FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[Stanley]

My late brother Leslie with Mrs Thompson, the lady next door to us, in 1947.
What caught my eye this morning is the embanked structure behind the pergola in the background that Arthur Thompson, a keen gardener had erected to mask the Anderson Shelter that was behind our garage next door.
I have never noticed this before but it shows how much of the shelter had to be out of the ground because of the fact that when Arthur and my dad dug it they struck the water table so close to the surface. Despite this and having to pump it out every night it was a good friend to us during the German air raids of 1940 especially when they were trying to hit the great viaduct that spanned the Mersey Valley in Stockport.
A long forgotten corner for many reasons.

[Stanley]

The upstream end of Merseyway in Stockport in 1979 when Portwood in the background was just being developed. Merseyway was the course of the River Mersey that was roofed over in 1936 to give more development space in the middle of Stockport. My mother used to take me down here in my pram to watch the steam cranes working, even at that age I was obsessed with them.....

[Stanley]

I did this boring picture on a visit to Stockport in 1976. The point of interest was the mill and chimney in the background. I don't know if you can read it but on the chimney it reads 'K Boardman'. This was the headquarters of Kenneth Boardman who at one time owned Bancroft Shed and was not a good owner or employer.
The story was that his main interest in owning Bancroft was that he could put labels in garments he imported saying 'Steam woven in Lancashire'. I don't know if it was true or not but I know that Jim Pollard once told me it was amazing how much cotton grey-state cloth went out to Ireland and came back with a label on it that said 'Irish Linen'.
Surely not.....

[Stanley]

My friend Ethel did this snap in Paris in the 1950s. And yes you're right! It's that seeming impossibility, a kosher pork butchers.... Trust the French to find the pragmatic way to square the circle.
(And no, I have never found anyone who could explain this to me......)

[Stanley]

Spring Mill, Stoneybank, Earby. This image was taken by Hedley Bradshaw, the engineer at Spring Bank, in about 1960. It is the only image I know that shows the excellent condition of the condenser pond. All gone now as the mill has been demolished.

[Stanley]

I think I was mistaken with this picture. It is of Hedley doing maintenance on the foot valve of his condenser pump and was done by someone else



Stanley doing the same job on the foot valve in Bancroft Dam. Spring Mill was evidently on a water source with a stony bed as Hedley's dam is much cleaner than mine!

[Stanley]

Bancroft dam drained and left empty after closure in 1977. Note the difference between it and Spring Mill Dam. Gillian's Beck brought down large quantities of silt and the biggest task of management was keeping it reasonably clear. (It had a concrete bottom just like Spring Mill.)
A forgotten corner now, filled in and landscaped......

[Stanley]

A close-up of the corner of Bancroft Dam on a very wet day in 1977. You can see that the water is overflowing above the clow but what you can't see is that the clow is wide open! On a very wet day like this I would open the clow because with the very strong flow that this caused out of the dam the water carried large quantities of silt with it downstream where it became someone else's problem. This was standard practice for anyone managing a resource like this and it wasn't sending the silt anywhere where it wouldn't have gone even if Bancroft dam hadn't existed.
Water management like this is a forgotten corner now......

[Stanley]

David Hird, principal of Lancashire College at Chorley. This was in 1977. Lancashire College was an experiment by Lancashire County Council which was a multi purpose educational establishment. It could host short residential courses in a variety of subjects varying from deep immersion language courses to specialised music subjects. David was given charge of it from day one and proved to be a big problem. Under his management the college mad a profit and the Council had no mechanism for transferring the profit back to County Hall. I attended several courses in teaching FE that were held there and they were brilliant. Unfortunately David Died young and was much missed by all his friends. (I don't know whether the College is still making money.....)

[Stanley]

Possibly the best looking dog that ever lived with me. Jack the lurcher could pop up onto the draining board with ease and it was one of his favourite perches because he could watch what was going on outside. This was in 2005, long gone but not forgotten!

[Tripps]

Just as well you bleach the sink. . . .

[Stanley]

Quite David! And I still do it every morning even though I no longer have a dog. Remembering that so many of our vegetables are imported these days I often wonder about the nationality of the bacteria I am killing..... Sweet potatoes from the US and Egypt.........



