A place of mystery and wonder – "twixt Burnley and Clitheroe, Whalley and Colne"
The remains of 800 children are among 1,967 bodies to be exhumed by archaeologists at St Peter’s Burial Ground in Blackburn. The bodies are being unearthed and moved ahead of the construction of a new section of road through the area.
Padiham Townscape Heritage receives fundingBurnley Council has received initial support for the Padiham Townscape Heritage Initiative bid, from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Padiham ‘Crafting the Future’ project. Click Here for more
Trough Laithe site, Barrowford to be developedAccess has been granted to the Trough Laithe site by Pendle Council where up to 500 homes could be built. The area is believed to comprise parts of a medieval pasture enclosure, part of the Forest of Pendle vaccaries complex established around 1290.
In an often tetchy three hour meeting of Pendle Council’s Development Management Committee which saw councillors verbally clash with campaigners on several occasions, councillors voted in favour of Peel’s outline application seeking access to the site off Barrowford Road but reserving matters in terms of scale and design.
We had a nice time in the garden on a lovely sunny January day – perhaps the only one this year! We hardly needed the log fire in the shop. Both the walled garden and woodland are looking a lot better than they were this time last year – something which made us reflect on everyone’s efforts in 2015.
Our main target in early 2016, once the weather improves, will be the area at the end of the garden, in the shade.
Despite the cold weather a group of intrepid field walkers met at The Corner Café for refreshments and discussion of the walk.
We then drove to Bury Rd Rawtenstall, parking near The Whitchaff. We walked along Bury Rd and turned down a footpath which crossed the railway and led to a grassy area with items from the Irwell Sculpture trail. Crossing over the river we then admired the chimney of Hardman’s mill, on the way to the railway station.
Many people were congregating as The Flying Scotsman was due to arrive. We picked a vantage point and he came in, only 20 minutes late, backwards. After taking many photos we walked along the river and then into Hall Carr estate, pausing for lunch in a field overlooking Lambet Howarth’s mill and chimney, with a good view of Rawtenstall below.
After lunch we passed several old farms and a very snorty black pig and made our way along Lomas Lane towards Balladen. After looking at Balladen Old Hall (1687), and unusual sheep, Zwartbles, we negotiated a treacherous stile, made worse by ice, discussed the remains of Balladen Mill by the brook, and then walked across the field to Higher Clowes and then Lower Clowes, a picturesque hamlet.
We think we have found the Newhallhey vaccary winter pasture, now covered by housing. Report to follow.
We collected our cars. 15 minutes later it started to snow!
There is now a petition, Save Lancashire’s Archaeology from Cuts. If you wish to know more or to sign CLICK HERE.
The truly shocking cuts to services at Lancashire County Council are slowly becoming known. But one cut that seems to be under the radar is the closure of the County Archaeology Service and the Historic Environment Record at the end of March. This means that the Historic Environment Record Officer post will go and there will be no archaeology planning work, therefore allowing the loss of protection for Lancashire’s archaeology in the planning system and its unrecorded destruction.
Rhyddings Park, Oswaldtwistle is set to be transformed by a £2 million lottery grant, thanks to the Heritage Lottery and Big Lottery Fund.
On a cold January day, around 30 people attended the first afternoon talk of 2016. A teenage Jewish girl leaves Vienna on the Kindertransports in 1938 to escape the Nazis. Finally arriving in England and fostered by a wonderful British family she went on to marry at only 17 years old and become a mother to a daughter (Christine) and a boy. She died of polio when only 27 years old. During the initial months of her new life she learned English and left behind her story in a beautifully illustrated small book, now deposited in the Imperial War Museum. This was a moving and intensely human story supported by excellent illustrations. For those who’d like to know more Chris and husband Rod will shortly be publishing a book on the subject. We expect it will be avilable in the PHC bookshop.
