Its babbling brook and the beautiful Coronation Gardens have earned this village the title of 'Best Kept Village in Lancashire' on many occasions, before 1974 it was often the best kept in Yorkshire too! The village gets its name from Wadda, an Anglo Saxon chief who was implicated in the murder of Ethelred the Northumbrian King. Waddow Hall was originally a Tudor house built by the Tempest family, it now houses the Girl Guide Association and acts as an activity centre. Henry VI (Henry the Good) lived for 12 months at Waddington Hall before being betrayed to the Yorkists in 1465. He escaped via a secret panel and staircase from the dining room but was captured down river at Brungerley Bridge on the outskirts of Clitheroe. The Almshouses in the village were originally built in the 1700s, and then rebuilt on their present location around the green. Robert Parker founded them for the widows of local dalesmen and farmers.