Padiham

Infobox UK place
official_name= Padiham
map_type= Lancashire
country= England
region= North West England
population= 8,998 [ [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=795670&c=padiham&d=16&e=15&g=461314&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1197124485873&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 2001 census data] . Accessed 8 December 2007.]
os_grid_reference= SD7933
latitude= 53.7972
longitude= -2.3113
post_town= BURNLEY
postcode_area= BB
postcode_district= BB12
dial_code= 01282
civil_parish= Padiham Town Council
shire_district= Burnley
shire_county= Lancashire
constituency_westminster= Burnley
static_

static_image_caption= Padiham Town Hall

Padiham (IPA|ˡpædɪˌəm) is a small town and civil parish on the River Calder, about convert|3|mi|km|0 west of Burnley and south of Pendle Hill. It is part of the Borough of Burnley but also has its own town council with limited powers.

History

The first recorded mention of the town, as 'Padyngham', dates from 1294. [ [http://www.padihamlife.co.uk/about/ www.padihamlife.co.uk] . Accessed 13 November 2007.] For hundreds of years it was a market town where produce from Pendleside was bought and sold. (Padiham market continues today, being held every Wednesday and Friday.) The town expanded and was substantially redeveloped during the Industrial Revolution and the central area is now a conservation area.

Governance

Padiham was an urban district until 1974, [ [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10106710 www.visionofbritain.org.uk] . Accessed 12 November 2007.] and has been a civil parish since 2002. It has its own town council.

As with many of the local government areas reorganised in 1974, not all people in Padiham are happy being largely governed from Burnley, although the town has long belonged to the Burnley postal town and forms a continuous urban area with it. Burnley Borough Council now addresses public correspondence to the people of Burnley and Padiham.

Transport

Padiham had a railway station on a branch line from Burnley to Blackburn; it was closed in 1957. The town is now served by Burnley & Pendle bus services from Accrington, Burnley, Nelson, Colne and beyond, [http://www.burnleyandpendle.co.uk/Ease/servlet/EaseFrameset?siteID=1461] and Lancashire United service 152 from Burnley, Blackburn and Preston. [http://www.lancashireunited.co.uk/gfx/times/152.pdf]

Junction 10 of the M65, around convert|2|mi|km|0 east of the town, gives Padiham access to the motorway network.

The nearest airport, Manchester, is 50 minutes' driving time from the town. [ [http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/inc/planner_places_redirect.jsp www.theaa.com] . Accessed 14 January 2008.] The most convenient route by public transport – via Blackburn, then by train – takes approx. 2¼ hours. [http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/JourneyPlannerInput.aspx]

Industry

In the nineteenth-century, Padiham's industry was based on coal-mining and weaving; however, the last pit closed in around 1870 [http://www.padihamlife.co.uk/about/mining.htm] and the cotton mills are in steep decline. Padiham's second role as a manufacturing base is also in decline. The town's last major employer in this sector, Baxi, closed its factory in March 2007 with the loss of 500 jobs. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6453773.stm " 'Job Threat After Factory Closure' "] , www.bbc.co.uk, 15 March 2007. Accessed 14 January 2008.] A modern business park, " 'Shuttleworth Mead' ", [ [http://www.ribbleindustrialestatesltd.co.uk/ Shuttleworth Mead Business Park] . Accessed 5 September 2008.] opened in 2001 on the western edge of the town, supported by £2.2m from the European Regional Development Fund and £2m from the North West Development Agency. [ [http://nwda.co.uk/ North West Regional Development Agency] . Accessed 6 September 2008.] Tenants include Supanet, an internet service provider (ISP) and Graham & Brown, a wallcoverings company.

Landmarks

There are three significant halls in the local area: Huntroyde Hall, dating from 1576, and Simonstone Hall, dating from 1660, in nearby Simonstone, are both privately-owned, while Gawthorpe Hall is a National Trust property in Padiham itself, [ [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-gawthorpehall National Trust] . Accessed 2 October 2008. The Hall was acquired, and is run, with the financial support of Lancashire County Council; the National Trust runs an office and a tea-room in the courtyard of the main building.] [ [http://www.r-alston.co.uk/ch_eng.htm www.r-alston.co.uk] . Accessed 13 November 2007.] [ [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Padiham/ www.genuki.org.uk] . Accessed 13 November 2007.] St Leonard's Church, the town's parish church, dates from 1869, [ [http://lfhhs-pendleandburnley.org.uk/church/xpad1.htm Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society] . Accessed 13 November 2007.] and was built on the site of earlier churches dating back to at least 1451, [Duncan Armstrong, "Owd Padiham", Duncan Armstrong, 1985.] while Sherry's Towel Mill is a working 19th-century cotton mill, also open to the public.

The Town Hall on Burnley Road, designed by Bradshaw Gass & Hope and built in 1938, is a Grade II listed building. [ [http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries/librarydetails/libsearch1.asp?name=Padiham Lancashire County Council Library and Information Service] . Accessed 25 February 2008.]

Padiham Memorial Park at the top of Church Street, was designed by Thomas Mawson, an influential and prolific landscape designer. [ [http://www.burnley.gov.uk/downloads/Memorial_Park Burnley Borough Council] . Accessed 28 February 2008.] It was officially opened in 1921 as a memorial to those from the town who gave their lives in the First World War. A local man, Thomas Clayton, funded the park in his will; public subscription provided additional money for the park’s many features. [ [http://www.burnley.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=4&pageNumber=5 Burnley Borough Council] . Accessed 28 February 2008.] The park covers five hectares on two sites divided by the River Calder. The upper section is mainly formal, dominated by Knight Hill House (currently used as an Age Concern Day Centre), and has a rose garden, lawns and two memorials. The lower section, off Park Street, has two bowling greens, tennis courts, skate park and Padiham's leisure centre. The park is a Green Flag award winner. [ [http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/winners/GSP001242/ Green Flag Award Scheme] . Accessed 27 February 2008.]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.burnley.gov.uk/site/index.php Burnley Borough Council]
* [http://www.padihamparish.org/ Padiham C of E Parish]
* [http://www.padihamlife.org.uk/ Padiham Life]
* [http://www.padihamtowncouncil.gov.uk/ Padiham Town Council]
* [http://www.visitpadiham.co.uk/ Visit Padiham]