The name Wiswell is commonly spoken as wizel. The true pronunciation is more like 'wize-well' consistent with the original spellings of "Wyswell" or "Wiswall". There are several theories about the origins of the name. It is said to take its name from Old Molly's Well, a local landmark, later to become known as Wise Woman's Well. Alternatively, 'Wis' could have been part of the name of an Old Englishpersonal name.
History
Governance
Wiswell was once a township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a civil parish in 1866, forming part of the Clitheroe Rural District from 1894 to 1974. Parts of the parish transferred to Sabden on its creation in 1904. It has since become part of the borough of Ribble Valley. In 2015 Barrow was split from Wiswell to form a separate parish council. Along with Barrow, Pendleton, Mearley and Worston, the parish forms the Wiswell and Pendletonward of Ribble Valley Borough Council. The ward had a population of 1,289 in 2001, rising to 1,316 in 2011. The ward elects a single councillor, who currently is Robert Thompson of the Conservative Party.
Amenities
Today the village only boasts a pub/restaurant. However, there used to be a small corner shop, school and church; the names of each still stand on the original buildings but they are now prominent houses in the village. The property in which the current pub operates was not originally designed as a public house. It was formerly three small cottages one of which was a freemasons' lodge, which is how it acquired its name. The original village pub, the Lamb Inn, was located adjacent to the publicphone box, but no longer exists and is now known as Clegg House, a residence on the corner of Coronation Gardens. The Lamb Inn closed over 150 years ago and Wiswell was without a pub for some time as the Freemasons did not open until considerably later on.
Population
Towards the end of the 19th century about forty percent of the people who lived in Wiswell left to live elsewhere. This was probably related to job losses and significant employment opportunities elsewhere. The British census figures taken every ten years from 1801 to 1871 show the population changes. The census uses the highway from Whalley to Pendleton to divide Wiswell into 'West' and 'East': ;West: ;East: In the censuses from 1801 to 1841, the population rose sharply and stabilised between 1841 and 1851 at about 750 people. Following this the population declined sharply to about 420 in 1871. The change in population in the 1850s was dramatic. It seems likely that the Barrow Print Works closed for a time after 1851 or at least significantly reduced its workforce. Notes in the 1861 census highlight "a decrease in the population of the Townships of Wiswell and Whalley which is attributed to the discontinuance of employment in the Printworks."
