FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[plaques]

It looks similar in style to The Gables on Albert Road in Colne which was the library for many years. That has been converted into quality flats with a fine building restored and saved.

Very similar but slightly larger.

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Originally built for Nicholas England 1869

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[Stanley]

Thanks for the clarification.... I can understand the course they are taking and wish them well with it. Another corner tidied up, it has always looked semi derelict as the grounds deteriorated.

[Stanley]

As I believe I have said before, some of our forgotten corners are so big we don't see them! When I was teaching my American students full time we used to bring them to Barlick and I walked them up to the top of Weets to where they could see the layout of town. In the US the vast majority of the towns are new settlements laid out on a grid iron pattern from the start. They were fascinated when I laid out our development right back to the first Neanderthal Barlickers. I demonstrated to them that there was always a reason for the 'crooked' roads and streets and that it couldn't have developed in any other way because it was dominated by transport routes, shelter and sources of water. That's why the old corners like Hudson's Yard and Esp Lane Bottom are higgledy piggledy while the later builds are more regular. As we have seen, there are exceptions to this rule like the influence of the Romans and their affect on the old track but these are exceptions.
So as you walk around the town try to recognise the older enclaves like Lane bottoms and Gillians and take into account the contours and routes of the old medieval roads. You can learn so much by observing and using your head!

[Stanley]

A more modern forgotten corner is the state of our roads and pavements and their drainage.
I remember when I was in Montreal almost 40 years ago at the end of their hard winter I saw what looked like half a litter basket sat in a puddle. Susi told me it wasn't just a puddle, it was an 18" deep pothole caused by the severe frost. Dropping a litter basket in them was the locals way of DIY road marking!
We are getting to the stage where this could be a ploy we will have to adopt in Barlick. Ever so slowly our roads are deteriorating and being on foot all the time like me means you notice these things. Also the number of gully grates that can't cope with heavy rain is increasing, I suspect the outside contractors are paid on the number they open and dip into and not the efficacy of their work. I have often said we need a dedicated council employee to go round on foot and note the defects. Not rocket science, if you go back to the days of the Manorial Court in Barlick, fines for non maintenance of roads and obstructing with rubbish were common. Perhaps we need to revive our pothole topic.....

[Stanley]

One thing that has impressed me ever since 2010 when Austerity started to bite into Pendle Council's budget basic maintenance of our parks and open spaces didn't suffer. They have done very well with tidying up, tree maintenance and grass-cutting and I think this ought to be recognised. The Council has been aided of course by the volunteers who maintain the floral displays that are our entry to the Barlick in Bloom contests. The partnership has worked and we still have a very pretty town. I always congratulate the volunteers when I see them working, they deserve all the encouragement we can give them.



Remember this pic from July 2014? Actions speak louder than words!

[Stanley]

One of the advantages of having an index is that occasionally, when you are searching for something you trip over cards that get your attention but are nothing to do with what you are searching for. I was Digging for Sue this morning when I came across this little nugget of information which sheds light on a forgotten corner.
Extract from the West Riding Directory for 1838. "Marton contains 433 inhabitants and 2310 acres. Two neighbouring villages, East and West Marton together with the hamlet of Marton Scars. Mrs Mary Cholmondley, as heiress of the Heber family is Lady of the Manor and owner of Marton Hall in which was born Reginald Heber, a learned divine who died in 1804 and of whose family is Bishop Heber. R H Roundell Esq. has a large estate there and Gledstone Hall"
Marton Hall is the large house on the right just below what was the Village Institute and farms Marton Hall Farm just a bit further down the road on the right. When I was working out of Marton it was owned by Chris ? who was not well liked because he still acted as though he was a cut above everyone else. I remember him once getting into trouble when he referred to the villagers as 'cottagers' during a collection for a present for Harriet, Lady Nelson, the Widow of Sir Amos Nelson who by then owned Gledstone Hall. It was him who demolished the old hall, leaving only the Stables and got Sir Edwin Lutyens (LINK) to build New Gledstone and left him to it while he went on a world cruise. When he got back he found there were unexpected calls on his money and Lutyens had gone over the top with the design. He stopped the work and that's why the projected carriage drive up to the top of the road at Marton Scar was never finished, leaving the two lodges stranded in the field in front of the house. The only entrance to the house after that was via what was intended to be the trade entrance further down the hill. Lutyens had also built the lodge at the end of the road to the Old Hall and Stable which stands on the bend at the bottom of the hill leading to the village.

