The early history of Whitworth is unclear; exact dates are difficult to pin down. At the very earliest period, Whitworth was at the edge of the famed and extensive Forest of Rossendale, which covered 22,000 acres and reached a point somewhere near Bacup. Flint arrows, stone hammers and spearheads found in the area point to the existence of Mesolithic man who roamed the bleak open moors.
Whitworth has a substantial history, notably the Whitworth Doctors who occupied Whitworth House, a property still in existence in Whitworth Square.
In those early years, Whitworth came within the ancient parish of Rochdale which, although vast, was itself a part of the hundred of Salford, one of the main divisions into which the historic county boundaries of Lancashire were divided during Norman times. The Abbot of Whalley Abbey held much of the land in this area. Saxton's Map of Lancashire of 1577 does mark Whitworth, setting it between neat pyramid-like hills on either hand.
Situated between the towns of Bacup to the north and Rochdale to the south, the town is a built around the Whitworth Valley in the Pennines.
In April 1976, an area in and surrounding Healey Dell, at the south end of the valley became legally designated as a statutory local nature reserve. A prominent feature of Healey Dell is the railway viaduct which stands 150 feet above the River Spodden, which rises in the Lancashire Pennine hills above Whitworth and proceeds south through Healey Dell and on to Rochdale, where it merges with the River Roch.
Brown Wardle is a hill between Whitworth and the village of Wardle, Greater Manchester The summit is on the border of Greater Manchester and Lancashire and stands 400m (1,312 ft) above sea level. The hill is part of the South Pennines, lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire.
Whitworth experiences a temperate maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. There is regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year.
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