27 Facts About Chorley

1.

Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, 8.

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2.

Name Chorley comes from two Anglo-Saxon words, ceorl and leah, probably meaning "the peasants' clearing".

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3.

Chorley was not listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, though it is thought to be one of the twelve berewicks in the Leyland Hundred.

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4.

Chorley first appears in historical records in the mid thirteenth century as part of the portion of the Croston Lordship acquired by William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, around 1250.

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5.

Manorial history of Chorley is complex as the manor had no single lord throughout most of this period, as it had been split into moieties and was managed by several different families.

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6.

St Laurence's Church is the oldest remaining building in Chorley and first appears in historical records when it was dedicated in 1362, though it is believed there was already an earlier Anglo-Saxon chapel on the site which was a daughter foundation of Croston Parish Church.

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7.

Chorley was a vital cotton town with many mills littering the skyline up to the late twentieth century.

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8.

Chorley United Reformed Church is home to one of the oldest and largest United Reformed Churches in the north west.

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9.

In 1837, Chorley joined with other townships in the area to become head of the Chorley Poor Law Union which took responsibility for the administration and funding of the Poor Law in the area.

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10.

Chorley became incorporated as a municipal borough in 1881, and was governed by a mayor and council of eight aldermen and twenty four councillors.

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11.

Population of the Municipal Borough of Chorley remained roughly static in the 20th century, with the 1911 census showing 30,315 people and the 1971 census showing 31,665.

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12.

Under the Local Government Act 1972, Chorley became the core of a larger non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974.

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13.

The present Borough of Chorley has forty-two councillors, representing fourteen 3 member electoral wards in Chorley Council.

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14.

Chorley is located at the foot of the West Pennine Moors and is overlooked by Healey Nab, a small hill which is part of the West Pennine Moors.

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15.

Chorley had a population of 33,424 at the 2001 census, with the wider borough of Chorley having a population of 101,991.

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16.

Chorley is served by the local NHS hospital Chorley and South Ribble Hospital which is located on Euxton Lane, in addition to a private hospital located in Euxton.

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17.

Chorley is bisected by the A6 Roman road which goes straight through the town centre.

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18.

Town's bus station, Chorley Interchange, opened in February 2003, replacing an older bus station in the town centre.

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19.

Chorley is home to numerous primary schools, both council and church supported.

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20.

Runshaw College has expanded into the former administration site of ROF Chorley and is using, amongst others, the main administration building.

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21.

Lancashire College, based in Chorley, is a part of Lancashire County Council's Lancashire Adult Learning, offering a wide range of courses, a speciality being intensive residential language courses.

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22.

Chorley is home to the semi professional football team, Chorley FC, known as the Magpies due to their black and white strip.

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23.

Chorley RUFC was founded in the early 1970s and initially their matches were on played on fields at Astley Park.

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24.

Until 2004, Chorley had a rugby league side, Chorley Lynx, who played in League Two of the Rugby League National Leagues.

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25.

Chorley is home to track cyclists including Olympic gold medal winners Jason Queally and Bradley Wiggins, and Paralympic silver medallist Rik Waddon, due in part to the proximity of the town to the Manchester Velodrome.

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26.

Chorley is the home town of Paralympic gold medallist Natalie Jones.

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27.

Chorley is the hometown of Lee Mack, creator and central actor in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out.

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