Newchurch in Rossendale
Select map to view larger area
Newchurch in Rossendale is a very populous chapelry in the parish of Whalley, 20 miles north from Manchester 14 miles south from Colne. It is said to have obtained the name from the original church then called 'New Church'.

Newchurch comprises the districts or townships of Bacup, Deadwin Clough, Tunstead and Wolfenden. Much of Old Newchurch (Kirk) has disappeared and this is to be regretted. With its narrow streets, courts and seventeenth and eighteenth century buildings it represented a style of architecture which preceded the industrial revolution. The Mansion House, much of Old Street (Old Gate), the Oddfellows Hall, the house of J E Lord the hatter have all been demolished and an old inn the Black Dog was blown down by a gale in 1922. However St Nicholas' Church dating back to 1511 survived and also the Boars Head originally built in 1674.

From 'A Rossendale Anthology'

Archives and libraries

Local studies information is held at Rawtenstall library.

Cemeteries

Census

Details about the census records, and indexes for Newchurch in Rossendale.

Church History

Church Records

You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the Newchurch in Rossendale area that are recorded in the GENUKI church database. This will also help identify churches in nearby townships and/or parishes. You also have the option to see the location of the churches marked on a map.

If you keep this page loaded for a very long time and the database is updated since loading it, the church links above may become stale and may display the wrong church. If this happens, reloading this page will correct them.

Civil Registration

The Register Office covering the Newchurch in Rossendale area is Hyndburn and Rossendale.

Description and Travel

You can see pictures of Newchurch in Rossendale which are provided by:

Directories

David Greenhalgh has extracted entries from Pigot's 1828 Directory.

NEWCHURCH-IN-ROSSENDALE, a village and a chapelry in Whalley parish, Lancashire. The village stands on an eminence, adjacent to the Manchester, Bury, and Bacup railway, 2½ miles W S W of Bacup; and has a station on the railway and a post-office under Manchester, both of the name of Newchurch, and a fair on the last Monday of June. The chapelry contains also the villages of Clough-Fold, Tunstead, Waterfoot, Booth-Fold, and Whitwell-Vale. Acres, 9,650. Rated property, £33,374. Pop., 24,413. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to the Duke of Buccleuch. Thistle-Mount, Springfield, Ashlands, Clough-fold, Edgeside, and Leabank, are chief residences. Coal, freestone, and slate abound; stone is quarried; and the cotton and woollen manufactures are largely carried on. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £500. Patron, the Vicar of Whalley. The church was rebuilt in 1826, on the site of a previous church of 1512; is in the Tudor style; consists of nave and aisles, with an embattled tower; has very old pews, and a carved Caen stone pulpit of 1854; and contains 1,200 sittings. The rectory house was built in 1852; and is a handsome edifice, in the Tudor style. Two other churches are in Tunstead and Waterfoot; chapels for Baptists, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Unitarians, national schools, and an endowed grammar-school, are in Newchurch; a Baptist chapel is in Clough-Fold; and a mechanics' institution is in Whitwell-Vale. The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1804, and contains nearly 500 sittings. The Unitarian chapel was rebuilt in 1865, at a cost of £2,200; and is in the pointed style. The grammar-school was built and endowed in 1711, by Mr. John Kershaw. The Baptist chapel in Clough-Fold dates from 1700; had Dr. Isaac Watts, at one time, as its minister; and was enlarged in 1838, and re-enlarged in 1853

John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

Gazetteers

Ask for the gazetteer for a calculation of the distance from Newchurch in Rossendale to another place.

Historical Geography

In 1835 Newchurch in Rossendale was a chapelry and township in the parish of Whalley.

Maps

View maps of Newchurch in Rossendale and places within its boundaries.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SD833233 (Lat/Lon: 53.705854, -2.254469), Newchurch in Rossendale which are provided by:

Probate Records

For probate purposes prior to 1858, Newchurch in Rossendale was in the Archdeaconry of Chester, in the Diocese of Chester. The original Lancashire wills for the Archdeaconry of Chester are held at the Lancashire Record Office.

Societies

You can also see Family History Societies covering the nearby area, plotted on a map. This facility is being developed, and is awaiting societies to enter information about the places they cover.