| Ramsbottom | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Ramsbottom Location withinGreater Manchester | |
| Population | 17,067 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SD790169 |
| • London | 174 mi (280 km)SSE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BURY |
| Postcode district | BL0, BL8 |
| Dialling code | 01706 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
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Ramsbottom is amarket town in theMetropolitan Borough of Bury,Greater Manchester, England.[1] The population at the2011 census was 17,872.[2]Historically inLancashire, it lies on theRiver Irwell in theWest Pennine Moors,[3][4] 3.9 miles (6.3 km) north-west ofBury and 12 miles (19 km) ofManchester. ItsVictorian architecture,Pennine landscape andindustrial heritage, including theEast Lancashire Railway, contribute toheritage tourism in the town.
The name either means 'ram's valley' from the Old Englishramm, 'a ram' andbotm, 'a valley' but could mean a 'wild garlic valley', with the first element representing the Old Englishhramsa meaning 'wild garlic'.[5] A record from 1324 recording the name asRamesbothum is inconclusive.[6] The town was alternatively recorded asRamysbothom in 1540.[7]
Evidence of prehistoric human activity has been discovered in the hills surrounding the town. Early records show that inNorman times Ramsbottom was part of the Forest of Rossendale. There are a number ofBronze Age burial sites around the town, the most notable of which is Whitelow Cairn, one mile (1.6 km) south-east of the town centre and three miles (4.8 km) north of Bury. The cairn was excavated by Bury Archaeological Group between 1960–62, under the leadership of Norman Tyson.[8] Finds include one main and seven secondary cremations, four inurns, dating to the mid Bronze Age. Artefacts found during the excavation are housed in Bury Museum.[9]
The earlyAnglo-Saxons who gave Ramsbottom its name progressively felled the woodland during theMiddle Ages. Ramsbottom became an area of scattered woods, farmsteads,moorland and swamp with a small community of families until the late 18th century.
Ramsbottom developed during the 19th century as a manufacturing andmill town on the road from Bury to Haslingden by theRiver Irwell; its suburbs stretched south to Hazelhurst and north to Stubbins.[10] Mills were built forspinning,weaving and printing. Square Mill was, in its day, innovative in combining many such processes under one roof.
With a readily available source ofwater power,Sir Robert Peel purchased land in Ramsbottom in the late 18th century to commence a major manufacturing career. It is this exchange that effectively founded Ramsbottom as a homogeneous settlement; thefactory system, andIndustrial Revolution facilitated a process of unplannedurbanisation in the area, contributing to it becoming an important and populousmill town.
The Grant Arms Hotel in Market Place was the home of William and Daniel Grant, 19th century industrialists closely associated with the rise of the town and reputed to be the inspiration for the Cheeryble brothers inNicholas Nickleby byCharles Dickens.[10][11] The Grants' employees were paid in tokens that had to be redeemed at apublic house owned by the company. The landlord converted the tokens into cash, but only after deducting threepence per person, which had to be spent on beer, a variation on thetruck system.[12] The Grant Arms Hotel closed in 2018 and is currently being developed as offices, this has now been completed.
A network of roads and railways routed through Ramsbottom allowed for a series of diverse industries, includingcalico-printing,cotton spinning, machine-making, rope-making andiron and brass founding. Imports of foreign goods during the mid-20th century precipitated the decline of these sectors.
From theMiddle Ages, Ramsbottom was an area in thetownship of LowerTottington, in the parish ofBury, andSalford hundred in Lancashire.[13] It was part of the BuryPoor Law Union formed in February 1837, overseen by a Board of 25 Guardians including three from Tottington Lower End using the old workhouses at Bury, Radcliffe, Pilkington and Heywood until a new workhouse at Jericho opened in 1857.[14] In 1864 the Ramsbottom Local Board of Health was formed for the Ramsbottom area in Tottington Lower End township.
