Whalley, Lancashire

:"For other meanings, see Whalley."infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 53.824088
longitude= -2.404050
population=
official_name= Whalley
shire_district= Ribble Valley
shire_county = Lancashire
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Ribble Valley
post_town= CLITHEROE
postcode_district = BB7
postcode_area= BB
dial_code= 01254
os_grid_reference= SD735365
static_

static_image_caption =Calder Row at Whalley

Whalley is a large village in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large picturesque wooded hill over the river from the village.

The village is famous for the village cricket team having played the England team and for hosting the first Roses match between Lancashire and Yorkshire—Yorkshire lost.

The main road through Whalley is King Street, which leads through to Clitheroe Road. Neighbouring Whalley are the small villages of Wiswell, Billington, Barrow, and Read. Close by are Downham, [http://www.englandsnorthwest.com/imagebank/image_information/?img_id=1256&back=search_results&county=&category=&subcategories=&page=41] and Pendle Hill made famous in William Harrison Ainsworth's book "The Lancashire Witches". [gutenberg|no=15493|name=The Lancashire Witches (1849)]

Landmarks

Whalley Viaduct

Known locally as "Whalley Arches", Whalley Viaduct is a listed structure 48 span railway bridge crossing the River Calder.

Built between 1846 and 1950 under the engineering supervison of Terrence Wolfe Flanagan, the viaduct is of red brick arch construction. The longest and largest railway viaduct in Lancashire, it was built for The Bolton, Blackburn, Clitheroe and West Yorkshire Railway, carrying the line 21.3m above the river for a distance of 620m.

More than seven million bricks and 12,338 cubic metres of stone were used in its construction. Some 3,000m of timber were used for the arch centering, temporary platforms and the permanent foundation piles. During construction, on October 6 1849, two of the 41 arches then completed collapsed, with the loss of three lives.

The southern side of the bridge, nearest the remains of the Abbey, bears the only decorative treatment. [The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Vol 1, 1969, J. Marshall, David and Charles, Newton Abbot]

Whalley Abbey

The town is home to the ruins of Whalley Abbey, a 14th century Cistercian abbey. The monks of Whalley were moved to describe the site of their abbey beneath Whalley Nab on the banks of the Calder as "locus benedictus" - a blessed place [http://www.whalleyabbey.co.uk Whalley Abbey] .

Other places of interest

The parish church of St Mary and All Saints dates to 628 in the period when St. Paulinus was said to have preached at Whalley. The church-yard has three Anglo-Scandinavian crosses [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/Whalley/StMaryandAllSaints.shtml] .

A Roman Catholic church, The English Martyrs, lies near the Abbey.

Until the 1980s there was a girls' boarding school called Whiteacre.

Calder's waterfall and isles

The River Calder has a man-made waterfall section at Whalley, which allowed the monks of Whaley Abbey to collect water easily. It has been suggested that was one of the main reasons for the abbey being built where it was. The river here has two small islands made of pebbles and rocks.

hops & Amenities

Whalley has many small independent shops, hairdressers, numerous take away outlets and estate agents. There is also a SPAR minimarket, Lloyds Pharmacy & Thresher Wine shop. Barclays Bank has a branch on the main street. The centre of the town is dominated by four pubs The Dog, The Whalley Arms, The Swan and the DeLacy Arms. There is also a small club named Rendezvous (Rio's). There is also a public library [cite web | url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries/librarydetails/libsearch1.asp?name=Whalley | title=Welcome to the Library and Information Service web site - Whalley Home Page | accessdate=2008-02-26 | publisher=Lancashire County Council] , doctors' surgery & an adult learning centre.

Transport Links

For its size, Whalley is extremely well connected in terms of public transport links. There are hourly trains from the railway station to Blackburn & Manchester running over the dominant Whalley Viaduct. There are also frequent bus services to the surrounding Lancashire towns/cities. Destinations by bus include; Accrington, Blackburn, Burnley, Bolton, Clitheroe, Darwen, Longridge, Skipton & Manchester. These are operated from the village's central street and Whalley Bus Station.

port

A local club staged speedway meetings at Dean's Pleasure Grounds in the late 1920s. The track was very small and only two riders were allowed to race at any one time. A contemporary photo shows the track on flat land adjacent to a river and the showground with a helter-skelter. Today there are sports facilities including tennis courts, football pitches & the cricket ground which hosted the first ever roses match.

References

External links