Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire. It was developed as a mill town during the industrial revolution, but today has lost much of its industry.
<blockquote>“Nelson is undoubtedly a modern town. Fifty years ago it was entirely unknown, and no mention of it appears in any books dealing with the ancient history of the County.” <small>— Preston Guardian, 12 Feb 1881</small></blockquote>It has some of the lowest house prices in the country. It does have some good walks and lovely parks, good access to recreational activities and good transport links.
Nelson is minutes by car to some breathtaking countryside such as Barley, Roughlee and Newchurch which are steeped in history, provide excellent walks and some fine country pubs. A beautiful view of Pendle Hill can be seen from many areas of Nelson.
In the 1820s, between the towns of Burnley and Colne there was a coaching inn called the Lord Nelson. Just off the road was a tiny village called Marsden. As the Lancashire cotton industry grew, a town started to grow around the inn and the nearby station on the new East Lancashire Railway, and it took its name from the inn. Nelson grew at a very fast rate, and soon swallowed up both the villages of Marsden and Lomershaye. Consequently, Nelson is probably the only town of any size in the entire British Isles that's named after a pub!
Nelson's peak population of 39,841 in 1921 has now dwindled to less than 29,000 and it has lost most of its industry. The town had a heavily redeveloped and fully pedestrianised centre, but the main road through the town was converted back to a road in June 2011 to try to boost trade.
There's ample parking in the centre, including a multi-storey car park with a covered walkway connecting it to the shopping precinct. There's a railway station with hourly trains to Burnley, Blackburn, Preston and Blackpool in one direction, and Colne in the other. The bus station has been renovated.
However, it's not all doom and gloom. Radical left-wing politics in the early 20th century led to Nelson being labelled "Little Moscow" by the local and national press and fully 13.8% of the population described themselves as Pakistan at the last census, so it's a great place for a political debate over a curry and, possibly as a result of so much social deprivation, it does have some of the lowest house prices in England.
According to Wikipedia, the "...town is strikingly segregated: the Marsden ward, which in 2006 elected the borough's first British National Party councillor, is 96.58% White, while the Whitefield ward is 68.72% Asian or Asian British."
The damp East Lancashire climate was ideal for production of cotton goods but in Nelson, unlike the larger surrounding towns, the emphasis was on weaving rather than spinning. Nelson no longer has its own meteorological station.<br clear="all">
As you can see from the blue sky in the thumbnail images below, it doesn't rain all the time in Nelson!
Good access to the M65 motorway. It's around 45-minute by car from Manchester to the south, and less than an hour from Leeds to the east.
From Leeds to the North West or Liverpool to the south east by narrowboat on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Be careful. Cobbles and potholes (the size of tank traps) are challenging.
Nelson has a "re-invigorated" (marketing jargon for barely resuscitated and still on life-support after the government's austerity cuts) indoor shopping centre with both indoor and outdoor markets open M-Sa 9AM-5:15PM. Look out for special events throughout the year, including continental markets. +44 1282 661240 .
A Tesco Metro closed in 2010, as did Ethel Austin, Bonmarche, B & M, Iceland, Poundstretcher, Woolworth's and Argos in July 2011.
Morrisons is the main supermarket in the town.
Slater's Ice Cream is a family-owned business selling ice creams made on the premises in a wide selection of traditional flavours. They have a 9-seat ice cream parlour with views over to Pendle Hill.
Station Hotel ('station' or 'spoons' because it used to be one of the "Wetherspoons" chain years ago), Hibson Rd BB9 9SB (Hibson Road junction with Broadway), 53.8354°, -2.2148°. Grade II listed building dated 1893, with minor late 20th century alterations and with carved lettering: "STATION HOTEL" in the ashlar dressing. Much original interior detailing survives, including wall panelling, door joinery and finely-detailed surrounds, ornamental plasterwork, hearths and hearth surrounds, together with screens to all the principal bar areas. This consciously-detailed railway hotel was built at the height of Nelson's rapid industrial development and deliberately designed to impress those arriving in Nelson by rail. Probably the biggest public house in the neighbourhood and now a Freehouse.
The Thatch and Thistle is on the outskirts of town. It is a Hungry Horse pub and serves decent food, and is suitable for families. Phone: 01282 615215
The Shooters Arms is a traditional pub at the very top of Nelson with fantastic panoramic views of Pendle Hill. Phone: 01282 614153
Few tourists come to Nelson and there are no hotels actually <u>in Nelson</u>.
The closest hotel is in the next-door and larger town of Burnley:
There is one B&B in Nelson and one in a village about 2 km to the north.
There are some rough areas as in any town but people are generally friendly and welcoming.
It is generally safe in the town centre at night which is mainly because there isn't much going on, there are a couple of pubs one of which is fronted by the pedestrianised town centre area which has smokers hanging around the front entrance while they smoke, Nelson has many hot food takeaways with late night opening which generates lots of traffic and parked car mayhem but in general is quite safe.
As of July 2021, Nelson and Colne have 4G from all UK carriers. 5G has not yet reached this area.
Local radio: 2BR, BBC Radio Lancashire and Pendle Community Radio (local Asian community station).
Local newspapers: the Nelson Leader, published on Fridays, and the daily Lancashire Telegraph, which publishes a local edition for Burnley and Pendle.
Try not to get injured or seriously sick at the weekend, since there's a local "death spike" then according to a 2013 National Health Service (NHS) report that made sweeping criticisms of the local Burnley General (dead link: January 2023) NHS hospitals.
Nelson's not exactly a tourist hotspot, but it does have a lot of attractions on its doorstep including Towneley Hall and Park at Burnley, Gawthorpe Hall at Padiham and Wycollar at Colne. The Pennine Way also runs close to the town and the historic town of Clitheroe is nearby.
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