Pemberton, Greater Manchester

Human settlement in England

Pemberton

Pemberton Carnegie Library

Pemberton

Location within Greater Manchester

Population| 13,982 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference| SD555045
Metropolitan borough|

* Wigan

Metropolitan county|

* Greater Manchester

Region|

* North West

Country| England
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| WIGAN
Postcode district| WN5
Dialling code| 01942
Police| Greater Manchester
Fire| Greater Manchester
Ambulance| North West
UK Parliament|

* Wigan

List of places

England
Greater Manchester

53°32′10″N 2°40′26″W﻿ / ﻿53.5360°N 2.6738°W﻿ / 53.5360; -2.6738

Pemberton is an area of Wigan,[1] in Greater Manchester, England.[2] It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Douglas,[3] and east of the M6 motorway. The area is contiguous with Orrell and as a ward has a population of 13,638,[1] increasing to 13,982 at the 2011 Census.[4]

Historically a part of Lancashire, Pemberton was formerly a township and parish in the hundred of West Derby. Following the Industrial Revolution, Pemberton became a densely populated industrial district comprising a variety of coal mines, stone-quarries, brick manufactories, and cotton mills.[3][5] Coal mining was the principal industry of what was described in 1911 as an "unpicturesque, bare and open" area.[3] The former Pemberton Urban District, along with Wigan Municipal Borough merged to form the County Borough of Wigan in 1904.[2][6]

## History

[edit]

The name Pemberton derives from Penn-bere-tūn, which is believed to be a combination of the Celtic penn meaning hill, the Old English bere meaning barley plus the Old English suffix of -ton meaning a farm or settlement.[7][8]

Unmentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, Pemberton does not appear in records until 1212, when it was documented to have been a thegnage estate, or manor, comprising "two plough-lands", with an annual rate of 20 shillings payable by the tenant, Alan de Windle, to King John.[3]

There were several collieries in the area, and sandstone was also quarried. At Newtown were cotton mills and iron works. The area is served by Pemberton railway station.

## Governance

[edit]

Pemberton was formerly a township in Wigan ecclesiastical parish,[9] in the hundred of West Derby, and was recognised as a civil parish in 1866. From 1894 to 1904, the Pemberton parish constituted the Pemberton Urban District.[10] In 1904 the urban district was abolished with its territory transferred to the borough[2] and local government County Borough of Wigan.[2][6][11] The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica describes Pemberton as being part of Wigan (which then formed 5082 acres).[12] In 1920, the Pemberton parish was abolished and its former area was used to enlarge the Wigan parish, making the area of the parish and county borough identical.[13] Pemberton today is considered part of Wigan for purposes of the Office for National Statistics, and in most reputable contemporary publications.[14] This is also the approach taken also in several other modern online sources, which omit Pemberton as a standalone settlement.[15][16]

### Electoral Ward

[edit]

The electoral ward of Pemberton is represented by three elected councillors. The ward covers the following neighbourhoods:

* Kitt Green
* Lamberhead Green (Orrell)
* Marsh Green

### Wigan Council Members for Pemberton

[edit]

| Name  | Party  | Offices

|
|
|

| Cllr. Paul Prescott | Labour | Portfolio Holder for Planning, Environmental Services and Transport
| Cllr. Jeanette Prescott | Labour |
| Cllr. Eileen Rigby | Labour |

* On 28 January 2013, Councillor Barbara Bourne, a representative of Pemberton since 1996, died in office following a long-term illness. She was responsible for a long campaign for a new medical centre, which was opened in the area of Kitt Green, in 2010.[17]

## Geography

[edit]

Described in 1911 as "unpicturesque, bare and open",[3] Pemberton is predominantly made up of privately owned homes and local authority maintained housing, including Newtown, Worsley Mesnes, Norley Hall, Worsley Hall and Marsh Green. Pemberton and its adjoining district of Orrell form one continuous residential area.

The soil is clay and loam, over Coal Measures and stone.[3]

## See also

[edit]

* Hawkley Hall
* St John the Divine's Church, Pemberton

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Pemberton, 2001 United Kingdom Census, neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. URLs accessed 11 November 2008.
2. ^ a b c d "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Places names - O to R. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
3. ^ a b c d e f Brownbill & Farrer 1911, pp. 78–83.
4. ^ "Wigan ward population 2011". Retrieved 10 January 2016.
5. ^ Great Britain Historical GIS, Descriptive Gazetteer entry for Pemberton, visionofbritain.org.uk
6. ^ a b Vision of Britain \- Pemberton CP
7. ^ Hanks 2003, p. 69.
8. ^ University of Nottingham's Institute for Name-Studies. "Pemberton". nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
9. ^ Pemberton, Genuki - England and Ireland Genealogy - URL accessed 16 February 2007.
10. ^ Pemberton Urban District Council, nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
11. ^ Ext.and appl.in pt.(mods.) - L.G.B. Provisional.Order.Confn.(No.13) 1904 (c.clxii), art.11 of Wigan (Extn.) O.
12. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition, (1911)
13. ^ Vision of Britain Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine \- Wigan CP (historic map Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine)
14. ^ Youngs, F. (1991), Local Administrative Units: Northern England, London: Royal Historical Society, p. 192
15. ^ Towns & Villages of Wigan[usurped], manchester2002-uk.com. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
16. ^ ROUND AND ABOUT WIGAN, spinningtheweb.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
17. ^ http://manchestergazette.co.uk/archives/11573[permanent dead link]

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Brownbill, J; Farrer, W (1911), A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, Victoria County History, ISBN 978-0-7129-1055-2
* Hanks, Patrick (2003), Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-508137-4
* Lewis, Samuel (1848), A Topographical Dictionary of England, Institute of Historical Research, ISBN 978-0-8063-1508-9

## External links

[edit]

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