Tarleton 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

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town is Skelmersdale. The district borders Fylde to the north, over the Ribble Estuary; South Ribbl ...

district of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. It is situated approximately north-east of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and south-west of Preston. The parish includes the village of Mere Brow and the hamlets of Sollom and Holmes, and is an agricultural area. It had a population of 5,959 at the 2021 Census. Tarleton village, Holmes, and the villages of Hesketh Bank and Becconsall to the north form a single built-up area with a population of 8,755.

History

Tarleton is derived from the

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 ...

''Tharaldr'', a personal name and the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''tun'', a farmstead or enclosure. The township was recorded as Tharilton in 1246 and subsequently Tarleton. Tarleton is mentioned in the Feet of Fines in 1298. A local family with the Tarleton name either was named or gave its name to the early settlement by the reign of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

. The manor of Tarleton was part of the Montbegon or Hornby fee and divided into two moieties: two ploughlands were granted to John Malherbe and the remainder to the Banastres of

Bretherton Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-c ...

. In 1298 John Banastre of

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

held eight

oxgang An oxgang or bovate (; ; ; ) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, a ...

s of land in Tarleton. The Banastres held land in Tarleton of the Montbegons in 1526. This moiety of the manor passed to the Lilfords. The other moiety was granted to Roger de Douay, and then to Gilbert de Notton who gave Cockersand Abbey one ploughland. This portion, Holmeswood, was eventually acquired by the Heskeths of Rufford and sold to the Lilfords around 1886, uniting both portions. In the 19th century a labourer discovered a small leaden box without a lid containing about a hundred silver coins whilst digging in a copse. They were possibly from the 17th century.

Governance

Tarleton was a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

in the parish of

Croston Croston is a village and civil parish near Chorley in Lancashire, England. The River Yarrow flows through the village. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,917. History Croston was founded in the 7th century whe ...

and subsequently a parish in the Leyland hundred. In 1837 it joined the

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

. Tarleton is a

in the South Ribble ward of

Borough Council and has a parish council. It is currently within the Parliamentary Constituency of South Ribble. The Parish of Tarleton is divided into three administrative wards, Central (which includes Sollom), Hesketh Lane and Mere Brow (which includes Holmes).

Landmarks

The village has 18

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s including barns, houses, farmhouses and St Mary's Church, which are of historical and architectural merit. The stone built 'Bank Bridge' (named after 'The Bank' which is the land that

Bank Hall Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building and is at the centre of a private estate, surrounded by parkland. The hall was built on the site of an older house in 1608 by the Banastres w ...

stands on), is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

and carries the

A59 road The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseysi ...

over the

Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

and River Douglas. Holmeswood Hall, dated 1568, was built as a hunting or fishing lodge by the Heskeths of Rufford, and is a grade II listed farmhouse.

Education

Tarleton Community Primary School and Tarleton Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School serve the village. Tarleton Academy, a Technology College, serves the surrounding villages. It has a swimming pool and sports grounds. The high school is the home to

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

, 471 (Hesketh Bank and Tarleton) Squadron and a variety of

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s clubs including

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 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

clubs.

Religion

There was an ancient chapel dedicated to St Helen in the township. George Dandy, the priest, founded a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...

there in about 1525. A hermitage in the chapel yard was occupied by Hugh Dobson, a hermit of the Order of St Anthony, in about 1530. Sir Thomas Hesketh bought and demolished the chapel, leaving Tarleton without a place of worship. In 1650 the inhabitants of Tarleton, Holmes and Sollom built a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church at Three Lanes End which was assigned a parish in 1658. It was little used and fell into ruin. In 1719 land was given, by Henrietta Maria Legh, of

, for a new church close where the main road crosses the river. St. Mary's was the place of worship for the village until 1886. It is used for services once a year on "Old Church Sunday", the last Sunday in August. It was built in brick, with a belfry tower of stone added in 1824. The interior has its original simple fittings which includes box pews, a gallery and staircase. The chancel has a semi-octagonal apse. St Mary's was replaced by Holy Trinity Church built in 1886 to the designs of W Basset-Smith. It was constructed in the neo-Gothic style with a tall spire. It is situated next to Tarleton Church of England Primary School on Church Road. Holy Trinity Church has some Robert (Mouseman) Thompson furniture and woodwork, which is notable for the mice carved on them. There is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel on Church Road, and a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, Our Lady Help of Christians, on Hesketh Lane.