I heard the phrase 'A Transport of Delight' this morning and it brought to mind a haulage firm in Barlick called Wild's who ran coaches as well as wagons. They had a motto 'Travel with Wilds for miles of smiles'. This was their garage above Manchester Road being demolished in May 2002, the site was new housing within a few months.

[Stanley]

Clough Mill in 1963. You know how much I love these old images. The size of Clough Mill is a surprise but look also at the bottom of the image and you'll see the Co-op store and police station on Manchester road before they lost their original role. I think That may be the only image I have of the Co-op.

[Stanley]

As the number of tall chimneys dwindles year on year we forget that it was quite common for them to gradually bend over the years. Here's a good example.....

[Tizer]

Did they bend in the same direction (eg. away from prevailing winds) or was it random?

[Stanley]

Unless there was some deep-seated flaw in the materials or construction of the stack they always tended to bend into the wind Peter. This seems counter-intuitive but not when you realise that the process that actually causes the bend is the erosion of the mortar between the bricks, first by reason of the prevailing wind driving the rain into the joints and second by expansion and contraction of the joints by reason of frost in the winter and movement in the stack during the rest of the year. This is why good jacks and engineers are so particular about how the joints are cut out for repointing and what they are filled with.
Of course the biggest cause of erosion and subsequent bending is neglect of the pointing and this is worse if the joints are wide. If you look at chimneys built with accurately made bricks Like Accrington NORIS they generally have much tighter joints and therefore last longer. Indeed, many of the older buildings have joints too tight to be cut out and repointed.



In 1995 we refurbished the chimney at Masson Mill and one of the jobs was to repoint the chimney. I got Keith Batley, Brooke Edgeley's foreman to get his jacks to cut out and re-point a reference patch on the wall near the foo of the ladder so that they could remind themselves of the standards demanded. He also told them that I would be climbing to inspect and make sure that standards were maintained. That last point is essential, if the jacks think nobody is taking notice, standards slip! This is in many cases what happens.... a forgotten corner!

[Tizer]

Thanks for the explanation of why the chimney will bend against the wind. As you wrote, it's counter-intuitive.

[Stanley]

This image is from an insurance company archive and is of a stack that collapsed while it was being straightened by the steeplejacks. A forgotten corner because I doubt if such a remedy would be attempted today,

[Stanley]

This building on Lamb Hill used to be Holmes' Pie shop and did a good trade with the mill workers. 'Fast Food' wasn't an American invention. We forget the pie and fish and chip shops.... The present ridiculous price of energy is killing our fast food heritage.... I think there's only one chippy left in Barlick......

[Stanley]

Springs Dam in 2003. At one time, during the early days of the steam driven mill in Butts built by William Bracewell, this reservoir on the side of Weets was a very important piece of real estate as it gave control over the flow of what became Calf Hall Beck which was essential for the economic running of the multiple steam engines at Butts. Search for Bracewell History using the site search at the top of the page. There is a whole history behind what is now a very pleasant ornamental feature on the side of the hill.

[PanBiker]

Back filled for quite a few years now Stanley.

[Stanley]

Really? Thanks for that Ian, I didn't know. A piece of Barlick history gone for ever.
So.... Springs Dam is now a really forgotten corner!

Just for the record here's the potted history. Lots more on the site.

SPRINGS FARM INDEX ENTRIES 18/08/12

Springs Farm is on Esp lane, Barnoldswick. Ordnance Reference SD867463.
There are many references to Springs dam in the Calf Hall Shed Company minute books because the dam, first built as it is today by William Bracewell to regulate the water flow to his Butts Mill, was used for the same reasons by the CHSC.

