Ribchester () is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.
The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings. It is well known as a significant Roman site being the location of a Roman cavalry fort called Bremetennacum, some parts of which have been exposed by excavation. In common with many towns and villages in East Lancashire its later history was dominated by cotton weaving; firstly in the form of hand-loom weaving and later in two mills. Neither mill still operates and the village is primarily a dormitory village for commuters to the town of Blackburn and the cities of Preston and Manchester.
The main access road into Ribchester is the B6245. From the north-west, this is Preston Road, which merges into Church Street. From the east, it is Blackburn Road, which, at its westernmost extremity, also links up with Church Street, closer to the centre of the village. Stonygate Lane, which runs to the north, partially follows the route of the old Roman road into Ribchester.
History
Roman history
The village was originally established as a Roman auxiliary fort named Bremetennacum or Bremetennacum Veteranorum. The first fort was built in timber in AD 72/73 by the 20th legion. The fort was renovated in the late 1st century AD and was rebuilt in stone in the early 2nd century. During the life of the fort, a village grew up around it. A fort remained at Ribchester until the 4th century AD and its remains can still be seen around the present village.
thumb|left|Plan of the principia at Ribchester Fort
A report on Roman remains at Ribchester was published by Francis J. Haverfield in Roman Britain in 1914:
:"In the spring of 1913 a small school-building was pulled down at Ribchester, and the Manchester Classical Association was able to resume its examination of the Principia (praetorium) of the Roman fort, above a part of which this building had stood. The work was carried out by Prof. W. B. Anderson, of Manchester University, and Mr. D. Atkinson, Research Fellow of Reading College, and, though limited in extent, was very successful.
:"The first discovery of the Principia is due to Miss Greenall, who about 1905 was building a house close to the school and took care that certain remains found by her builders should be duly noted: excavations in 1906-07, however, left the size and extent of these remains somewhat uncertain and resulted in what we now know to be an incorrect plan. The work done last spring (1913) makes it plain (see illustration) that the Principia fronted — in normal fashion — the main street of the fort (gravel laid on cobbles) running from the north to the south gate. But, abnormally, the frontage was formed by a verandah or colonnade: the only parallel which I can quote is from Caersws, where excavations in 1909 revealed a similar verandah in front of the Principia. Next to the verandah stood the usual Outer Court with a colonnade round it and two wells in it (one is the usual provision): the colonnade seemed to have been twice rebuilt. Beyond that are fainter traces of the Inner Court which, however, lies mostly underneath a churchyard: the only fairly clear feature is a room (A on plan) which seems to have stood on the right side of the Inner Court, as at Chesters and Ambleside. Behind this, probably, stood the usual five office rooms. If we carry the Principia about twenty feet further back, which would be a full allowance for these rooms with their walling, the end of the whole structure will line with the ends of the granaries found some years ago. This, or something very like it, is what we should naturally expect. We then obtain a structure measuring 81 × , the latter dimension including a verandah wide. This again seems a reasonable result. Ribchester was a large fort, about , garrisoned by cavalry; in a similar fort at Chesters, on Hadrian's Wall, the Principia measured 85 × : in the 'North Camp' at Camelon, another fort of much the same size (nearly 6 acres), they measured 92 × ."
The most famous artifact discovered in Ribchester, and dating from the Roman period, is the Ribchester Helmet. The helmet, part of the Ribchester Hoard, was uncovered in 1796. The items had been buried in a hollow, about 10 feet below the surface, by the side of a road leading to Ribchester Church. In addition to the helmet, the hoard included a number of patera, fragments of a vas and two basins, a bust of Minerva, several plates and some other items thought to have had religious uses. The finds were thought to have survived so well because they were covered in sand. In 1974, the parish became part of Ribble Valley.
Geography
The village is situated at the foot of Longridge Fell and on the banks of the River Ribble. The solid geography is of thick boulder clay deposits from the River Ribble over Sabden Shale. The area around the village shows signs of the river having moved with obvious terracing caused by the meanders. The River Ribble is prone to extreme spates and this often leads to flooding in Ribchester during the winter months.
Demography
In 2000 the Ribchester Millennium Projects Committee marked the millennium with the publication of a book entitled Ribchester: A Millennium Record. Its main aim was to record events during 2000 but as an adjunct to that it carried out a statistical survey of the village.
The survey, which was conducted in January 2000, collected data from 500 households in the parish of Ribchester and produced data relating to 1,244 people. The following demographic data is drawn from this survey.
The 2001 census for the Ribchester ward gives the following employment statistics:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Employment
! Percentage
|-
| Full-time
| style="text-align: right"| 39.2
|-
| Part-time
| style="text-align: right"| 12.6
|-
| Self-employed
| style="text-align: right"| 15.0
|-
| Unemployed
| style="text-align: right"| 2.0
|-
| Student
| style="text-align: right"| 6.0
|-
| Retired
| style="text-align: right"| 16.6
|-
| Home
| style="text-align: right"| 4.7
|-
| Permanently sick
| style="text-align: right"| 2.7
|-
| Other
| style="text-align: right"| 1.3
|}
The population taken at the 2011 Census had increased to 1,598.
Economy
The three mills that were the mainstay of the village in the early part of the 20th century are closed. Bobbin Mill, which stood opposite the Ribchester Arms, was demolished, as was Corporation Mill in the 1980s. The other, Bee Mill, is now home to a range of small businesses.
There are three public houses in the village: the White Bull, the Black Bull and the Ribchester Arms, as well as a sports and social club that was the working men's club associated with the mills. There is a small Spar shop, which occupies the site once occupied by the Co-Operative store, and a tea room.
Landmarks
St. Wilfrid's Church
thumb|250px|right|[[Saint Wilfrid's Church, Ribchester|St. Wilfrid's Church]]St. Wilfrid's Church stands by the River Ribble on what was the centre of the Roman fort. It is believed to have been founded by St. Wilfrid in the 8th century. The first written record of a church on the site dates from 1193.
St. Peter and Paul's Church and Stydd almshouses
Although properly in the neighbouring settlement of Stydd, St. Peter and Paul's Church (also known as Styyd Church) is an early barn church. Nearby is the Ribchester Almshouse and the Church of St. Saviour. Over the centuries, this small chapel has been altered several times. The earliest part of the structure is in the north wall. It is an example of transitional Norman work, which indicates that a church stood here during the first part of the 12th century.