FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[Stanley]

From the look of it David I'd say it was cut on the job when the wall was built.
You'd be amazed how quickly a good mason could knock that out and he would have had a reason....

[Stanley]

Fairchild's stone mason's yard in the corner of Wellhouse Yard and Skipton Road.

[plaques]

You are right a good mason can carve out a lump of stone faster than you could make the box to cast concrete in it.

Here's a picture of masons carving the fluted pillars for the entrance of the Burnley Library. something you never give a thought to.

.

Burnley Library 1 .jpg

[Stanley]

And the blanks would almost certainly be carved out on large lathes.



Like this one.

[Whyperion]

Genuinely interesting. Thanks. I wonder why the stone was stepped down and they didn't just continue the wall to the end - or could it have been recycled from another job? . I think some pointing lessons may be needed too.

A Small gap to place a load in as you are going through the gate (ones full trug or bucket )?

[Stanley]

Sorry about the quality but this is my only image of Barrett's Steam Laundry. In the 1930s they were in the octagonal building in Wellhouse Mill yard.



This is the building and was originally the joiner's shop for the mill. I suspect that even earlier when Bracewell built the mill and it included spinning, this was a bobbin mill. Barrett's moved out to their own building just before the war and Brown and Pickles took the old laundry where they installed some of their larger machines.
All gone now, both the buildings at Wellhouse and the laundry near the gas works.

[Big Kev]

The last of the 'industrial' bits on Gisburn Street, near the junction with West Close Road, are being demolished to make way for some new houses.

[Stanley]

Thanks Kev.....

[Tizer]

Charles Booth's 1800s London maps and notebooks were mentioned on the In Our Time radio programme and that the LSE had put them online. Here' a couple of links...
London map
Notebooks

[Stanley]

I heard the programme and thought they gave too little credit overall the Mayhew, Reach and his colleagues and Seebohm Rowntree. The Rowntree Foundation is still reporting.

[Stanley]

BOLTON PRIORY COMPOTUS 1286-1325

EXTRACTS RELATING TO BARNOLDSWICK
1294/95.
P. 54. In expenses in connection with negotiations or trade with William de Hamelton there is an item of 2d which seems to be for hire of packhorses from Barnoldswick.
1296/97.
P.69. Under Custus domorum. [Expenses connected with the house?] ‘Et sarratoribus in bosco de Bernolwyk. 2s/10d. [‘and for sawyers in Barnoldswick Wood’]
1297/98.
P.80. ‘Et carpentariis laborantibus in Bosco de Bernolwik.” Payment made by Bolton Priory for carpenter’s work which could have been connected with wagon or carriage building in the ‘wood of Barnoldswick’. [‘Bosco de Bernolwik’] 3s/7d. Seems to have been in connection with the expenses incurred by a mill. [Custus molend{inorum}]
1312/13.
P. 339. ‘Empcio bladi’ [Purchases of grain.] ‘Pro XXX. Qr. Avene empties apud Bernelwyck.’ 30 quarters of oats bought at Barnoldswick. 55s/4d.
P. 341. Payment to Johanni le Tournour; 12d, which seems to be for felling trees in the wood of Barnoldswick. [meremio (meremium=timber) prosternendo (prosterno=to fell)] Purchase of 30 quarters of oats [Avena] at Barnoldswick.
1313/14. Payment made for [ventilatione] wheat at Barnoldswick; 8d. This seems to be ‘exposing to the wind, ie. winnowing. Payment made of 2s/8d for feeding of sows at Harden and Barnoldswick and housing pigs at Unckthorp [sic] [Ingthorpe].

These are forgotten corners from the 13th and 14th centuries. They can all be found in a larger article on the site.

[Stanley]

One of the facts that emerged during my interviews for the Lancashire Textile Project was that political meetings were regarded as entertainment. The same applied to chapel meetings. It reflects the fact that compared to today there was a shortage of distractions from working lives. A political meeting with perhaps a bit of heckling, which was common, was a good night out!