Amazing discoveries at Must Farm in Cambridgeshire are giving a detailed glimpse of life in Britain 3,000 years ago. Two contrasting reports…
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/a6806786.html
Must Farm excavation website http://www.mustfarm.com/
Happy Christmas one & all, and a Merry New Year.
Yesterday Dave Oyston (United Utilities) and I went up to the Cragg’s kiln dig site for probably the last time this year. The sun shone brightly and it was a joy to be there patching up the fencing and taking in the ever changing scenery. As you can see from the photos the light was beautiful and one was almost tempted to have a dip in T3b. It seems a fitting conclusion to this year’s activities in Pendle’s Hidden Valley.
Here is a recap of things to date. We have completed the first phase – a series of rapid survey field walks to identify sites for further study. Each of these field walks produced sites worthy of further investigation. Phase 2 – schedule and prioritise identified sites – has to some extent been done on the roll so that we could make use of the summer to start the next phase. Phase 3 is to carry out further investigation including full survey and/or possible excavation of the targeted sites.
Many of the sites identified in phase 1 were post-industrial. These have been noted & it is intended to produce a gazetteer of these later features at some point. Possibly the two most productive walks were to the north of Sabden, a village at the Western end of the study area, and the very last one. The rapid survey above Sabden was to establish if the area known as Craggs warranted more intense attention. It did & it does – of which, more later.
The final walk produced evidence of some of the earliest human activity in the valley bottom. Stray bits of Mesolithic chert debitage were found on opposite sides of the valley near the possible Iron Age site at Water Meetings. Right at the end of the day we found a possible chert knapping site, with a scraper and borer/awl amongst the debitage. The majority of this material is Mesolithic too. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reliable evidence of a Mesolithic site at such a low altitude in the study area.
The Mesolithic returns us to Craggs. Here we’ve found evidence of a Mesolithic microlith knapping site which we may excavate at a later date. This is at a more typical altitude of c1000 feet. On our initial survey walk of Craggs we realised that the site was far more complex than previously understood to be. It is probable that this area was the nexus of activity in the Early Mediaeval and immediately post Conquest. Further research needs to be undertaken on this. As it stands, we decided to make this area the focus of our excavations in 2015. To date we have carried out three digs in the vicinity. The latest is ongoing. In this excavation we have been unearthing what appears to be a double kiln feature. It is not giving up its secrets easily & at time of writing we have no firm evidence of what was being burnt. More of the feature will need to be excavated. We are most grateful to United Utilities and the tenant farmer for their continuing co-operation & assistance in our work at Craggs.
We are now well over a year into Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project and it has already thrown new light on the distant past of the area. We look forward to increasing local involvement and expanding the picture of the early history of this beautiful part of the North West. The search for funds to pay for the services of experts continues. We still need help with research and digging/walking. In the new year we will continue the programme of walks, the kiln dig will continue and there will be a series of more easily accessible digs too. Please feel free to join us. My thanks go to all those who have participated in any part of Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project or any of the other activities of the Friends’ archaeological group including those in Wycoller & the Rossendale area.
I hope you all have the Christmas and New Year that you desire and deserve.
Hopefully see you in 2016, including those of you outside the Pendle area.
Alex Whitlock
Christmas Eve 2015
This winter is exceptionally mild, so far. The garden is normally closed to visitors over the winter months but can be opened on request. Though most plants have died down, there are signs of life here and there. The organic Orleans Reinette apples are just maturing and can be bought for £1 a bag from the shop. If you like gardening, the next meeting of the garden group is 20th January 2016 – click for details.
LATEST – FIVE THOUSAND HAVE NOW SIGNED THE PETITION!
The cutting of the entire Countryside budget would be less than 0.2% of the £262m savings that Lancashire County Council are required to make. It makes no sense to desolate Wycoller and the other country parks for such a minuscule amount! Wycoller on its own is a small fraction of this 0.2%.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION
Friends of Wycoller and Friends of Pendle Heritage have written to County Councillor Marcus Johnstone, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning and Cultural Services, about the closure of the Countryside Management service, which will shut down Wycoller Country Park.
