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Colne with a population of 18,806 (2011 census), is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, after Nelson, which lies immediately to the west. It is six miles north-east of Burnley, 25 miles east of Preston, 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Valley around the River Colne near Huddersfield in Yorkshire nor with the Colne Valley around Earls Colne and Colchester in Essex. Colne occupies a strategic location close to the southern entrance to the Aire Gap, which offers the lowest crossing of the Pennine watershed. The M65 terminates west of the town and from here two main roads take traffic onwards towards the Yorkshire towns of Skipton (A56) and Keighley (A6068). Colne railway station represents the current terminus of the East Lancashire railway line, which until 1970 extended northwards towards Skipton. Colne is surrounded by beautiful villages and open countryside, which have helped to fuel a recent growth in tourism. The hamlet of Wycoller with its historic pack horse bridge and clam bridge, said to date back to the Iron Age, lies to the south-east in Brontë Country. The ruin of Wycoller Hall is thought to be the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. The Brontës themselves lived just over the border, in the Yorkshire village of Haworth which, like Hardcastle Crags and Hebden Bridge, can be accessed via narrow roads over the South Pennine Moors, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). To the north west, travelling through the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) towards Clitheroe lies Pendle Hill and the villages of Newchurch and Barley. Other nearby villages include Barrowford, Foulridge, Winewall, Cottontree, Trawden and Laneshaw Bridge. ==History== Settlement in the area can be traced back to the Stone Age. A Mesolithic camp site, a Bronze Age burial site and stone tools from the Bronze and Stone Ages have been discovered at nearby Trawden. There are also the remains of an Iron Age fort, dating from the 6th century BC, above Colne at Castercliff. Although a Roman road passes through nearby Barnoldswick, and some Roman coins have been discovered, there is no conclusive evidence of the Romans having occupied the area. There is, however, some debate among local historians as to whether the Romans may have stayed at Castercliff. From the early 6th century to the late 10th century, Colne came under Northumbrian and then Viking rule, finally coming firmly under Norman control in the 11th century. Then, from the 1090s until 1311, the area was controlled by the de Lacys of Pontefract from their outpost at Clitheroe Castle. Pendle Forest and Trawden Forest date from this period; forests in those times being hunting grounds for royals and other nobles. St Bartholomew's Church dates from before 1122 when the town's market was located in the churchyard. The churchyard used to house wooden stocks on wheels and people were placed in these on market days. The stocks are now located in the nearby library. The town developed in two parts: Colne, on top of the ridge; and Waterside, at the base of the southern slope, next to Colne Water. By 1296, a corn mill and a fulling mill had been established down by the river. Later, coal was also mined here. By the 15th century, Colne had become a major centre for the woollen trade, in particular for the production of lightweight kersey. With the Industrial Revolution, cotton manufacturing became the main industry in the town, fuelled by the completion of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816, and by the arrival of the railway in 1848. By 1891 there were 30 cotton mills listed in Colne with more in the surrounding areas of Trawden and Laneshaw Bridge. The largest had 2,400 looms and the smallest 56.〔()〕 The town was made an urban district in 1894 and designated a borough in 1895. It expanded down both sides of the ridge into what are today referred to as the North and South Valleys, east towards the village of Laneshaw Bridge and west towards the new 'cotton town' of Nelson. In 1886, Swinden Clough became the official boundary between Colne and Nelson. The town's population declined during the 20th century, as was the case in many Lancashire mill towns, from 26,000 in 1911 to just 19,000 in 1971.〔() 〕 In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Colne became part of the Borough of Pendle. In 2008 a town council was re-established; it meets in Colne Town Hall, which was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1894. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Colne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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