Greenhalgh Castle

Greenhalgh castle consists of the ruins of the base of one tower of a castle built in 1490 on the outskirts of the small town of Garstang. The ruins of the castle are on private land but can be seen from Millenium green park by the side of the river Wyre where there is anContinue reading “Greenhalgh Castle”

A Brief History of Browsholme Hall

Deep in the wooded countryside of Bowland sits the privately owned Elizabethan hall of Browsholme, inhabited by the Parker family and commonly stated in tourist brochures to be the oldest family home in the area, although several local family-owned farms also hold claims to this title. In this article i’ll briefly look at the historyContinue reading “A Brief History of Browsholme Hall”

The Village of Keasden

The picturesque village of Keasden is situated in the far Northeastern corner of Bowland, just over the Yorkshire/Lancashire boundary, it is a small hamlet consisting of little except St Matthew’s church, built in 1873, a phonebox and a scattering of farmhouses. The name Keasden originates from ‘cheese den’, or ‘cheese valley’, as the area’s richContinue reading “The Village of Keasden”

Captain Richard Pooley and Wray Endowed School

To the North of Bowland, where the waters of the Roeburn meet the Hindburn, sits the attractive little village of Wray. Largely built of 18th century sandstone cottages Wray has always been an industrious, self-sufficient community, historically a textile town, with mills powered by the flow of the two lively rivers tumbling down from theContinue reading “Captain Richard Pooley and Wray Endowed School”

The Abandoned Steam Crane in Jumbles Quarry

Stocks reservoir sits at the head of the Hodder valley in Lancashire and was constructed over the latter half of the 1920s, opening in July 1932, you can read about the history of the reservoir here; Sources of Stone For the construction of the dam and its many associated buildings, culverts, causeways, bridges etc nearbyContinue reading “The Abandoned Steam Crane in Jumbles Quarry”

Cotton Chronicles, Queen Street Mill, Part One; Raising Steam

Queen Street Mill can be found down the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the Lancashire village of Harle Syke on the outskirts of Burnley and is the world’s last surviving operational 19th century steam-powered weaving mill. Set up as a worker’s cooperative in 1894 the mill operated for decades after its contemporaries had ceasedContinue reading “Cotton Chronicles, Queen Street Mill, Part One; Raising Steam”

Clitheroe War Memorial

Clitheroe War Memorial depicts a Grenadier Guard bowing his head and stands in the grounds of Clitheroe Castle in the eponymous Ribble Valley market town, facing East towards the Nick O’ Pendle. The memorial was unveiled on the 18th of August 1923 by Lord Derby, the Mayor of Clitheroe at the time and commemorates theContinue reading “Clitheroe War Memorial”

Cotton Chronicles, Kirk Mill, Chipping

Kirk Mill At the height of the Industrial Revolution the village of Chipping, originally an agricultural village, quickly became a thriving centre of the cotton industry, in 1831 a population census counted 1334 inhabitants, whereas only a few years earlier this number had hardly reached 3 figures! Seven spinning mills provided the employment for thisContinue reading “Cotton Chronicles, Kirk Mill, Chipping”