Withnell

---

title: "Withnell" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["geography-of-chorley", "villages-in-lancashire", "civil-parishes-in-lancashire", "west-pennine-moors", "local-nature-reserves-in-lancashire"] description: "Village in Lancashire, England" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withnell" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Lancashire, England ::

::data[format=table title="infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
coordinates
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
::

|coordinates = |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. Withnell is about 5 mi north-east of Chorley itself and about 5 mi 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. St Paul's Church of England parish church was built in 1841. 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.

There was formerly a post office, closed on 8 May 2008 as part of the Post Office Network Change Program. 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. 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 600 yard. Since 1966, a large number of wildflowers, native trees and heathers have been planted in the 12 acre site. The public are free to walk through the reserve.

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.

References

References

1. "Withnell Parish".
2. "St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Withnell".
3. [[Nikolaus Pevsner]]. (1969). "North Lancashire". Penguin.
4. Mark Brown. (7 November 2024). "Lancashire memorial to first world war hero given Grade II-listed status". The Guardian.
5. (15 April 2008). "Date set for post office closures". Lancashire Post.
6. Paul Faulkner. (12 July 2024). "GP wins lengthy campaign to keep running surgery". BBC News.
7. "Find services – NHS Choices". National Health Service.
8. "Withnell Nature Reserve". Natural England.
9. "Map of Withnell Nature Reserve". Natural England.
10. (2 May 2018). "Barcelona's iconic Basilica de la Sagrada Familia built with stone from Lancashire". Lancashire Post.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::