Can you email Councillor Johnstone marcus.johnstone@lancashire.gov.uk and support Wycoller in its time of need? Just click HERE. The more people that email, the more likely the County Council will look again.
Wycoller is internationally known as Lancashire’s part of Bronte Country and contains perhaps the finest group of scheduled ancient monuments and listed buildings in the county, like the ruined Wycoller Hall, the ancient barn, bridges, clothiers houses and vaccary walls all set in stunning countryside bursting with nature. Despite this, it costs hardly anything to run and if cut, the savings will be too small to make any difference to the Council’s need for budget cuts. Continue reading “5000 SIGN ‘SAVE WYCOLLER’ PETITION IN FIRST WEEK”
A traditional carol service, organised by local churches, was held in the Cruck Barn on Tuesday 15th December. This very atmospheric annual event was followed by coffee and mince pies served in the cafe of Pendle Heritage Centre.
The Friends held their Christmas party (organised by some members of the Archaeology Group) in the barn on the evening of Saturday 12th December. There had been torrential rain that day and a lot of flooding but only one person was unable to come. A quiz started the evening. After indulging in an excellent buffet (provided by Pendle Heritage Centre) of quiche, cold meats, pork pie, salads, trifle, lemon meringue pie, mince pie and coffee we were coaxed into taking part in energetic games organised by Michael and Georgina. Having played musical chairs and other strenuous games we were then given more skilful ones to play such as boules using potatoes (none of which were round!) and rolling pound coins towards a bottle of wine. At the end of one of the games there had to be a tiebreaker and I lost – do you know how many time zones there are?! The evening drew to a close with the singing of traditional carols.
A petition to save Queen Street Mill Museum, Burnley and Helmshore Mills Museum, Rossendale has been launched to save these internationally important museums of Lancashire’s cotton and wool industries. SIGN THE PETITION HERE
Details of the planned closures can be found in national and local newspapers and on the Museums Association website… see below
Independent Newspaper Report HERE
Lancashire Telegraph Report HERE Continue reading “SAVE QUEEN STREET MILL AND HELMSHORE MILLS – 8,500 HAVE SIGNED PETITION SO FAR”
Towns across the county celebrated in a variety of wonderful ways for Lancashire Day, 27th November. The day dates back to 1295 when the county sent its first representatives to parliament. It is traditionally observed with the loyal toast to The Queen and the Duchy of Lancaster. Hot on the heels of last Saturday’s Lancashire Tea open-day, the Friends of Real Lancashire joined the celebrations by unveiling their new display banner at the Pendle Heritage Centre.
A PROPOSED renovation of one of Ribble Valley’s oldest mills could potentially create more than 100 full time and part time jobs.
Applicant James Warburton of Emporia Leisure Ltd wants to transform the Holmes Mill in Clitheroe into a 31 bedroom hotel with a restaurant, bar, bakery, function room, two retail outlets and a gym and spa leisure complex.
A FIRST World War exhibition is to be staged in Blackburn to mark the end of a year-long Heritage Lottery-funded project.
The display will feature work created during the ‘Narratives of Transformation, their story: our story,’ scheme, which looks at how the war changed the lives of people both on and off the battlefields.
Lancashire Telegraph Article HERE Continue reading “Blackburn exhibition focuses on life during the First World War”
Longridge Heritage Centre was busy with volunteers, guests and buyers on Saturday at the launch of its new book ‘Our Heritage-Longridge Past and Present.’
A HISTORIC viaduct belonging to the East Lancashire Railway is set to be handed over so a modern-day cycling route through Rossendale can take shape.
Heritage railway bosses have owned Alderbottom Viaduct, near Stubbins, for a number of years, even though it does not form part of their main Rawtenstall to Bury route.