reputation for outstanding roducts.InvestIndustrial's description of its investment in Karrimor
A 1996 review of top British manufacturers by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' had also described Karrimor as "a leader in its... field" and one of Britain's great post war manufacturers, albeit one that it felt had (like other businesses) "failed to invest and expand".British manufacturing: the best thing since sliced bread
- The Independent, 1996-08-18, David Bowen The brand and product lines still exist as of 2013, and are owned by the

Sports Direct Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pre ...

group.

References

External links

Tourist guide to Clayton-le-Moors - Lancashire Telegraph
{{authority control Towns in Lancashire Unparished areas in Lancashire Geography of Hyndburn