Why visit Padiham
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 5 parks and trails, 21 places to eat, 1 place to stay and 3 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Burnley Mechanics, Empire Theatre, Gawthorpe Hall and Weavers' Triangle.
Weather in Padiham
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Padiham
Padiham is a market town and civil parish on the River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north east of the towns of Clayton le Moors and Great Harwood. It is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west and north-east. The United Kingdom Census 2011 gave a parish population of 10,098, estimated in 2019 at 10,138.
From the Wikipedia article Padiham (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Padiham
Things to do3
Burnley Mechanics
Cinema and theater · 3.0 mi
Theatre and former Mechanics' Institute in Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Empire Theatre
Cinema and theater · 2.9 mi
Former theatre and cinema in Burnley, Lancashire, England, later converted to a bingo hall
Town Hall
Cinema and theater
Town hall, now council offices, with theatre and ball-room in Padiham, Burnley, Lancashire, England, UK
Museums and landmarks4
Gawthorpe Hall
Museum · 0.8 mi
Grade I listed historic house museum in Lancashire, England, UK
Burnley Road, Burnley
Weavers' Triangle
Museum · 3.0 mi
Historic textie-producing area with a cotton museum in Lancashire, England
Parks, trails and playgrounds5
Restaurants and cafes21
9 more on the map.
History
Early forms of the name include "Padingham", with the last element probably from the Old English word hām, meaning home and ing in this sense meaning "of the". Its first is generally thought to be a personal name: Bede listed Padda as one of the priests who assisted Bishop Wilfrid in the late 7th century.
No prehistoric or Roman sites have been found in the built-up area. Padiham, though a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, is not recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. Padiham was never a separate manor, its lands largely being held by copyhold tenants of the Manor of Ightenhill, a part of the Honour of Clitheroe. In 1258 there was a single free tenant, one Gilbert de Padiham. The Lord of Clitheroe had established a water-powered corn mill here by 1311. It remained for centuries as a market town, where produce from Pendleside was bought and sold. The town expanded and was redeveloped during the Industrial Revolution. The centre is now a conservation area.
Padiham's population peaked around 1921 at about 14,000, declining to 10,000 in the early 1960s and 8,998 at the time of the 2001 census. This reflected how people were moving to the south of England in search of work, after the decline in the traditional cotton, coal and engineering manufacturing industries.
Read more of the history
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip first visited Burnley, Nelson and the old Mullard valve factory at Simonstone near Padiham on their post-Coronation tour of Lancashire in 1955.
From the History section of Padiham on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Padiham
Economy
In the 19th century, Padiham's industry was based on coal-mining and weaving. Helm Mill on Factory Lane was the first mill built in 1807. By 1906 there were twenty cotton mills though the best preserved, now converted into flats, is Victoria Mill in Ightenhill Street, built in 1852–1853 and extended in 1873. Many cotton workers belonged to the Padiham Weavers' Association, whose membership peaked in 1907 at over 6,000.
Industrial development was helped by proximity to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south. By 1848, Padiham had many coal pits around the town, including two large collieries and a number of smaller workings. Availability of coal and water nearby helped to boost the cotton industry. Industry benefited further from the arrival of the railway at Hapton in 1840 and Padiham itself in 1877. The last pit closed about 1870, although mining continued in areas outside the town into the 1950s, and open cast mining took place in the 1960s east of the town close to Gawthorpe Hall, north of the River Calder off Grove Lane.
From the Wikipedia article Padiham, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Padiham
John StephensonBritish zoologist (1871-1933)Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain- Harry HillEnglish racing cyclist (1916-2009)
- Billy BradshawEnglish footballer and manager (1884-1955)
- Bill BlackadderEnglish footballer (1899-1977)
- Wilson GreenwoodEnglish footballer (1871-1943)
- Martin DunneEnglish footballer (1887-1955)
- Ernest BradshawEnglish footballer (1887-?)
- David HoltEnglish footballer (1952-2003)
- Richard BradshawEnglish footballer
- Harry DavyFootballer (1872-?)
- Ray Crawshawfootballer (1908-1974)
- Alan ShackletonEnglish footballer (1934-2009)
Born in Padiham, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay1
Churches and places of worship13
Shopping3
Gas and EV charging2
Schools, colleges and libraries10
Hapton Church of England/Methodist Primary School
School · Anglican, Methodist · 1.5 mi
Manchester Road, Burnley
St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Primary School, Padiham
School · Roman Catholic · 0.6 mi
St John's Road, Burnley
Simonstone St Peter's Church of England Primary School
School · Anglican · 1.2 mi
School Lane, Burnley
Map of Padiham
62 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Warton Aerodrome (WRT) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 24 miles away.
- Burnley 3 mi east, about 5 min by car
- Rawtenstall 7 mi south, about 11 min by car
- Blackburn 8 mi southwest, about 12 min by car
- Ramsbottom 11 mi south, about 17 min by car
- Todmorden 11 mi southeast, about 17 min by car
- Preston 16 mi west, about 26 min by car
- Bolton 16 mi south, about 26 min by car
- Skipton 16 mi northeast, about 26 min by car
- Whitefield 17 mi south, about 28 min by car
- Oldham 20 mi southeast, about 32 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Padiham
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Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Flickr - ronsaunders47 - BIKE SHOW AT PADIHAM MANOR., Ronald Saunders from Warrington, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- 1 and 3 Moor Lane, Padiham, Trappedinburnley, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gawthorpe new, Chil dzy ¤ Ta lk, GFDL
- Scott Park bandstand, Trappedinburnley, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Matthew's Church, Burnley 01, Trappedinburnley, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St James' Church, Altham, Alexander P Kapp, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Shuttleworth College, Alexander P Kapp, CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Leonard's Padiham 2007-12-12, Cj1340 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Flickr - ronsaunders47 - THE SCOTT SQUIRREL. 1908-1969. YORKSHIRE UK., Ronald Saunders from Warrington, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Flickr - ronsaunders47 - THE CLASSIC CAFE' RACER. THE TRITON., Ronald Saunders from Warrington, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Warehouses at Weavers' Triangle, Burnley, Dave Bevis, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Thompson Park, Burnley, United Kingdom (Unsplash), Paul Green pgreen1983, CC0
- Street-level photo, tonys999, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, endszbrxns, CC BY-SA 4.0
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.