Population 1,979 (2011) Civil parish Hapton Country England Shire county Lancashire Dialling code 01282 | OS grid reference SD792315 Region North West Sovereign state United Kingdom District Borough of Burnley UK parliament constituency Burnley | |
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Hapton is a village and civil parish in the borough of Burnley, in the English county of Lancashire. The village is 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Burnley town centre, and has a railway station on the East Lancashire Line. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, the parish has a population of 1,979, a decrease from 3,769 in the 2001 census.
Contents
Map of Hapton, UK
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal and M65 motorway both pass through the village.
History
The castle of Hapton once stood on the eastern side of Castle Clough, on the edge of a precipitous slope. Nothing is known of its origin. Further up the hill in Hapton Park, however, Hapton Tower was constructed by Sir John Townley (1473-1541) and was inhabited until 1667. The tower was a large square building about 6 yards (5.5 m) high with, on one side, the remains of three round towers with conical bases. It reportedly had two main entrances opposite each other. Both castle and tower were in ruins after the Restoration and today hardly anything remains of either. The only masonry of the castle now visible is a length of wall about 12 feet (3.7 m) long and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) thick and four courses high under two trees.
From the Haptons the land passed to the de Leghs, when John de Hapton's daughter Cecilia married Richard de Legh in 1205, and then to the Townleys. In the 12th century part of the manor was granted to William de Arches by Robert de Lacey. Sir John Townley succeeded to the estates at the age of nine. He was married to Isabella Pilkington, the daughter of his guardian and later served as a soldier, being awarded a knighthood in 1497. With Royal permission he enclosed the manors of Townley and Hapton, which he connected with the illegal enclosure of Horelaw at Hapton. An astute businessman he bought land, corn mills and corn tithes. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1532.
In his will dated 1627, Richard Townley (1566-1629) left all his armour at Whalley to his son Richard. The will of Richard's wife Jane, dated 1633, provides the last recorded instance of the Townleys at Hapton Tower.
Governance
Hapton was once a township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a civil parish in 1866, forming part of the Burnley Rural District from 1894 (until 1974). However in 1894, the Padiham Green area of the parish transferred to Padiham and Clowbridge to Dunnockshaw. There were further boundary changes in 1935 when the parish lost another small area to Padiham but gained a detached part of Dunnockshaw.
The village gives its name to the Hapton with Park ward of the Borough of Burnley. In recent years this ward has shown high levels of support for the British National Party, electing a BNP councillor in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. After the 2010 elections, the borough’s only remaining BNP councillors were those elected by this ward. Sharon Wilkinson lost the final seat in 2012, a decade since the far-right group were first elected to the council.
Buildings
Shuttleworth Hall is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of the town along the A6068 road toward Padiham. The house dates from 1639 and is a working farmhouse.
Facilities
Hapton has a railway station on the East Lancashire Line.
There is a Site of Biological Importance at Mill Hill, Castle Clough Woods. There are many native and visiting varieties of birds, plants and animals. In addition to UK common species, green and lesser-spotted woodpecker, willow tit, yellow wagtail, woodcock and herons have all been spotted in the area. Water vole, newt and frog can be found on the steeper-sided river embankments and in rge marshy wet areas by the stone bridge at the ford known as Castle Clough South and Childers Green. Bluebells grow in abundance.The entire area was classed as an area of Biological Heritage to be protected under Lancashire County Council's Local Plan for Burnley. There is free parking at Mill Hill Picnic area, about 25 metres (27 yd) upstream of the ford.