In 1883, parts of Elton, Tottington Higher End and Walmersley with Shuttleworth townships were added to the area of the Local Board. In 1894, the area of the Local Board became RamsbottomUrban District. Parts of Bury Borough and Walmersley with Shuttleworth civil parish were added to the urban district in 1933. The urban district was dissolved in 1974 and the Central, East, South and West wards were included in Bury Metropolitan Borough and the remainder in the Rossendale District of Lancashire.[15]
Ramsbottom is part of theBury North constituency which was created in 1983 from parts of the former seats of the formerRossendale andBury and Radcliffe constituencies. The area was Conservative from 1983 to 1997, when it was gained by Labour who lost in 2010 back to the Conservatives. The seat was regained by Labour in the 2017 general election. In addition, the 2018 local council elections saw Labour gain the Ramsbottom ward. In line with the national swing in 2019,Bury North was lost back to the Conservatives, and it is now the most marginal constituency in England, with a majority of 105 votes.However the Bury North constituency was regained by Labour in the 2024 UK general election by James Frith with 19625 votes, a majority of 6944 votes.[16]
The Ramsbottom parish formed in 1844 was a mile and a quarter in length and about three-quarters of a mile in width in the LowerTottington township in the valley of theRiver Irwell that extends from Bury toRossendale.[13] It is bounded to the south byHolcombe Brook andSummerseat; to the north byEdenfield,Irwell Vale,Stubbins and the hamlets ofChatterton andStrongstry; to the west byHolcombe and to the east byShuttleworth andTurn Village.
The area is characterised by its position on the south side of theWest Pennine Moors. The high ground rises sharply on either side of the town with Holcombe Moor, Harcles Hill and Bull Hill to the west and Top O' Th' Hoof, Harden Moor, Scout Moor and Whittle Hill to the east.
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The railway arrived in Ramsbottom in 1846 when theManchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway Company built the railway from Bury to a junction with the Manchester and Bolton Railway; it extended the line northwards toRawtenstall and openedRamsbottom railway station in the town centre.
The line betweenBury and Rawtenstall remained open to passengers until 1972 and for goods until 1980. This line is now used by the heritageEast Lancashire Railway, which opened in 1987. It operates every weekend throughout the year, with additional services on some Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between Easter and the end of September.[17]
The district straddles theA676,A56 and B6214 roads with its centre four miles (six kilometres) north ofBury, four miles (six kilometres) south ofRawtenstall and six miles (ten kilometres) north-east ofBolton.
TheM66 motorway runs to the east of the town, linking it north to theM65 and south to theM62 and theM60 Manchester Outer Ring Road.
The skyline is dominated by thePeel Monument which stands on Holcombe Moor, a memorial to SirRobert Peel, the 19th-centuryBritish Prime Minister and creator of the modernBritish police force. The tower stands 128 feet (39.0 m) tall on Holcombe Moor.[18] There are views overWest Yorkshire, North Lancashire,Greater Manchester,North Wales and the Lancashire Plain. From the top of the monument, it is possible to seeBlackpool Tower on a clear day.
Ramsbottom is on the path of theIrwell Sculpture Trail. TheTilted Vase byEdward Allington, a sculpture both classical in shape to reflect the surrounding buildings but apparently bolted together to reflect the old industries, is located in Market Place. This piece of work, weighing around two tons and locally known as "the Urn" or "Urnie", was funded with £250,000 ofNational Lottery money.[19]
Nuttall Park is a large park with facilities for bowls, tennis, football and public events. The park hosts regular fun fairs and family events, and is a popular attraction with locals and tourists alike.
In 1841, cotton mill owners, the Ashtons built a day school in Crow Lane which was used as a Sunday school and for church services.[20]
St Andrew's Church, the oldest church in Ramsbottom, was built by the Grant family in 1834 as aScottish Presbyterian Church. In the 1860s, a member of the Grant family deprived the congregation of its church and offered the building to the Bishop of Manchester as an Anglican church in 1869. It became a mission church forSt Paul's Church, Ramsbottom until 1875, when it was consecrated as the Parish Church of St Andrew. In 1993, the church was refurbished, reordered and dedicated in 1994.[22] The Ashton brothers donated farm land as site for St Paul's Church which cost £3,400. It was consecrated in 1850.[20]
The Anglican Churches in Ramsbottom are part of the Ramsbottom & Edenfield Team Ministry[23] comprising Christ ChurchBaptistMethodist Church, DundeeUnited Reformed Church, Greenmount United Reformed Church, RamsbottomPentecostal Church,Ramsbottom Evangelical Church, St Andrew's CE Church, St Joseph'sRoman Catholic Church,St Paul's CE Church and Darul UloomIslamic College.
