 The name Pemberton derives from "Penn-bere-tūn", which is believed to be a combination of the Celtic "penn" meaning hill, the Old English "bere" meaning barley plus the Old English suffix of "-ton" meaning a farm or settlement.Unmentioned in the "Domesday Book" of 1086, Pemberton does not appear in records until 1212, when it was documented to have been a thegnage estate, or manor, comprising "two plough-lands", with an annual rate of 20 shillings payable by the tenant, Alan de Windle, to King John.There were several collieries in the area, and sandstone was also quarried.