The name Pendle comes from "Penhill", combining the Cumbric "pen" meaning hill and the Saxon "hill", also meaning hill. The name was used for Pendle Hill (literally "hill hill hill"), a prominent outlier of the Pennines. The name was then also used for the ancient Forest of Pendle around the hill, and for Pendle Water, a river which rises on the hill and flows into the River Calder.[2] The name also became associated with the Pendle witches, tried for witchcraft in 1612, as the accused were all from the area.[3]
History
The modern local government district of Pendle was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of seven former districts and parts of another two, all of which were abolished at the same time:[4]
The Barnoldswick, Earby and Skipton parts were in the West Riding of Yorkshire prior to 1974. The term West Craven is sometimes used for this area transferred from Yorkshire to Lancashire in 1974. The new district was named Pendle after the hill, forest and river.[5] The district was awarded borough status on 15 September 1976, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]
In June 2017, a Conservative councilor, Rosemary Carroll,[11] was suspended after sending a racist post on social media comparing Asians to dogs. This controversy expanded after the local elections in 2018, when the councilor was readmitted into the Conservative Party, allowing the Conservative party to gain a majority on the council. The Pendle Labour party accused the Pendle Conservative Party of condoning racism after the reinstatement. The Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Dawn Butler, called upon the Conservative Party Chairman, Brandon Lewis, to issue a statement saying that the councilor in question would not be part of the Conservative group on the council. This followed a statement from Lewis congratulating the Pendle Conservatives on winning a majority on the council.[12][13]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[15][16]
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Pendle. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2015 have been:[17]
The council meets at Nelson Town Hall on Market Street in the centre of Nelson. It has its main administrative offices in a modern building at 1 Market Street, opposite the town hall.[19]
Since the last full review of boundaries took effect in 2021 the council has comprised 33 councillors representing 12 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council being elected each time for a four-year term. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[20]
Councillors
Following the 2023 election, the councillors were:[21]
The borough is entirely covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Barnoldswick, Brierfield, Colne, Earby and Nelson take the style "town council".[22]
^Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911). "Townships: Goldshaw Booth". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. London: Victoria County History. pp. 514–518. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