[Stanley]

I can remember the time when Hemlock was regarded as the 'forest weed' and was good only for making things like apple boxes. Now, when I look it up I find this:- Western hemlock is a softwood native to North America. It produces a lustrous pale timber that is an attractive choice for carving. Western hemlock is a valuable tree with many commercial uses. ... The timber is used in construction but as a softwood is not durable and requires treatment for external use.
Funny how things change and become forgotten corners. Baltic pine was a very valuable timber for centuries, virtually all ship's masts came form the Baltic. As late as the 19th century all the doors in my house were made from Baltic pine and very likely the other timber used in the build as well.
What happened to our home grown supplies? Did we plant the wrong replacements when we felled trees?

[Stanley]

If you look at any old image of Barlick and compare it with the same view today you'll see the main difference is that we have more mature trees today. Add to that the evidence we have from the Bolton Priory accounts about Barlick being a source of large timbers. Then look at place names in Barlick like Wood End and consider remnants like this.... It all points to deforestation at some time.



A very large ash tree stump behind Colin Street.

And you have to conclude that perhaps the biggest forgotten corner about Barlick is that it used to be a forest!

[Whyperion]

What happened to our home grown supplies? Did we plant the wrong replacements when we felled trees?

used for chipboard I presume

[Stanley]

Anyone who has dealt with scrap yards knows that there are many grades of scrap iron. All based on what the steel makers regard as the best raw material for their furnaces. I don't know whether it still applies but the highest grade and the most sought after used to be 'textile cast'. This was broken up textile machines. The reason why it was sought after was that it was very pure iron smelted from the best ores and in some extreme cases using charcoal.
As time went on ores and coking coals deteriorated and it wasn't until the advent of very scientific smelting that good grades became common again.



Cross shaft collars at Ouzledale foundry sorted ready for melting in the cupola furnace. Properly melted and handled the iron from this material will be lovely stuff to work, easily machined and can be cut with chisel and file.

[Stanley]

More scrap from Bancroft demolition laid in the yard at Long Ing at what was then still Ouzledale Foundry. This was 1979 and the foundry was still melting and casting. I am told that this has all finished now, all casting is done by outside suppliers. Dare I suggest China or India?

[Stanley]

One casualty of the digitising of news is the decline of the news vendor and 'newspaper shops' that could make a living out of retailing newspapers.

[Stanley]

The caption for this image is 'unknown location'. I know nothing about it but such images fascinate me. Who was this little girl, was she feeding the hens. Why is there a well dressed young man wearing a boater hat in the background?
So many questions and so much to fascinate us in this forgotten corner from over 100 years ago.....

[plaques]

Reading a comment about a very early church based school that was tied to St Peter's church in Burnley. Sunday service was compulsory with the choir wearing a straw boater. Not saying this is the answer to the photo but who knows.

[Stanley]

Polished boots and a suspicion of an Eton collar... You could well be right...

[Stanley]

Looking up to the forge through the arch next to Yew Tree Farm in West Marton. For many years this was the estate forge but in the latter days was rented by Jimmy Thompson who was the smith. Jimmy was a very talented man and I often wished I'd been apprenticed to him.

[Stanley]

Two Bahco adjustable spanners. The top one is the first spanner I ever bought, in about 1947. It cost 3/6 (17p) and my dad upset me by saying it was a 'nut buggerer'.
The lower one is a mistake. Due to my lack of familiarity with the metric system I bought a new one. It's slightly larger than the old one but Basically the modern equivalent. Apart from the fact it's made in Spain and not Sverige like the old one, it cost £15. 88 times the price in 1947. I shall hang it above the bench and use it.
For that reason, today's forgotten corner is good tools cheap!

[Big Kev]

Taking into account that 17p (3/6) in 1947 would be the equivalent of £6.87 today, it's still more expensive but only just over twice as...

[plaques]

I always grade adjustable spanners by how much slop there is in the jaws and adjuster screw. If they waggle about forget it they'll give you more trouble than they are worth.