Geography

Tarleton lies north-east of Ormskirk, covering acres of flat land which was originally

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

gy towards the west. The River Douglas passes to the east and was made navigable in 1727. Tarleton includes the village of Mere Brow and the hamlet of Holmes, on the A565 to the west and Sollom, a small hamlet on the A59 to the south. Tarleton mosses is an area of reclaimed mossland that stretches along the coastal plain from the Ribble Estuary in the north to the A565 in the south. It is a market gardening area with many glass houses. The farms and

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

s have exploited the rich peat deposits. Beyond the smallholdings and green houses are arable fields. The built environment is dominated by ribbon development of modern bungalows along banked roads between Tarleton, Banks and Becconsall.

Population

Demography

In the April 2001 census there were 2,736 females and 2,614 males living in Tarleton. The median age of population was 42 years and there were 2,571 dwellings recorded in the parish. Crime rates in the area are relatively low in comparison with the national average. The Police UK website states that in the Tarleton area there were just five incidents of street crime and 19 occasions of

Anti-social behaviour Anti-social behaviours, sometimes called dissocial behaviours, are actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviours s ...

during March 2012. According to the

United Kingdom Census 2011 A Census in the United Kingdom, census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Inter ...

, Tarleton parish had a population of 5,652.

Economy

The high quality soil of the former mossland means that a major economic activity in Tarleton is

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

, particularly growing salad crops. Mark Square is a shopping area in the village centre where there are plans to build 30 shops and a number of residential properties. On 20 February 2024 Croftpak tomato nursery was featured in the BBC series '' Hairy Bikers Go West''.

Transport

Tarleton was served by the former Preston to Southport railway line which ran through Hesketh Bank until its closure in 1964. The Rufford Branch of the

runs into the River Douglas at Tarleton Lock and was served by a goods

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

on the railway. The A565 road and the

meet at Tarleton crossroads and provide main road transport links to the villages and surrounding area. The roads bypass the village and the crossroads junction separates the village from the hamlet of Sollom.

Local facilities

Tarleton has a small

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

; The fire station in the village has a training tower and houses one appliance. Tarleton is home to football and cricket pitches on Carr Lane. The pavilion, which is adjacent to these pitches, is organised and run by Tarleton Corinthians Football Club and Tarleton Cricket Club. Tarleton Rugby Club have their own private clubhouse and bar that is open to the community on matchdays.

Notable people

A number of notable individuals were either born in Tarleton or have lived in the area. * Gary Ablett, professional football player for

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

and Everton F.C., coach and manager of Stockport County * Jonathon Howard, actor with credits including '' Dream Team'', ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' and ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

'', attended Tarleton High School *

Brian Iddon Brian Iddon (born 5 July 1940) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton South East from 1997 to 2010. Early life Born in Tarleton, Lancashire and attended the village's Church of England Primary ...

, Member of Parliament for Bolton South East 1997–2010, lived in the village *

Andrew Lancel Andrew Lancel (born Andrew Watkinson) is an English television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Dr. Andrew Collin in ''Cardiac Arrest'', his role as DI Neil Manson in ''The Bill'' and Frank Fost ...

, actor, is a former pupil of Tarleton High School. * Niriko Mclure, Australian actress; attended Tarleton High School in the 1990s * Dame Nancy Rothwell, physiologist, Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

* Ben Williams, footballer for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

. Played for the local cricket club

References

Citations

General and cited references

External links

Tarleton Corinthians Football Club

Tarleton & Hesketh Bank village website

Tarleton "Terriers" Rugby Union Football Club

Tarleton Cricket Club

Tarleton parish website
{{Authority control Civil parishes in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of West Lancashire Villages in Lancashire