I'm writing this in early March and have just heard that plans to move the Cenotaph have been dropped. Good! If any money is to be spent on it how about opening up the space around it to make it even more visible. During the discussions about re-siting it on Kelbrook New Road everyone seemed to forget that the then Memorial Gardens were abandoned because of it's remote location from the town centre and consequent neglect and vandalism. One of the factors that seems to have driven the proposed move was 'traffic improvements' connected with the proposed supermarket. What seems to have happened is that the Cenotaph and Green were regarded as the problem. This is wrong, the problem is the traffic that could be generated by the new development. We should not damage the town's facilities in order to make it easier for a development to make money. The adjustments should come from the developers, not the other way round.
My mind went back to the earlier proposal of a supermarket in Butts on the Carlson site. It looks as though the firm has decided to stay on the Butts site and I am glad. I did wonder at the time whether my pointing out that in 1932 Butts was flooded had any bearing on the decision and this came to mind again with the new proposals.
Those of you who have followed my pieces on the flood will remember that the choke point that led to the flooding of Butts was the old culvert under what used to be Clough Mill. It was blocked by debris washing down from further upstream and the only way the water could escape was to flood through Walmsgate. I have to give Pendle Council their due, whether it was due to my article I am not sure but one thing is certain, they are doing a good job keeping the old Clough dam clean and making sure the new trash screen is clear and in good condition.
Later there was a proposal to develop Clough Park and I suggested that as part of this the old redundant culvert should be done away with and replaced by a bridge where Gillian's Beck flows under Walmsgate. My reason for this is that as far as I know nobody has done any maintenance on the dry stone culvert structure since it was first put in over 100 years ago. When you're considering these matters it's always a good thing to work on a 'worst case' model and worst case in this instance is a collapse of the culvert leading to blockage and an over-ground flood across Walmsgate. How long do we expect the old culvert to last? It's underground and I'm afraid that out of sight can mean out of mind.
Researching the history has given me the insights I rely on in the case of the Clough culvert but there is more. Clough isn't the only culvert that could be a choke point in the flow of water from the Weets. Have you ever noticed that Calf Hall Beck runs down the side of the Butts Mill site before diving underneath it? It used to meet Gillian's Beck in a walled sump in the middle of what is now the road through Butts but at some time was covered over. The culvert under the mill was used as a condenser pond for the Butts Mill engine but this became redundant in the 1930s. Here I have the advantage of having questioned Harold Duxbury about the water courses in the area. Harold was on intimate terms with the men who had managed the water in Barlick as part of their business activities running the steam-driven mills. These men knew about water rights and flows, it was essential to their activities. Harold was also Managing Director of the Calf Hall Shed Company who owned Butts Mill until John C Carlson bought it after the war. As part of his job he told me he had inspected the culvert under Butts shortly after the end of the war. He went in and was not reassured by what he saw. He told me it was in very bad condition and he thought something should be done about it but shortly afterwards the mill was sold and it passed out of his care. It may well be that since then Carlson's have done something about it but if they haven't, my advice is to have a look at it. A stitch in time might be very profitable!
Of course, a better answer would be to completely rebuild the course of the beck from the trash screen in old Clough Dam to the bridge at the south end of what is now the Model Joinery Works. Calf Hall beck should be routed above ground to a confluence with Gillian's behind what used to be the Pigeon Club and from there be routed via a larger culvert under the road to the bridge. I know this would be expensive and you might well ask what does an old bloke sat in his kitchen know about these things. It may well be that I'm talking though my hat but consider, if I am right in my fears about these old neglected culverts, it could be that some foresight and sensible expenditure would be a good thing and pay dividends in the future. One thing is certain, we can't rule out another flood event like 1932.
My bottom line, and what started this train of thought in the first place, is that if there is money to be spent I would far rather see it go on a project like this which would be for the long term good of Barlick than on schemes for moving the Cenotaph or 'improving traffic flows' for the ultimate benefit of an outside developer. The problem is of course that there is no profit to be gained from the Cenotaph, the Green or repairing old culverts. There is the added problem that the culverts are hidden, most people in Barlick don't even know they exist. It would be well to realise that profit isn't the only driving force in public affairs. Sometimes there has to be investment.
The chaos in the weaving shed at Clough in 1932 after the water burst through the back wall.
