Place:Withnell, Lancashire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Withnell

Withnell is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,631. Withnell is about 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Chorley itself and about 5 miles (8 km) from Blackburn. It constituted an urban district from 1894 to 1974.

The village was originally called 'Withinhull' around 1160, later appearing as 'Withinhulle' in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire, meaning 'a hill where willow trees grow'. The parish includes the villages of Brinscall and Abbey Village.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Withnell from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"WITHNELL, a township and a chapelry in Leyland parish, Lancashire. The township lies 2¾ miles SSW of Pleasington [railway] station, and 5 SW of Blackburn; includes Brinscall and Abbey-Mill villages, and two hamlets; and has a post-office under Chorley. Acres: 3,557. Real property: £6,819; of which £100 are in quarries. Population: 2,059. Houses: 365. The manor belongs to J. Park, Esq. Ollerton Hall is the seat of W. P. Park, Esq.; and W. Fold, of T. B. Park, Esq. There are cotton mills, calico-printing-works, bleaching mills, a paper mill, and mineral springs.

":The chapelry was constituted in 1842. Population: 2,160. Houses: 383. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £141. Patron, the Vicar of Leyland. There are two Wesleyan chapels, two national schools, and charities £5."

During the 19th century Withnell was in the Brindle sub-district of Chorley Registration District and Poor Law Union. As related by Wilson, Withnell was a township and chapelry in Leyland ancient parish in Leyland Hundred.

Research Tips

• Lancashire Online Parish Clerks provide free online information from the various parishes, along with other data of value to family and local historians conducting research in the County of Lancashire.
• FS Lancashire Research Wiki
• GENUKI references for Withnell
• A description of the township of Withnell from British History Online (Victoria County Histories), published 1911
• A map of Lancashire circa 1888 (before the existence of rural and urban districts) supplied by A Vision of Britain through Time
• A map of Lancashire circa 1954 supplied by A Vision of Britain through Time
• The Lancashire Rootsweb page includes a list of webpages produced by family historians with connections in the county. Some of these pages may no longer exist.
• Rootsweb mailing lists still have entries for the county, for Merseyside, and for individual towns and cities.