Rainford
| Rainford | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Rainford Council Offices |
|
 Rainford
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| Rainford shown within Merseyside | |
| Population | 7,779 (2011 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SD481009 |
| Civil parish |
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| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ST. HELENS |
| Postcode district | WA11 |
| Dialling code | 01744 |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | rainfordparishcouncil |
Rainford is a village and civil parish within Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It is around 5 miles (8.0 km) north of St Helens. At the 2001 Census the population of the civil parish was 8,344, reducing to 7,779 at the 2011 Census.
Historically a part of Lancashire, it is unknown when Rainford was founded, but the earliest record of the village is dated 1189. Rainford formerly constituted an urban district.
Rainford is well known for its industrial past when it was a major manufacturer of clay smoking pipes. The nearby coal mines became worked out and closed prior to the Second World War.
Until the mid-1960s, it was also a location for sand excavation, for use in the glass factories of St Helens.
One of the noteworthy buildings in Rainford is the Rookery, a large 17th-century manor house situated off the 'Pottery Padds'; the house was formerly a school and workhouse and has since become home to a tenant.
Rainford lies on a fertile agricultural plain and is effectively an urban island surrounded by large scale farming, mainly arable, but with some livestock herds.
The village consists of two main sections – the main body of the village, centred on the parish church; and Rainford Junction, a smaller settlement which has grown up around Rainford railway station. The two parts of the village are separated by a band of farmland, although they come close to meeting at the village's north-western end.
There are three smaller villages which are near to Rainford – King's Moss to the east, Crawford to the north-east and Crank to the south-east.
Agriculture has been a constant since time immemorial around Rainford.
From the mid-17th century Rainford was a centre of clay pipe manufacture. C.J. Berry speculates that this may have been due to the prevalence of Catholics in the industry, and Rainford's history of Nonconformism and religious tolerance, in contrast to the persecution Catholics received in much of the country in the era. The type of clay used was only generally found in Devon and Cornwall, and was thus imported. The industry in the area peaked during the period c. 1800–40, in which there was little else in the village besides the clay pipe industry. Whilst other towns in the area made pipes, the industry in Rainford started earlier and continued longer. The last two pipe manufacturers retired in 1956. The clay industry continued in the area thereafter, though, with the Rainford Potteries (established 1890) making earthenware drainpipes from local clay.
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Wikipedia