Wiswell is a small village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, close to Whalley and Clitheroe at the foot of Wiswell Moor. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 967. The parish adjoins the other Ribble Valley parishes of Pendleton, Sabden, Whalley and Barrow. Higher areas of the parish, east of the village, are part of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Toponymy The name Wiswell is commonly spoken as wizel. The true pronunciation is more like 'wize-well' consistent with the original spellings of "Wyswell" or "Wiswall". There are several theories about the origins of the name. It is said to take its name from Old Molly's Well, a local landmark, later to become known as Wise Woman's Well (Wise Well). Alternatively, 'Wis' could have been part of the name of an Old English personal name. History Governance Wiswell was once a township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a civil parish in 1866, forming part of the Clitheroe Rural District from 1894 to 1974. Parts of the parish transferred to Sabden on its creation in 1904. It has since become part of the borough of Ribble Valley. In 2015 Barrow was split from Wiswell to form a separate parish council. Along with Barrow (since 2015), Pendleton, Mearley and Worston, the parish forms the Wiswell and Pendleton ward of Ribble Valley Borough Council. The ward had a population of 1,289 in 2001, rising to 1,316 in 2011. The ward elects a single councillor, who currently is Robert Thompson of the Conservative Party. Amenities Today the village only boasts a pub/restaurant (Freemasons Arms) located on Vicarage Fold a pretty unadopted highway. However, there used to be a small corner shop, school and church; the names of each still stand on the original buildings but they are now prominent houses in the village. The property in which the current pub operates was not originally designed as a public house. It was formerly three small cottages one of which was a freemasons' lodge, which is how it acquired its name. The original village pub, the Lamb Inn, was located adjacent to the public phone box, but no longer exists and is now known as Clegg House, a residence on the corner of Coronation Gardens. The Lamb Inn closed over 150 years ago and Wiswell was without a pub for some time as