add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Coordinates: 53°47′49″N 2°18′40″W / 53.797°N 2.311°W
Padiham (pronounced /ˈpædi.əm/) is a small town and civil parish on the River Calder, about 3 miles (5 km) west of Burnley and south of Pendle Hill. It is part of the Borough of Burnley but also has its own town council with varied powers.
[edit] HistoryThe first recorded mention of the town, as 'Padyngham', dates from 1294[2]. For hundreds of years it was a market town where produce from Pendleside was bought and sold. Padiham market is still 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. [edit] GovernancePadiham was an urban district until 1974[3] 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 both the people of Burnley and Padiham. [edit] TransportPadiham had a railway station on a branch line of the East Lancashire Line from Burnley to Blackburn; it was closed in 1957. The nearest station is now at Hapton, about 2 miles (3.2 km) south. The town is now served by Burnley & Pendle bus services from Accrington, Burnley, Nelson, Colne and beyond,[4] and Lancashire United service 152 from Burnley, Blackburn and Preston[5]. Junction 10 of the M65, around 2 miles (3 km) east of the town, gives Padiham access to the motorway network. The nearest airport, Manchester, is 50 minutes' driving time from the town.[6]. The most convenient route by public transport – via Blackburn, then by train – takes approx. 2¼ hours.[7] [edit] IndustryIn the nineteenth-century, Padiham's industry was based on coal-mining and weaving. Industrial development was helpd by the proximity of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal about 2 miles (3.2 km) south. However, the last pit closed around 1870[8] and the cotton mills are in a steep decline which began in the 1930s. 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[9]. A modern business park, 'Shuttleworth Mead' ,[10] 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[11], Tenants include Supanet, an internet service provider (ISP) and Graham & Brown, a wallcoverings company. In 2007 Fort Vale Engineering moved into the old Mullards/Phillips site and developed a brand new purpose built factory. Fort Vale Engineering Ltd employs around 280 people from around the local area and has brought new business to other local employers. [edit] Rural PadihamPadiham was originally a rural village lying by the River Calder. It is still surrounded by attractive countryside on an arc running from the north west to the north east in the foothills of Pendle Hill. [edit] 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[12][13][14]. St Leonard's Church, the town's parish church, dates from 1869[15], and was built on the site of earlier churches dating back to at least 1451[16] 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[17]. Padiham Memorial Park at the top of Church Street, was designed by Thomas Mawson, an influential and prolific landscape designer[18]. It was officially opened in 1921 as a memorial to those from the town who gave their lives in the First World War. The War Memorial itself is at the main entrance to the park in Blackburn Road[19]. There is a second memorial at All Saints with St John Baptist off the A671, Padiham Road opposite the George IV pub[20]. A local man, Thomas Clayton, funded the park in his will; public subscription provided additional money for the park’s many features[21].    The park covers 5 hectares (12 acres) 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.[22]. The park still had the remains of some World War II air raid shelters in 2008[23]. Near to the War Memorial, is another[24] to several young people from the town killed in an air crash in Spain on Friday evening, 3 July 1970 when a Dan Air de Havilland Comet, registration G-APDN, deviated from the intended course and crashed into high ground at Sierra Del Montseny, Gerona in northern Spain. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and subsequent ground fire. There were 3 flight crew, 4 cabin crew and 105 passengers aboard. All occupants suffered fatal injuries. It was the airline's first fatal accident killing fare-paying passengers[25][26]. [edit] Notable residentsWilliam Blezard Born in Padiham in 1921 was a composer who worked with Joyce Grenfell and other prominent artists and entertainers. [edit] Notes
[edit] External links[edit] See also
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
