Clitheroe

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Clitheroe

Statistics

Population:

15,000

Ordnance Survey

Administration

Other

Services

Fire and rescue service:

{{{Fire}}}

Ambulance service:

North West

Post office and telephone

Post town:

CLITHEROE

Postal district:

BB7

Dialling code:

01200

Politics

Arms of Clitheroe Town Council

Clitheroe is a small town in Lancashire, England. It lies on the southern edge of the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. The most notable building in the town is a Norman keep, quarreled as one of the smallest in the country.

The town elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons. The Great Reform Act reduced this to one. It was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and remained a municipal borough until the the Local Government Act 1972 came into force in 1974 when it became a successor parish within the Ribble Valley district.

The place has been claimed to be the most (geographically) central town in Britain, by virtue of its proximity to the village of Dunsop Bridge.

1 Schools
2 The castle
3 Industry
4 Society
5 Religion
6 Grammar school
7 External links

[edit] Schools

The three main secondary schools in the town are Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, Ribblesdale High Technology College and Moorland School. There is also a Church of England Primary School, St James and a Roman Catholic one, St Michael and St Johns.

[edit] The castle

Clitheroe Castle (52°53′17″N, 2°23′31″W) is believed to be the smallest keep in the whole of England. It stands atop a 35-metre outcrop of limestone and is one of the oldest buildings in Lancashire. It is also the only remaining castle in the county which had a royalist garrison during the English Civil War.

The castle's most prominent feature is the hole in its side which was made in 1649 and was ordered by the government. It was to be put in "such condition that in might neither be a charge to the Commonwealth to keep it, nor a danger to have it kept against them".

[edit] Industry

Clitheroe enjoys one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the UK. This is largely due to the presence of several companies that each employ hundreds. Most significant are Ultraframe, Castle Cement, Tarmac and Johnson Matthey.

Castle Cement has been criticised for using industrial waste in its kilns, which locals claim produces poisonous dioxins. Castle Cement claims that its filters remove these and that government inspectors have approved the plant. However, locals continue to campaign for the use of industrial waste as fuel to cease.

[edit] Society

Clitheronians are generally quite traditional. A Conservative member of parliament has represented the town for many years, with the exception of Michael Carr, elected in 1991 for the Liberal Democrats. The current MP is Nigel Evans. Previous to both these was the high profile David Waddington. Jimmy Clitheroe, a comedian well known for his bawdy radio shows, was also not from Clitheroe but from nearby Colne. However, a cafe in the town is named after him.

[edit] Religion

There are three Anglican Churches. St James' Church has recently been refurbished and is home to a lively all age congregation. St Mary's can be found in on Church Brow and St Paul's in Low Moor. The town also has a large Roman Catholic community, along with many places in north Lancashire. The Catholic Saint, Margaret Clitherow, was not from Clitheroe but lived and was martyred in York. There is also a Methodist and URC church in the town as well as the Clitheroe Community Church and Salvation Army citadel. Also in nearby Sawley there is a quaker meeting house.

There is also a small Muslim community in the town.

[edit] Grammar school

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School was established in 1554 by Queen Mary and her husband Philip of Spain. There may be a connection with the strength of Roman Catholicism in the area.

One famous student was Captain James King, who accompanied Captain James Cook on his third voyage around the world. After the death of Captain Cook, King took charge for the rest of the voyage.