History
The name Barnoldswick is thought to have come from the Anglo Saxons by a man named Bernulf. It is said that it was possibly Beornwulf, King of the Mercians. The name was pronounced "Bernulfswick" and came from the name "Bernulf" and "Wick", which means wyke or settlement. This therefore makes it the "Town of Bernulf". The towns population has dramatcally increase throughout the years, in 1884 there were abot 2,000 residents living in the town and then just under 12,000 people in 1931. The cencus in 1991 shows that the population of the town was 10,732.
In August 1990 the new town square was opened by Mike Harding and it was built on the site of the old. Co-ope
rative building (Which is now just across the road). The town square gets very busy on saturday day.
The Church Below is called Ghyll Church and it is built near a road leading out of Barnoldswick towards Thornton. It is said that the Church was built by Cistercian Monks in 1147 after a Norman Nobleman named Henry de'Lacy said that if he recovered from a serious illness he would buld a monastery to the glory of God. Once Henry had recovered he sent 12 Cistercian Monks and 10 Lay Brothers to Barnoldswick from Fountains Abbey. The Monks lived in temporary shelter but their crops wouldn't grown and they tried to interfre with the running of a local church's affairs and the local people objected to them.
The Monks got angry with this and pulled down the church that they were building in anger. The monks left Barnoldswick six years later to help build Kirkstall Abbey. The Monks returned to Barnoldswick about 10 Years later built Ghyll Church (St Mary-Le-Ghyll) in place of the one that they had destroyed. It is thought that the Monks built the church so far from Town so that they were further away from the local people,who had earlier objected to them, it is over a mile away from Town.
Bancroft Mill was the last of the 13 Mills to be Built in Barnoldswick, it still works today and has been funded by the National Lottery and is now a museum. Click on the image on the left to load up the Bancroft Mill Page.
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