Cliviger is a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, England. It is situated to the southeast of Burnley, and northwest of Todmorden, having a population of 2,238. Although the whole parish lies within the Borough of Burnley it is actually split between three postal towns, with a few farms lying in either the Todmorden or Bacup postal areas.
Nowadays, it is mainly a dormitory area for people working in Burnley and other towns in East Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
Contrary to popular (and in some cases mistaken local) belief there is no village of "Cliviger". The principal settlements within the parish are Walk Mill, Southward Bottom, Overtown, Mereclough and Holme Chapel.
There is some lack of certainty as to the origin of the name Cliviger. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Dunham Whitaker, historian, theologian and curate of Holme Chapel and later also vicar of the parishes of Whalley and Blackburn (until 1821), conjectured that the origin was Saxon, from "clivvig" and "shire", meaning "rocky district". However, in 1922 Eilert Ekwall felt that the name meant "steep slope farmland" having been derived from Old English clif æcer. Old spellings that have been used include "Clyvechir" (1258) and "Clyuacher" (1290).
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