Goosnargh

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Goosnargh
Goosnargh shown within Lancashire
Population	1,204 (Parish)
OS grid reference	SD557367
Parish	Goosnargh
District	Preston
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°49′29″N 2°40′28″W / 53.82467, -2.67447

Goosnargh is a village and civil parish on the north side of Preston, Lancashire, England. The village lies between Broughton and Longridge, and is adjacent to Whittingham.

The name appears to derive from Gosan or Gusan (an Old Irish personal name) and erg (Norse for "hill pasture"), the name appearing in the Domesday Book as "Gusansarghe" [1].

The nearby Chingle Hall is purported to be the most haunted place in Lancashire, and Whittingham Hospital (now closed) was once a mental hospital. Although Whittingham Hospital is closed there is a category B secure unit located in the old Whittingham Hospital grounds called the Guild Lodge.

Goosnargh is home to three pubs that are popular amongst local residents and passers by, The Grapes located on Church Lane, The Bushells located on Church Lane and The Stags Head on Whittingham Lane.

There is also a Post Office, newsagents, off licence, fish and chip shop, gift shop and estate agents in the village.

The village holds an annual festival on the first Saturday after the Spring Bank Holiday Monday during which there is a procession through the village. The procession includes decorated floats, fancy dress, maypole dancing and marching bands.

The village gave its name to Goosnargh Cakes, a type of caraway seed shortcake biscuit.

Goosnargh parish includes the small villages of Inglewhite and Whitechapel, and Beacon Fell Country Park.

The name "Goosnargh" appears in the works of Douglas Adams. In So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish, it is a Betelgeusian word used by Ford Prefect "when he knew he should say something but didn't know what it should be". Alternatively, in The Meaning of Liff, his comic dictionary based on British place names, it is defined as "Something left over from preparing or eating a meal, which you store in the fridge despite the fact that you know full well you will never ever use it".

The Royal Observer Corps 21 Group Headquarters and the Western Sector Control of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation used to be located on Langley Lane, on the border of the parishes of Goosnargh and Whittingham. In the large underground nuclear bunker was the standby national control of the famous Four Minute Warning air raid warning system for the UK. The ROC and UKWMO were disbanded beween 1991 and 1995 and the nuclear bunker was closed.^[1]^[2]