Roe Green/Beesley Green

Designation date:	1970
Area:	40.15 ha (99.38 acres)
Listed buildings :	8

Background information

This, the largest of the city’s conservation areas, was designated by the former Lancashire County Council. Roe Green and Beesley Green were selected because their arrangement of open space and housing gave them the character of village greens, in contrast with surrounding industrialised settlements in South East Lancashire.

Originally Beesley Green was the western end of Roe Green, a settlement consisting mainly of farms which bounded the east, west and south of a roughly triangular area of common land. The Beesley Green corner of Roe Green was so named since the Beesley family were farmers there for several generations.

The separation of Beesley Green from Roe Green occurred in 1864 by the cutting of the railway.

During the latter part of the 18th century the settlements developed considerably and many of the buildings in the conservation area date from this period, including Beesley Hall, a Grade II Listed Building and former farmhouse that was converted in the mid 19th century into three cottages.

Update

Both greens are still very much typical village settlements, developing steadily around the periphery. A disused mineral railway cutting divides the two greens and in recent years several successful schemes have been implemented whereby this, together with other disused lines, have been re-developed as linear walkways.