Ramsbottom Cricket Club plays in theLancashire League. The team has included professional players such asSeymour Nurse (West Indies),[24]Chris Harris (New Zealand),Brad Hodge (Australia and Lancashire CCC),Ian Harvey (Australia and currently Derbyshire CCC),Ian Chappell (Australia) andMichael Clarke (Australia Captain). Its ground, close to Ramsbottom railway station, has a reputation as being one of the best and most picturesque in the North West of England.
Ramsbottom United F.C. play in theNorthern Premier League Division One North, level 8 in theFootball League System. They were crowned champions of the North West Counties League at the end of the 2011–12 season. The club's home games are played at its floodlit pitch, the Riverside Ground, which has a capacity of 2,000 and is adjacent to the cricket ground.
Hundreds of people climb Holcombe Hill onGood Friday.[25] A smaller gathering keeps alive the tradition ofegg rolling before the start of the climb. Large gatherings on the hill are visible from miles away, and occasionally attract unorthodox religious preachers. In recent years, the celebrations have become moresecular, with the public house at the bottom of Holcombe Hill attracting as many as 3,000 visitors leading to complaints from residents and restrictions being imposed by the council.[26]
Ye Olde Gamecock Show, an exhibition ofgamefowl is held in the town onNew Year's Day. The show was held at The Old Dun Horse from 1843 until it closed in 2010 and has since been hosted by the Ramsbottom branch of theRoyal British Legion.[27] This competitive show replaced the annualcockfight that took place in the town square after the New YearHolcome Hunt.[28]The exhibition, organised by the Holcombe Old English Game Fowl Club, is said to be the oldestgamecock show in the world.[29]
The Theatre Royal Ramsbottom, a registered charity run mainly by volunteers of The Summerseat Players, produce up to nine performances each season, as well as performances by the theatre's Young Company. They also host comedy nights, live music nights and visiting productions from local theatre companies. The amateur dramatic group was formed in 1968, and performed at St Winifred's Church Hall inSummerseat. In 1990, with donations and loans from members and enthusiasts, the company purchased the Theatre Royal on Smithy Street in Ramsbottom.[30]
Ramsbottom hosts an annualrhythm & blues festival. A former pub, theCorner Pin, was where the bandElbow played their first gig.[31] The Ramsbottom Recorded Music Society was formed in 1967 to promote an interest and appreciation of music and meets bi-weekly on Thursday evenings at Christ Church Neighbourhood Centre.
TheBlack Pudding Throwing World Championships are held annually at the Royal Oak (now the Oaks) pub on Bridge Street. Participants have to tossblack puddings in an attempt to dislodge a stack ofYorkshire puddings on plinths on two levels (one for children, the other for adults). The winner is the one who dislodges most Yorkshire puddings in three attempts.[32]
TNT Express is found at the heart of Ramsbottom, with staff from all over Lancashire. The office was based originally in Stubbins, but moved to Railway Street following big cuts in 2017.
The area is covered by theBury Times,Lancashire Telegraph andRossendale Free Press newspapers.
News and sport in the area are covered byBBC Radio Lancashire andBBC Radio Manchester and byRossendale Radio, a community radio station until it ceased broadcasts in March 2012. For free to air television, the area is within theBBC North West andITV Granada regions.
In 2015, the firstpodcast for Ramsbottom (This is Rammy) launched which went on to win the award for UK Best Places and Travel in the very first UK Podcasters Awards that took place inThe Midland Hotel, Manchester. This is an annual awards ceremony voted for by the listeners and community behind each podcast.
In 2014, a scene fromA Monster Calls was filmed at theRamsbottom railway station crossing.[34]
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