Longridge

Longridge is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated 8 mi north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. The nearest villages are Grimsargh, 2 mi to the southeast, and Ribchester 4 mi to the southeast. The parish of Longridge had a population of 7,546 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 7,724 at the 2011 Census.

History
Longridge initially developed outwards from an area around St. Lawrence's Church, at the boundary of the townships of Dilworth and Alston and to the south of the modern-day town centre. Though there was a thoroughfare called 'Market Place', there was no development around that area. Most of the development of the town occurred after 1800. After this time, development occurred at a much faster pace, with expansion northwards including a mill to the north of Kestor Lane.

The demand for stone from Longridge's quarries led to the opening of the Preston and Longridge Railway in 1840 to carry the stone away, for use in such places as Liverpool Docks. The arrival of the railway led to the opening of several cotton mills and the town grew considerably larger from the mid-19th century. The mills and quarries have now all closed, although stone quarried in the town was used to construct the M55 motorway in the 1970s. One of the quarries was used as Longridge motor-racing circuit between 1973 and 1978. Longridge railway station closed to passengers in 1930, and the railway was dismantled in 1967. The station buildings were then used as offices for the parish council until 2010 when the Longridge Town Council began a project to renovate and reopen the buildings to the public with help from the Lottery Heritage Fund. Longridge railway station is now managed by Longridge Social Enterprise Company and is home to a heritage centre, the Old Station Cafe and has various business facilities available.

Governance
There are three tiers of local government covering Longridge, at parish (town), district and county level: Longridge Town Council, Ribble Valley Borough Council (based in Clitheroe) and Lancashire County Council (based in Preston). The town council has its headquarters in the former Longridge railway station buildings on Berry Lane.

Longridge was historically part of the ancient parish of Ribchester, which contained a number of townships. Longridge straddled the two townships of Alston and Dilworth. An ecclesiastical parish of Longridge was created in 1861 covering the whole of the two townships, with the existing chapel of ease of St Lawrence becoming the parish church. The same area was made a local government district called Longridge in 1883, governed by a local board. Such local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894.

Longridge Urban District Council bought a large Victorian house called The Limes on Berry Lane in 1947 to serve as its headquarters. The urban district was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the new Ribble Valley district. A successor parish was created covering the former urban district, with its parish council taking the name Longridge Town Council.

Community
The town is home to eleven pubs, several restaurants, a public library, and a number of primary and high schools. It is also home to an Air Training Corps squadron and an Army Cadet Force detachment. Longridge parish is also the location of Alston Hall, a residential adult education college operated by Lancashire Adult Learning. The local football club, Longridge Town F.C., has two senior teams and plays in the NWCFL, at Step 5 of the FA Football Pyramid. Its ground and clubhouse are situated off Inglewhite Road, behind the Alston Arms. As of 2011, Longridge had its own monthly farmers' market but has now stopped.

The Anglican church of St. Lawrence is located on Lower Lane and the Anglican church of St. Paul is located on Church Street.

Sport
Longridge Golf Club is located on Forty Acre Lane on Longridge Fell.

Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.

Local radio stations are BBC Radio Lancashire, Heart North West, Smooth North West, Capital Manchester and Lancashire, Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire and Central Radio North West, a community-based station.

The Lancashire Telegraph is the local newspaper that covers the town.

People
John Farnworth, a freestyle footballer; Alan Kelly, footballer who played for the Irish national team along with Preston North End; cricketer Andrew Miller. Actress Christina Chong lived in Longridge and trained at the Sutcliffe School of Dance.

Composer Ernest Tomlinson lived close to Longridge until his death in 2015. His library of light orchestral music was housed in his barn.