I see the hoary old subject of whether Barlick is white or red rose has raised its head again and there was discussion recently about Eric Pickles' initiative that the old county names like Cumberland, Huntingdonshire etc. should be used for 'non-official' purposes as they promote social cohesion. During this debate it transpired that the old shire names are still legal entities but superseded for administrative purposes by the new boundaries. I have always held the view that the old shire names couldn't be extinguished even if administrative boundaries were changed. It looks as though I might have been correct. It's worth remembering that the Post Office gave up the struggle with Barlick when they gave us a unique postcode and stated publicly that it didn't matter whether letters were addressed to Lancashire or Yorkshire. Remember also the matter of the county boundary signs which were uprooted after the administrative changes but are now back in their original locations. It is quite accurate to say that Barlick is still in Yorkshire! The county boundary sign with Lancashire has been reinstated on the far side of Hague whereas under the boundary changes it was just beyond Gill Brow. Remember how the lads kept on uprooting it and at one time 'Yorkshire' was painted in bold letters on the end of a building at Hague nearest to Foulridge?
The question we should address is does it matter? I think it does but for what may seem to many a strange reason. The fact that the old shire boundary is part of our local heritage is a given, I don't see how anyone can argue against that. However, if you really think about Barlick, one of the key characteristics of the town is that it has always been 'a place apart'. There's a small hamlet near Lanark which I used to visit regularly every Monday morning when I was a cattle wagon driver, they had a saying there, “Into Crawfordjohn, out of the world” and in terms of Lancashire and Yorkshire this applies to Barlick as well. We aren't on a main road, it has been said that if you find yourself in Barlick but didn't mean to go there you are lost! Think of the old saying, “Are you married or do you live in Barlick?” If you look at the old census records you'll find that a surprising number of households consisted of a man living with his 'niece' and a child. In those days if a man was in the Lancashire textile union and was found to have been bothering with a lass the union threw him out and a good ploy was to slip over the boundary to Barlick, join the Yorkshire union and carry on with life.
It's fact that we are still in West Yorkshire, it's also true to say that when it suited us, in matters of trade with Lancashire, we turned a blind eye to the white rose connection. Long may it continue!
Shire stone at Standing Stone Gate.
