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Edenfield is a village within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. Lying on the River Irwell, it is around north of Ramsbottom, south of Rawtenstall, and west of Norden. At the 2001 census it had a total population of 2,080, reducing to 2,053 at the 2011 census.
Edenfield village centre lies at the intersection of three A roads; the A676 from Bolton, the A680 from Accrington and Rochdale and the A56 from Rawtenstall and Bury. The M66 motorway terminates its course at Edenfield, whereupon it becomes the A56 dual carriageway known as the Edenfield Bypass.
The village has recently seen growth as a Commuter town for Greater Manchester.
/ref> a likely toponymy is the Old Norse "øy" (riverside ground/island; see for instance the village of Øyer) + "tun" (farmstead) + field; in other words, the land belonging to the farmstead by the river (Irwell).
Edenfield Chapel of Ease (the precursor of the parish church and part of the benefice of Bury) is extensively mentioned in 16th century documents. It probably had its own curate before the Reformation. A deed of 1564 mentions one Ralph Nuttall making payments to Richard Nuttall for a land settlement and that these payments were to take place "in Edenfield Chapel". A century later there were "aboute foure and twenty tenements and houses w th in Shuttleworth in the Lordshippe of Burghe Bury, beinge all the houses w th in Shuttleworth afforesaid who are appointed by the said Orders to' pay theire tyths to Bury, who are much nearer to the Chapel of Aydenfield Edenfield afforesaid, and vsually repaire thither to the ordinances when they have a mister".
Like other villages in Rossendale, Edenfield later became involved in industry and some quarrying activities still continue.
Britain's second largest onshore wind farm was controversially built in 2007–08 on Scout Moor above Edenfield.
Edenfield is part of the Rossendale and Darwen Parliamentary Constituency, with the current MP being Andy MacNae of the Labour Party.
The number and type of shops in the village has varied over recent years, with an overall decline due to the increased mobility of the population and competition from nearby supermarkets, but mainstays have been an independent baker (Sixsmith's), butcher, pharmacy, post office, newsagent and fish and chip shop.
A number of mills sprang up during the Industrial Revolution from the 1760s onwards – not without the usual Luddite unrest. A once-famous 19th century novel refers to a character "who crossed the hills to preach at Edenfield on Sunday saying that machines were broken on Saturday". The mills, built particularly alongside Dearden Brook which provided the water power, are now closed but some remains can be seen in Dearden Clough.Simpson, History, 54–115)
That the main route north from Manchester runs through the village explains the many coaching houses, of which only two public houses survive – the Rostron Arms and the Coach. During the second half of the 19th century Edenfield had its own brewery, the products of which were not entirely popular: due to their purgative effect the ale was known as "Sh-t-n Br-ches".Simpson, op.cit, 143 An article published in 1983 described a ghostly headless horseman who allegedly haunts the main roadArticle "Edenfield" ("Discovering Lancashire" series, no. 127, Lancashire Life April 1983, 54–55) but this "legend" is not widely known elsewhere.
/ref>There is a 1970s photograph of the church, showing part of the main street, village school and the now-demolished Chapel House Farm, on the website of Edenfield-born musician Dr Tim Rishton, who was organist there as a child. The former Wesleyan Methodist chapel, on the junction between Market Street and Rochdale Road, was demolished in 1960, but there is still an imposing Primitive Methodist church, built in 1881 at the junction of Bond Street and Rochdale Road.
The village is home to Edenfield Cricket Club. There is also a recreation ground on Exchange Street which is used by a number of football teams of varying ages. Alongside is Edenfield Community Centre serving a number of uses for different interest groups. In May 2010 over 270 sheep, valued at £17,000, were stolen from a local farmer. In May 2011, a protest took place in the village regarding the proposed accommodation of at Chatterton Hey House.
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