Rossendale ( /ˈrɒzəndeɪl/) is a district with borough status in Lancashire, England holding a number of small former mill towns centred around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West. Rossendale combines modest size urban development with rural villages and is immediately north of the more populated areas of Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Manchester and Rochdale, centred 15 miles (24 km) north of Manchester.
In the 2001 census the population of Rossendale was 65,652, spread between the larger towns of Bacup, Haslingden and Rawtenstall; the villages of Crawshawbooth, Edenfield, Helmshore, Waterfoot, Whitworth; and as well as Britannia, Chatterton, Cloughfold, Cowpe, Goodshaw Chapel, Irwell Vale, Newchurch, Shawforth, Stacksteads, Stubbins, Turn and Weir.
The district was formed on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, from the municipal boroughs of Bacup, Haslingden, Rawtenstall, part of Ramsbottom Urban District and Whitworth Urban District.
Rossendale is twinned with the German town of Bocholt, located close to the Netherlands border.
The name "Rossendale" may also refer geographically to Rossendale Valley, and historically refers to the medieval Forest or "Chase" of Rossendale, which encompassed approximately the same area as the modern district.
Read more about Rossendale: History and Industry, Etymology, Transport, Education in Rossendale, The Arts in Rossendale, Sports and Entertainment, 104.7 Rossendale Radio, Notable Current Residents