© 2016 David E. Spencer
I have included this page in response to queries from searchers not familiar with the area around North East Lancshire where many of my ancestors originated. Also in England in 1974 there were many boundary changes to counties which had been in existence for centuries. Many of our ancestors lived in places now in the revised boundary areas. This often causes problems with enquiries from overseas researchers and from UK researchers resident in other parts of the United Kingdom.
If your question is not answered here please email me for further information.
Burnley, Habergham and Habergham Eaves
Modern Burnley is in North East Lancashire. Prior to the Industrial Revolution it was a small town. It became a centre for cotton weaving and in the early nineteenth century its population increased dramatically.The area to the west and south of the modern town centre were not then part of Burnley but were part of the township of Habergham Eaves and were separately administered. This is shown particularly in the earlier census records where streets and roads now in Burnley were described as being in Habergham Eaves.
Much of Habergham Eaves was incorporated into the County Borough of Burnley in the mid 19th century. The parts of Habergham Eaves that were not incorporated into Burnley remain as a separate parish to the south of Burnley.
To complicate matters further the westermost part of Burnley is an area called Habergham. Until the 1950's it was almost a separate village. It still has its 19th century parish church which is now the parish church of West Burnley.
Lancashire before and after 1974
In 1974 local government boundaries in England were radically changed. For Lancashire there were significant changes. Some areas of pre-1974 were taken fom the south of the county to make the new counties of Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Examples include Bolton, Bury, Wigan, Rochdale, Bootle, St. Helens and Southport.
Todmorden between Burnley and Halifax had long been a problem - it had been split for a time between Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Todmorden is now in West Yorkshire, part of the Borough of Calderdale.
Lancashire did gain some areas from the former West Riding of Yorkshire, most notably the area North of the river Ribble at Clitheroe and the area north-east of Colne. Villages and towns such as West Bradford, Waddington, Grindleton,Sawley and Gisburn are now in Lancashire as is Barnoldswick.
The area of Warrington in the south of Lancashire became part of Cheshire.In the North of the pre-1974 Lancashire the area of Furness (Lancashire North of Morecambe Bay) joined Cumberland and Westmorland and part of Yorkshire to form the new county of Cumbria.
Dent and Sedbergh
The part of the old West Riding of Yorkshire that was transferred in 1974 to the new county of Cumbria was the area of Dentdale around the town of Sedbergh and the village of Dent. My wife's family originate from Dent so this has personal importance to some family members.Inhabitants of the affected areas may still not recognise the changes and many inhabitants may insist on the old county name being included in their postal address. An example is a friend who insists that letters be addressed to him in "Leigh, Lancashire" rather than "Leigh, Greater Manchester". Similarly in recent years historic boundary signs have been erected at historic county boundaries to recognise the existence of these older units.
Similarly the people of Saddleworth to the East of Oldham still celebrate Yorkshire Day because they were in the former West Riding of Yorkshire until becoming part of Greater Manchester in 1974.
These boundary changes did not alter the diocesan boundaries of the Church of England - for example the parish churches of Grindleton, near Clitheroe and Earby, near Colne remain in the Diocese of Bradford and the Saddleworth towns remain within the Diocese of Leeds.
In general family historians, family history societies and county record offices recognise pre-1974 boundaries.
Longridge, Alston and Dilworth
Longridge today is a town a few miles to the Northwest of Preston. It is part of the Borough of Ribble Valley.In the past Longridge was split between two administrative districts called Alston and Dilworth so a person may give his or her birthplace for example as Alston in one census but Longridge in others.
Sabden now and in the past
Modern Sabden lies beneath Pendle Hill but this village is actually the village of Heyhouses!. References to Sabden in parish records, most notably those of Newchurch-in-Pendle refer to the area to the west of Newchurch and east of modern Sabden. Place names in these records include Sabden Great Hall, Sabden Hall and Sabden Fold. Modern Sabden is part of the Borough of Ribble Valley and is situated between Clitheroe and Padiham, near Burnley.
Newchurch-in-Pendle, Goldshaw and thre three Booths
When the Forest of Pendle was created in medival times as a Royal huntings ground, most of the population was excluded from living there but obviously some were needed to make sure that there were enough deer and other game to keep the hunters happy. This necessitated the creation of enclosed places where the game animals could be reared and looked after. These places were called "Booths" and they formed the subdivisions within the hunting park by which the park was administered and governed. The modern village of Goldshaw often called "Newchurch" is a place where three of these booths meet. The name "Newchurch" was meant to describe the New Church located there since late medieval times to be a chapel-of-ease whereby local pepople did not have to walk all the way to Whalley to attend church on a Sunday morning.
The three booths which meet near the New Church were (and still are) Roughlee Booth, Barley Booth and Goldshaw Booths. Early census records are ordered according to booth rather than simply "Newchurch" and the small villages of Barley and Roughlee are still fiercelt independent within the area.