Grimsargh is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

City of Preston, Lancashire The City of Preston, or simply ''Preston'' (), is a non-metropolitan district, local government district with city status in the United Kingdom, city status in Lancashire, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Ribble and has a populati ...

, England. It's located approximately east of Preston.

History

The name Grimsargh is said to derive from an

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

name ''Grímr'' with Norse ''erg''. One reference lists it as coming from the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

's ''Grimesarge'', "at the temple of Grimr" (a name for

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

army came through Grimsargh en route to what is now

Walton-le-Dale Walton-le-Dale is a large village in the borough of South Ribble, in Lancashire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Ribble, opposite the city of Preston, adjacent to Bamber Bridge. The population of the South Ribble Ward at the ...

in Preston, on what became known as the Battle of Preston on 17 August 1648. In 1868 by E. G. Paley was contracted to rebuild the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and added a tower to an existing chapel in the village. Known today as St Michael's Church it is in

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

with

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roofs, and consists of a nave, a north

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

, a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, a northeast

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

, and a west tower. The tower is in three stages, and has a southeast stair turret, angle

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es, an embattled

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

, and a pyramidal roof. The parish was formed on 1 April 1934 from the merger of the parish of Elston with half of the parish of Grimsargh-with-Brockholes, both of which were formed in 1866. The parish was part of

Preston Rural District Preston was a rural district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded Preston, Lancashire, Preston to the north, west and east. The district was created under the Local Government Act 1894. It was abolished in 1974 under the Lo ...

until its abolition in 1974, and in turn part of the much larger

Amounderness The Amounderness Hundred ( ) is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire in North West England, but the name is older than the system of hundreds first recorded in the 13th century and might best be described as the na ...

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

, in which Preston was also included. In 1974 the parish became part of the Borough of Preston, which became a city in 2002.

Transport

Railway

The village was once served by Grimsargh railway station on the now dismantled Preston to Longridge railway line. The station closed to passengers in May 1930, before being closed completely in 1967. A junction and platform to the north east of the station allowed passengers to board trains to the nearby Whittingham Hospital via the private Whittingham Hospital Railway, which closed in 1957.

Bus

The village is served by #1 operated by

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

with frequent services to Preston and

Longridge Longridge is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. The nearest vi ...

. #99 & #842 also serve the village, but only operate a limited service.

Industry

The village has one public house, The Plough, situated in the village centre. The pub has won several county-wide awards for its food and service but has since changed owners. There is also a private members social club in the village.

Demography

According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,164, increasing to 2,653 at the 2011 census.

Community

Grimsargh now contains a

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

club,

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club and pavilion. The cricket club has 5 senior teams. 1 playing on Wednesdays in the Boddington's Village Cricket League. 3 playing on Saturdays in the Moore & Smalley Palace Shield league structure (Divisions 3,4 & 6), and also a Sunday XI playing in the Moore & Smalley Palace Shield Sunday League. Training is held on Tuesdays at the club's home ground on the village green, and the club welcomes new players of all abilities and ages. Grimsargh St. Michael's Church, St. Michael's Primary School and pre-school are all located near the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

. Grimsargh Village Hall is a popular and thriving venue for public activities and private events, run by the Grimsargh Village Community Association. The hall also hosts the monthly Grimsargh Farmers' Market which is a well-established and popular market offering a wide range of local produce and crafts.

Governance

The village is now part of the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

parliamentary constituency, following boundary changes introduced for the 2024

General Election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. It was previously part of the Wyre and Preston North constituency between 2010 and 2024, which was represented by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP Ben Wallace . For elections to

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...

the village of Grimsargh is within the Preston Rural division and is represented by County Councillor Sue Whittam of the Conservative Party. The parish is part of the electoral ward of Preston Rural East, which returns three councillors to Preston City Council (all currently

. Unlike many other districts of Preston, the ward of Preston Rural East is parished, in that it has within it parish councils with their own structure and elected councillors. The parishes within Preston Rural East are, along with Grimsargh, Haighton, and Broughton-in-Amounderness. Grimsargh has an active parish council, with nine councillors and a clerk.

Religion

The village has one church, St. Michael's Parish Church (CE) in Preston Road. The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Michael (also known as Alston Lane Church) lies just outside the parish, in the neighbouring parish of

, with a Catholic primary school alongside.

Geography

The village lies between Preston and

, and south east of Goosnargh. Notable features include a large parkland area to the west of the village. Several large reservoirs can be found to the east and these were previously used extensively by local anglers. Savick Brook flows just north of the village. The village is also along the route of the Ribble Way.

Gallery

File:Grimsargh_Field_Day_Parade_-_Steam_Engine.jpg, Field Day Parade File:River_Ribble_near_Elston_-_geograph.org.uk_-_701998.jpg, River Ribble near Elston Lane File:War_Memorial_-_geograph.org.uk_-_35049.jpg, Grimsargh War Memorial

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Genealogy of GrimsarghThe Plough, Grimsargh (Public House)

Grimsargh Village HallGrimsargh Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Lancashire Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of the City of Preston