STANHILL, which is based near Blackburn, has a surprising rich history for such a small village in East Lancashire.

Several famous local people, such as Victorian novelist William Bury Westall and calico print pioneer William Peel, have worked or lived in the village.

However the place is probably best known as the former home of James Hargreaves, a weaver who lived in a cottage which until recent times was the village post office.

The father-of-11 invented the revolutionary Spinning Jenny in 1764, a machine which could spin with more than one spindle at a time.

The device reduced the amount of work needed to produce cloth, with a worker able to work eight or more spools at once.

The invention caused anger among his rivals because each machine was capable of doing the work of eight people and in 1768, a group of spinners broke into Hargreaves’ house, off Stanhill Lane, and destroyed his machines.

He decided to move his family away from Blackburn and they settled in Nottingham.

There Hargreaves set up a small spinning mill with partner, Thomas James.

Although he patented his invention in July 1770, Hargreaves had already given away its secrets during the six years since its conception.

The Spinning Jenny had already been duplicated by others and Hargreaves never earned very much in the way of royalties and continued to work in his spinning mill until his death in 1778. His estate at the time of his death was worth £4000.

Today his achievement is celebrated in the historic village, which has recently received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the £36,000 heritage project.

Stanhill village heritage project co-ordinator Richard Hooper, 71, who has lived in the area for 44 years, said: "Stanhill is not simply an attractive and historic village. Although now recognised for its place as a birthplace of Lancashire’s industrial textile revolution Stanhill is also an active community which now provides advice and assistance to other nearby neighbourhoods.

"Whereas the £36,000 Heritage Lottery project has provided a focus for residents, the village has long celebrated and sustained other local achievements and traditions. The famous annual village fete attracts many visitors every year and the money raised supports a pensioners Christmas party, well attended Sing Around The Tree event and a variety of good causes."