[Stanley]

I forgot to mention that the gatehouse lodge was built on the Gargrave Road at the top of the hill opposite Marton Scar. The Estate manager Robert ? lived their for many years. He bred very high quality Border Terriers.
In the 1960s Lady Harriet was still alive and a force in the village. She used to be seen passing through West Marton in the old Rolls Royce chauffeured by George Parker the estate woodman who lived in the cottage next to the dairy with his 'housekeeper'.
There's a good story about George that was common currency amongst the villagers. He was out in the woods doing his thing when he came across Sir Amos and his secretary Harriet enjoying some personal time in the woods. He withdrew quietly and kept his mouth shut. Later Sir Amos buttonholed him and thanked him for his reticence. When Amos died there was a codicil in his will that George Parker and his housekeeper were to have the cottage until death or when they chose to leave. When Harriet died this was repeated in her will. I can't vouch for the story but he certainly did keep the cottage as did the housekeeper when George died.

[Cathy]

Love the story

[Stanley]

I think it's true Cathy but of course we will never know for sure..... Harriet married Sir Amos later of course.
She didn't like to see washing hung out on a Sunday. God help anyone who forgot this. Remember that all the cottages in the village were tied cottages so she had a lot of power.

[Stanley]

Sir Amos Nelson was a strong advocate of abstinence and when he bought the Gledstone Estate from the Roundells he closed the pub in West Marton. He owned much of Thornton in Craven and did the same there.



I think this house in Thornton used to be the 'Kay's Arms'. I think he lived in Thornton Manor which of course became a hotel in later years after his estate was broken up after his death. In the days when I was working out of Marton the estate office was in the village and had a brass plate outside which I think still said 'Sir Amos Nelson Ltd'. It was on the opposite side of Gargrave Road from Addyman's shop on the corner. The village institute was in the building opposite on the side of the road to Barlick and Thornton, just above Marton Hall.

[Stanley]

Sir Amos Nelson was a strong advocate of abstinence and when he bought the Gledstone Estate from the Roundells he closed the pub in West Marton. He owned much of Thornton in Craven and did the same there.



I think this house in Thornton used to be the 'Kay's Arms'. I think he lived in Thornton Manor which of course became a hotel in later years after his estate was broken up after his death. In the days when I was working out of Marton the estate office was in the village and had a brass plate outside which I think still said 'Sir Amos Nelson Ltd'. It was on the opposite side of Gargrave Road from Addyman's shop on the corner. The village institute was in the building opposite on the side of the road to Barlick and Thornton, just above Marton Hall.
Opposite the Village Institute there was a large black wooden barn. This was where what became Gott's Garage in Barlick started up. Later, before 1960, they moved to larger premises on Gisburn Road in Barlick. Here is the building.... The Gotts lived in the village on the triangle at Marton next to David Peacock's house.



I think this pic is about ten years ago.....

[Stanley]

Many years ago I noticed a very ornate cast iron down-spout on the row of houses on Wellhouse Road almost opposite the fire station. I thought I had a pic of it but when it was replaced with a nasty modern plastic pipe I couldn't find it. Imagine my delight yesterday when I realised that another of the spouts had survived. All I can assume is that it has been hidden by the creeper up that side of the building. Only a small thing but I am so pleased, they don't make rainwater goods like this today!



I wonder if the two houses at this end were for the landlord and his family? They are the only ones with the nice dormers and iron balcony railings.

[Cathy]

I'm confused. The pic of Thornton 'Key's Arms' and the second pic of about 10yrs ago - is that the same site? If it is then all I can say is that someone made a right mess of it.
I much prefer the first pic.

[PanBiker]

The second picture is a mistake Cathy if it it referencing the buildings at Thornton. The picture is the garage at the top of Gisburn Road in Barlick and has no relevance to the previous picture.

[Stanley]

Sorry about that Cathy, there is some text missing for some reason. I certainly wrote it! I have inserted it in the post so If you read it again it will make sense.

