Rossendale

Rossendale is situated in Lancashire, England approximately 25 miles north of Manchester.

The Borough covers 53 square miles and has a population of around 70,000 people. The Borough is made up of several small towns, the main ones being Bacup, Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Whitworth.

The area has been called Rossendale for over 1000 years, however the Borough has only existed since 1974. Prior to 1974 the area was administered by five separate Councils, one for each of the Towns mentioned above plus Ramsbottom which in 1974 was divided between the new Rossendale Borough and Bury Metropolitan Councils. The area of Ramsbottom which now forms part of Rossendale is the Eden Ward.

The principle river running through Rossendale is the Irwell which rises above Bacup, and flows through the Valley and on towards Manchester and Salford. The highest point in Rossendale is at the Top of Leach which is over 1550 feet above sea level.

Although the area has been known as Rossendale for around 1000 years, and is recorded as Crown Forest Land, no development took place until the end of the 15th Century when the Crown began to lease off parts of the Forest. This lead to deforestation.

The pattern of progress began with farming and a cottage woollen industry developed through the reign of Henry VIII. By the 18th century the Industrial Revolution came to transform those cottage industries turning the Valley towns into the boom towns of the time, the pure fast flowing water from the moors driving the water wheels to process yarns in the mills situated along the river banks. Stone to build was quarried locally and in the 1840's the East Lancashire Railway added to the growth of Rossendale. By the mid 19th century cotton had overtaken wool as the main local industry.

In 1854 a felt works was established and it is believed that the idea of slippers came about through workers fashioning rough slippers from odd scrap pieces of felt. By the turn of the 19th century footwear manufacture had become a major local employer. The footwear industry remained an important local employer throughout the 20th century.

For representative purposes the Borough is split into 13 individual Electoral Wards with 36 Council members each elected for four years. In addition to the Borough Council Whitworth has its own Town Council with 12 members.

The Mayor is a senior member of the Council elected by other Councillors to serve for a period of one year. Traditionally the Councillor is only invited to fill the position of Mayor once. Prior to the year served as Mayor the Councillor would serve a year as the Deputy Mayor.