Much of the land to the west of the village is in the care of the National Trust and consists of hillside pasture and woodland leading up to Holcombe Moor and Peel Tower.

This branch of the line is still used by the East Lancashire Railway to run regular weekend steam services between Rawtenstall and Bury.

Col. A.T. Porritt gave much of the nearby countryside to the National Trust in memory of his son, Richard, who was killed during World War II.

[citation needed] The change to an industrial village began towards the end of the 18th century when a calico printworks was built on the site now occupied by Georgia-Pacific.

The 19th-century owners of the printworks began to give the village its present shape by building rows of terraced houses for their workers.