[Cathy]

I did go backwards and forwards with it a few times (I'm on my phone) and couldn't quite work it out. All better now

[Stanley]

I definitely wrote it Cathy, brain fart in the server?
Update on West Marton.
I talked to David Nelson yesterday about various matters. He remembered the kerfuffle in the 60s when the villagers were called 'cottagers' and reminded me that the man who said it was Chris Johnson. (He remembered it because it for his 21st birthday present!)



I checked on the location of the old Marton Hall and it's a good job I did. I had it wrong, it was in the bottoms on the site of the present Marton Hall Farm. (Figures!) I went looking for an image and found this on an Ebay offer of the print for £14. Needless to say I bought it!
Here's the description: An atmospheric Original Sepia Aquatint on Paper of Marton Hall, engraved by Samuel Aiken from an original study by the Rev. J.Griffith. Originally produced for Thomas Durham Whitaker's " The History and Antiquities of The Deanery of Craven " London 1805.

[Stanley]

I'm writing a series of articles on the Dissolution of the Monasteries at the moment, a forgotten corner in itself. In the course of researching this I came across some surprising local information about the Pilgrimage of Grace which was a consequence of the process of dissolution. Until now I hadn't realised that we had a part in this uprising so that's another forgotten corner. This is what triggered the articles. Further, I tripped over information about the involvement of locals in the rebellion and this in turn led me to looking at the early history of Marton and this got me into even deeper waters. That's why I have been talking to David Nelson and am committed to reading Whitaker's History of the Deanery of Craven!
I'm pleased about all this because it proves to me that I am recovering from recent traumas and my brain is firing on all cylinders. In a way, over the last few months that has been a forgotten corner!



Here's the 1848 survey for the OS of West Marton. Long before the dairy and Nelson ownership of the estate. Note the Crown Inn, this is the pub that Amos Nelson closed when he bought the Gledstone estate.



Isn't it funny how you are always on the edge of 4 maps when you want an overview! Here's the 1848 OS of Old Gledstone Hall, stables and the kennels.

[Nolic]

I look forward to your developments in respect of the Pilgrimage of Grace. I'm doing a Future Learning course on the Tudors and would love to see some local connection to the Pilgrimage. Nolic

[Stanley]

You're going to be pleased Comrade, there are very strong local links. Get on to the local library and get them to order up 'The last days of the Lancashire Monasteries and the Pilgrimage of Grace' by Christopher Haigh, Published in 1969 by the Chetham Society. There isn't any ISBN number. You'll find it has just what you are looking for.....

[Big Kev]

Many years ago I noticed a very ornate cast iron down-spout on the row of houses on Wellhouse Road almost opposite the fire station. I thought I had a pic of it but when it was replaced with a nasty modern plastic pipe I couldn't find it. Imagine my delight yesterday when I realised that another of the spouts had survived. All I can assume is that it has been hidden by the creeper up that side of the building. Only a small thing but I am so pleased, they don't make rainwater goods like this today.

I know whose house this is so will have a chat, there may be some historical documentation.

[Stanley]

Good! It's a lovely bit of old foundry work and they are obviously looking after it, it's well painted. A very rare survival....
My print of Marton Hall arrived yesterday. Exactly as described and in very good condition. Now I need a frame and if possible a framer! Do you have any contacts Kev? It's 12" X10" approximately and of course will need a border.

[Big Kev]

My print of Marton Hall arrived yesterday. Exactly as described and in very good condition. Now I need a frame and if possible a framer! Do you have any contacts Kev? It's 12" X10" approximately and of course will need a border.

What style of frame are you looking for? I've been getting mine from The Range in Burnley, very reasonably priced for 'standard sizes.

This is one from there...

[Stanley]

Just a plain wooden frame, colour left to the framer. Only stipulation is no non-reflective glass. Do you pass the shop? If so a bit of help would be gratefully accepted. Usual fees and commissions apply......

[Big Kev]

Just a plain wooden frame, colour left to the framer. Only stipulation is no non-reflective glass. Do you pass the shop? If so a bit of help would be gratefully accepted. Usual fees and commissions apply......

Hmmmm, may struggle with the non-reflective glass from The Range. Have a chat with Jamie in Make a Connection on Newtown, I'm not 100% sure he offers a framing service but if anyone in Barlick does it'll be him.