1760
5/- Land Tax for Springs paid by John Smith. 1770, John Smith paid 3/9. 1797 John Ashworth pays LT.
1798 onwards
Doreen Crowther notes that Elizabeth, daughter of James Grimshaw of Beanfield Barrowford and Mary Ashworth 1798-1839) was born 19/03/1834, baptised 10/07/1836, died Oct 18th 1914. She married Thomas Bracewell her cousin. Living at Beanfield in 1879 but had moved to Thorneyclough by 1880. Brought up the children of Thomas Grimshaw of Crowtrees Barrowford on the death of his wife Francis. Thomas Grimshaw died 12/08/1888. It looks as though Frances died in childbirth of Mary. (There is a connection somewhere here with Thomas Bracewell of Springs in 1899 and I think Edward Bracewell of the Barnoldswick Room and Power Company (Bankfield Shed) was his son but I haven't got a precise link.)
1837,1841 electoral roll
Given as the address of Ellis Nutter.
1848 ER
Address of John Nutter.
1850
First attempts by Billycock to divert water from Dark Hill down to Springs to improve the water resource.
1859 ER
Given as address of Ellis Ashworth.
1851 census
Springs given as the address of John Nutter, 78, unmarried and proprietor of land and houses. Living with him is John Ashworth, brother in law, 56, farmer of 21 acres and son Ellis Ashworth, 33 unmarried. Mary Ashworth, unmarried, 31. Elizabeth Ashworth, unmarried, 28 and Alice her daughter 6 years old and a scholar.
1860
Imperial Gazette notes John Ashworth as farmer at Springs. Same entry in WR Directory for 1862.
1871 census
John Ashworth, farmer of 42 acres.
1883
Barrett for 1883 and 1887 note Ellis Ashworth as farmer.
1889
CHSCMB start negotiations for use of Springs Dam on 24 July as it governed the water to their new Calf Hall Shed. Settled with Mr Hartley, solicitor at Colne for £10 per annum rent.
1896
Barrett's directory notes Thomas Cowgill as farmer. (cf. CHSCMB for 1896) (Same directory reports John Cowgill as farmer as well)
1899
CHSCMB record negotiations with Mrs E. A. Coates of Skipton for Springs Dam rent and repairs so she must have been the owner then.
1899
Barrett for 1899 to 1911 notes Thomas Bracewell (b.1857) as farmer. In 1911 Thomas is mentioned as the person who sold East Parrock to the CHSC.
1910. See CHSCMB for 03/08/1910 onwards. Negotiations with Alfred Dewhurst for use of Springs Dam. See 16/06/09 for same subject.
1911
See CHSCMB 29/03/1911 for Dewhurst request for 1/- per annum water right for Springs Farm house to cover all the houses up there as well.
1912
Alfred H Dewhurst mentioned in CHSC minutes as the owner of Springs. Noted in Barrett for 1914)
1916
CHSCMB 14/02/1916. Barnoldswick Angling Club rent fishing rights at Springs Dam for £1 par annum.
1930.
Craven Herald 31/01/1930. Report of the golden wedding of Mr and Mrs Edward Bracewell of Burnlea Terrace Barnoldswick. Edward was son of William Bracewell of Springs Farm (this is William Bracewell of Coates, cousin to Billycock) and was born there in 1860. He used to help milk his father's cows before going to work at Clough Mill.
Craven Herald 18/07/1930. Report of the death of Alfred H Dewhurst (61) at Springfield House Barnoldswick. He was born in Colne but came to Barlick as a boy and was a manufacturer in Wellhouse Mill. At his death he owned Springs Farm.
1930
LTP 78/AC/02 page 9. Ernie Roberts mentions a man called Jim Barrett, a bricklayer, living at Springs Farm.
1982
LTP 82/HD/05 page 2. Harold Duxbury talks about Springs Dam and Dark Hill Well. At that time Roddy Hemingway farmed Springs.
1984
LTP 84/SP/01. Stephen Pickles said that Henry Banks, one of the CHSC directors lived at Springs and had ducks on his lake.

[Stanley]

This short piece of wall on the side of the road near Malkin Tower doesn't immediately grab your attention but if you take the trouble to really examine it and interrogate it it gives you some surprising answers because if you really look, most of the stone is demolition stone, it has already been worked and used in a building. The question is which building? You'll soon came to the conclusion that it can only be from Hollin Hall and if so what was the building that was demolished and who built it because stone buildings of that era were always either Royal or monastic.
And all this just from one unobtrusive piece of wall! Go up there and start your own investigation..... I never got to the bottom of it!

[Stanley]

When John Clayton and I were walking the side of Weets looking for the features on the Whitemoor map of 1580 we found this thorn tree above Malkin Tower Farm. It can't be the thorn on the 1580 map obviously but it is very old and has been deliberately preserved where it is now. There is a good chance it is preserving the memory of the 1580 tree but of course we shall never know as it is a forgotten corner.

[Stanley]

Field Mill at Haslingden condenser spinning. They finished in November 1988 and I went down to do pics of the mill. They were the last big condenser unit in the Valley and as far as I am aware the last commercial mule spinners in the UK. So definitely a forgotten corner now....