Walton le Dale Local Guide
Just south of Preston, the village of Walton le Dale, which was known in the Domesday Book as Waleton, lies at the confluence of the two rivers – the River Ribble and the River Darwen. There was a settlement in the area even before the Romans built a camp on their road from Wigan to Lancaster.
Welcome to the Walton le Dale area web site. This site was developed, originally in 2000, as a guide to facilities in the Walton le Dale area. It’s been offline for about six months, but has returned in July 2025. There are details on this site, or links to other sites, which provide access to useful public information relative to the area. There are also articles and pages that discuss the history and geography of Walton le Dale.
Walton le Dale is a large village in the borough of South Ribble, in Lancashire, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Ribble, opposite the city of Preston, adjacent to Bamber Bridge, Cuerdale, Higher Walton, Lostock Hall and Penwortham. Walton le Dale lies within the Ribble Valley parliamentary constituency. Historically, it was with the Blackburn Hundred and later had its own Urban District Council. An urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council (UDC). Urban districts in England and Wales (outside of London, which had previously been abandoned) were abolished in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972.
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Walton le Dale in Victorian Times
John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)
WALTON-LE-DALE, a village, a township, a chapelry, and a sub-district, in Blackburn parish and Preston district, Lancashire. The village stands on the river Ribble, 2 miles SE of Preston railway station; and has a post-office under Preston. The township includes Bamber-Bridge and Higher Walton villages and three hamlets; and comprises 4,630 acres. Real property, £22,358; of which £72 are in fisheries. Pop. in 1851, 6,855; in 1861, 7,383. Houses, 1,387. The property is much subdivided. Walton Lodge, Walton Hall, Darwen Bank, Darwen Cottage, Cooper Hill, Prospect Hill, Lostock Hall, and Highwood are chief residences. There are five cotton-mills, a print-works, an iron-foundry, and a corn mill; and market gardening is considerable. The chapelry formerly included all the township, but now excludes Bamber-Bridge and Higher Walton. Pop., 3,283. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Manchester. Value, £300. Patron, the Vicar of Blackburn. The church was rebuilt about 1350, and partially restored in 1794, 1816, and 1861. There are a Roman Catholic chapel, a national school, and charities £78. The sub-district contains three townships. Acres, 9,400. Pop., 8,654. Houses, 1,634.
More about: the WALTON-LE-DALE, a village, township, and chapelry.
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About Walton-le-Dale
Walton-le-Dale is a primarily residential suburb to the south of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It is located to the south east of Preston town centre, and is adjacent to Bamber Bridge.
The church of St Leonard, situated on an eminence to the east of the town, was originally erected in the 11th century. The earliest portions of the present building are the Perpendicular chancel and tower, the nave having been rebuilt in 1798, while the transepts were erected in 1816. There are a number of interesting old brasses and monuments. Cotton-spinning is carried on, and there are market gardens in the vicinity. Roman remains have been found in Walton le Dale, and there was perhaps a roadside post on the site. The manor of Walton was granted by Henry de Lacy about 1130 to Robert Banastre. It afterwards passed by marriage to the Langtons, and about 1592 to the Hoghtons of Hoghton.
Walton was the principal scene of the great battle of Preston, fought on the 17th of August 1648 between Cromwell and the duke of Hamilton.
In 1701 the duke of Norfolk, the earl of Derwentwater and other Jacobites incorporated the town by the style of the mayor and corporation of the ancient borough of Walton. In 1715 the passage of the Ribble was bravely defended against the Jacobites by Parson Woods and his parishioners of Atherton.
This section incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
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