The market town of Clitheroe is unique in Lancashire for being the only one built predominantly of, and on Limestone and owes much of its existence to the waters which bubble up through its calciferous bedrock. It was founded around three ancient wells, St Mary’s Well, Heald Well, and Stocks Well, which served not onlyContinue reading “Clitheroe’s Ancient Wells”
Category Archives: #History
May, a Lancashire Dialect poem by John Rawcliffe
May Though every month for me’s a cherm,Aw’m fain as Winter’s hed his term;For thy breath’s gradely sweet an’ werm, Aw like thee, May!Tha looks best deawn bi th’ owd Stydd ferm At break o’ day. Wheer th’ banks o’ Ribble’s weshed wi’ t’ flood,Aw tramped through mony a field an’ wood;Aw see tha’s paintedContinue reading “May, a Lancashire Dialect poem by John Rawcliffe”
The Holy Thorn of Stonyhurst College
Deep in the heart of Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, under the shadow of Longridge Fell, sits stately Stonyhurst College, a 400-year-old Jesuit institution. It is home to many artworks and treasures, including one of the most revered relics in the Christian world; a thorn believed to be from the Crown of Thorns placed on Jesus Christ’sContinue reading “The Holy Thorn of Stonyhurst College”
Blood Rain
The Remarkable Meteorological Phenomena of Saharan Dust Events Every so often, the skies over the British Isles take on an eerie, hazy glow, and cars are blanketed with a fine layer of reddish dust. These are the telltale signs of a Saharan dust event, a remarkable meteorological phenomenon where dust from the Sahara Desert travelsContinue reading “Blood Rain”
Limekiln Landscapes; the Legacy of Bowland’s Limekilns
Hidden away deep in the Forest of Bowland, sagged and slumped under the weight of time and overgrown with mosses, ferns and lichens, lie relics of a once great industry; the manufacture of Quicklime. These unassuming structures, now mostly reclaimed by time and nature, were once vital to the agricultural and economic life of theContinue reading “Limekiln Landscapes; the Legacy of Bowland’s Limekilns”
Cotton Chronicles; Lancashire Looms
Lancashire Looms The Lancashire loom is a semi-automatic power loom that works by propelling devices called ‘shuttles’ to-and-fro to weave together warp (longitudinal) and weft (lateral) threads. It was invented by James Bullough and William Kenworthy in 1842 as an improvement on the original power loom first patented by Edmund Cartwright in 1784. If thatContinue reading “Cotton Chronicles; Lancashire Looms”
Admiring the Barns and Walls of Northwest England
The Northwest of England is home to some remarkably beautiful landscapes, shaped over millennia by traditional farming practices. It is a part of the world famous for its ancient drystone walls and barns, built from the bones of the land and woven seamlessly into its very fabric in such a way that manmade and naturalContinue reading “Admiring the Barns and Walls of Northwest England”
Closer to Home, Exploring the History around our Town; Hambledon Firing Range
I’ve poked and peered into all sorts of corners in my history articles, from Abbeystead to Whalley and everywhere between, but feel that I’ve overlooked some of the historical locations closer to home, around the towns of Padiham and Hapton where I live and work. With this in mind I set out the other dayContinue reading “Closer to Home, Exploring the History around our Town; Hambledon Firing Range”
Northwest Nature and History 