The
township of Whitworth embraces the entire length
of the Whitworth Valley and covers an area seven
miles square. It consists of the communities
of Healey, Whitworth, Facit and Shawforth that
are linked by the A671, part of the great turnpike
road built in the 18th century.
The early history of Whitworth is shrouded in
the midst of time and exact dates are difficult
to pin down. At the very earliest period, Whitworth
was at the edge of the famed and extensive Forest
of Rossendale, which covered 22,000 acres and
reached a point somewhere near Bacup. Flint
arrows, stone hammers and spearheads found in
the area point to the existence of Neolithic
man who roamed the bleak open moors. The Goidelic
Celts occupied the Pennine Hills where wolves
were encountered as late as the 13th century.
Saxons fought off the marauding Danes and Scots
and a decisive battle was fought at Broadclough,
north of Bacup.
In those early years, Whitworth came within
the parish of Rochdale which, although vast,
was itself a part of the Hundred of Salford,
one of the main divisions into which the County
Palatine was divided in Norman times. The Abbot
of Whalley Abbey held much of the land in this
area. Saxton’s map of Lancashire of 1577
does mark Whitworth, setting it between neat
pyramid-like hills on either hand. Facit is
of rather newer origin. The first settlement
was in the 13th century and the name apparently
meant "Bright Flowery Slope" in reference
to the hillside all around.
The 16th century saw the gradual destruction
of the Forest of Rossendale and the extension
of sheep farming, the growth of weaving and
eventually the first industry in the area. Industrialisation,
however, remained a "household" affair
through the 18th century and the settlements
of Whitworth, Facit and Shawforth remained villages.
Impetus was given to the development of the
area through the construction, during the middle
of the century, of a turnpike road through the
Valley. It ran from Manchester via Rochdale
and Whitworth to Bacup and then on to Burnley,
Colne and Skipton. It was one of the few such
roads in East Lancashire and provided a ready
means of conveying local goods to Manchester
and Yorkshire. The road was of vital importance
in Whitworth’s industrial expansion and
with it, the settlements in the township thus
began to grow. By the 19th century, quarrying
and coal mining were the chief industries although
the manufacture of yarn remained important.
The
latter end of the 19th century saw a great deal
of development including the opening in 1881of
a rail link between Bacup and Rochdale. Passenger
services on the railway stopped in 1947. Two
reservoirs, at Cowm and Spring Mill, were completed
in 1877 and 1887 to augment Rochdale’s
water supplies. In 1910, a tram service was
introduced by Rochdale Corporation, first to
Whitworth and later extended to Bacup. Buses
replaced these in 1932. The first public electricity
supply and electric street lighting were both
installed in 1923. The population of Whitworth
reached its peak of 9,574 in 1901 following
which the recession in industry in the 1930s
and the effects of World War II saw it decline.
The first post war Census in 1951 declared a
population of 7,442 which declined further to
7,031 by 1961. Since then, however, the figure
has risen to its present total of around 7,700.
Despite the decline in population, Whitworth
in this century has seen improvements in the
living conditions of its people and in the amenities
provided. Old housing, a relic of the "bad
days" of the cotton boom, has been replaced,
modernised or renovated in both the public and
private sector. Civic buildings have been erected
and parks and open spaces provided. In April
1976, an area in and surrounding Healey Dell,
at the south end of the Valley became legally
designated as a statutory local Nature Reserve,
the only one in Rossendale.
Source :
www.whitworth.gov.uk
71 Church St, Littleborough 
