{{Short description|Village in Lancashire, England}} {{distinguish|Withnell Fold}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use British English|date=April 2015}} {{infobox UK place |coordinates = {{coord|53.690|-2.555|display=inline,title}} |official_name= Withnell |map_type= Lancashire | population = 3,498 | population_ref = (2011 census) |os_grid_reference= SD634217 |civil_parish= Withnell |shire_district= Chorley |shire_county= Lancashire |region= North West England |country= England |post_town= CHORLEY |postcode_area= PR |postcode_district= PR6 |dial_code= 01254 |constituency_westminster= Chorley |static_image_name= Bury Lane - geograph.org.uk - 525719.jpg |static_image_caption= Bury Lane, Withnell village centre |pushpin_map= United Kingdom Borough of Chorley |pushpin_map_caption= Shown within Chorley Borough }}
'''Withnell''' is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. According to the census of 2001, it had a population of 3,631, reducing to 3,498 at the census of 2011.<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E04005161|title=Withnell Parish|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref> Withnell is about {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} north-east of Chorley itself and about {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} from Blackburn. It borders the villages of Brinscall and Abbey Village, which are part of the parish. It constituted an urban district from 1894 to 1974.
==Toponymy== The name ''Withnell'' is first recorded as ''Withinhull'' around 1160, and appears as ''Withinhulle'' in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire. It means 'hill where willow trees grow'.
==Amenities== St. Joseph's Catholic church in Withnell has a primary school.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stjosephswithnell.co.uk/ |title=St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell }}</ref> St Paul's Church of England parish church was built in 1841.<ref>{{cite book |author=Nikolaus Pevsner |series=The Buildings of England |title=North Lancashire |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=Penguin |year=1969 |page=264 }}</ref> It has a 1917 war memorial cross commemorating First World War Pte James Miller, who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after delivering a message and returning with the reply despite being shot in the back. The memorial was Grade II listed in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mark Brown |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/07/lancashire-war-memorial-first-world-war-hero-james-miller |title=Lancashire memorial to first world war hero given Grade II-listed status |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 November 2024 }}</ref>
There was formerly a post office, closed on 8 May 2008 as part of the Post Office Network Change Program.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/date-set-for-post-office-closures-1-70682 |title=Date set for post office closures |newspaper=Lancashire Post |date=15 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826015439/http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/date-set-for-post-office-closures-1-70682 |archive-date=26 August 2012 }}</ref> A newsagent continued to operate from the old post office premises, but closed a couple of years later and the building became a private house.
Withnell Health Centre is a GP surgery serving Withnell and surrounding villages.<ref>{{cite news |author=Paul Faulkner |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clly3nqgez0o |title=GP wins lengthy campaign to keep running surgery |publisher=BBC News |date=12 July 2024 |access-date=7 November 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/GP.aspx?pid=BABAD9B6-D3C9-46F1-A1F6-11FCD9757AAC |title=Find services – NHS Choices |publisher=National Health Service |access-date=2014-02-11}}</ref> There is also a pharmacy, a beauty parlour and a car sales garage.
Withnell railway station served the village, but it closed in 1960.
==Environs== Withnell Local Nature Reserve, designated by Chorley Borough Council, roughly traces the path of a now disused railway cutting for around {{convert|600|yard|m}}. Since 1966, a large number of wildflowers, native trees and heathers have been planted in the {{convert|12|acre|ha|adj=on}} site. The public are free to walk through the reserve.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=withnell&ID=515 |title= Withnell Nature Reserve|website=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271009248%27 |title=Map of Withnell Nature Reserve|website=Local Nature Reserves|publisher=Natural England|access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref>
In 2018, the type of stone needed for the completion of the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona was discovered in Brinscall Quarry near Withnell.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lep.co.uk/your-lancashire/chorley/barcelona-s-iconic-basilica-de-la-sagrada-familia-built-with-stone-from-lancashire-1-9145096 |date=2 May 2018 |access-date=7 November 2024 |title=Barcelona's iconic Basilica de la Sagrada Familia built with stone from Lancashire |newspaper=Lancashire Post |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022171235/https://www.lep.co.uk/whats-on/barcelonas-iconic-basilica-de-la-sagrada-familia-built-with-stone-from-lancashire-296310 |archive-date=22 October 2023}}</ref>
==See also== Listed buildings in Withnell
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Withnell}} *[http://www.chorley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1198 Withnell], Chorley Borough Council. *[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53066 History of Withnell Township], British History Online. *[http://www.withnellmill.co.uk/ History of Withnell Mill], Withnell history website
{{Borough of Chorley geography}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Geography of Chorley Category:Villages in Lancashire Category:Civil parishes in Lancashire Category:West Pennine Moors Category:Local nature reserves in Lancashire