FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[Stanley]

Barlick never had the resource of withies so we never had a basket weaving industry. However, baskets were very important.



This pic of Ouzledale mill in the aftermath of the 1932 flood shows skeps that were washed down from Bancroft Shed and Wild's garage. These were large strong baskets used by the spinners to transport weft to the mills in Barlick. They were later largely replaced by wooden crates later.
One thing that is often forgotten is that the skeps got damaged during use and had to be repaired. One place where this was done was at the Blind Workshops on the Halifax Road out of Burnley. I went there a few times to return repaired skeps to the East Lancashire spinning mills and the first time I went they sent a man with me to show me where the mills were. It wasn't until we got to Oldham that I realised he was blind! He was an ex wagon driver who had fallen and banged his head and went blind. On a later trip he was missing and when I asked they told me he had had another fall and his sight had returned, he was back driving a wagon. Imagine that. It must have been the best present ever!

[Cathy]

It's interesting and amazing some of the things that happen to people, a bit like some who have woken-up to find that they are speaking a different language.

[Stanley]

They told me at the blind workshop that as his sight returned they had great difficulty persuading him that it wasn't a dream.

[PanBiker]

Like my mate Mike who I met in LGI. He came into hospital left handed and after his brain bleed event found he could write perfectly right handed whereas he had weakness at the left side.

[Stanley]

That's an interesting example Ian. Wonderful what you learn on OG!
When I was a lad I was always fascinated by the gulley grate cleaners. In those days always employees of the local council. They would open up a grid, gulp the contents by vacuum into the tank and then flush with water free from detritus to see if it drained correctly, if it didn't that had rakes, grabs and other tools of destruction on board and would persist until they had got a proper flow.



The wagons looked like this one which has been modified to deal exclusively with night soil and cess pits. The ones used for grate cleaning had an extending arm carrying the suction tube mounted on the flange at the rear of the tank which could be used to probe the grate.
Similar vehicles are still in use but with one important difference. In Pendle at least they are now outsourced to contractors who I suspect have a quota of so many grids a day. They simply gulp the grate and move on to the next one. The consequence is that anyone who walks abroad in very wet weather can identify many drains that are not accepting water. It would appear that the importance of good road drainage is now a forgotten corner.

[Stanley]

As we see so often in this topic, the everyday becomes so familiar it becomes a forgotten corner. One of the things I constantly note and approve is the standard of street cleaning. Despite the cuts we are well served by our street cleaners. The streetsweeper with his cart emptying the bins and picking litter in the town centre and the mechanised street sweeper patrolling the outlying streets, both front and back. The standard is very high and is only hampered by the cars parked on the roads.
Another thing that is being kept up us maintenance of our parks and the grass cutting. These things are important and I think the Council is doing a good job. We should not let it become a forgotten corner.
Thanks also to the volunteers in Valley Gardens and the Barlick in Bloom Group!

[Stanley]

Seven Stars Yard in 1982.

The Seven Stars pub in Church Street is one of the oldest pubs in the town and figures large in the history of the town because at one time it had the biggest assembly room in town and was of course centrally located. It was used regularly for public meetings, important auctions and as a meeting room for local mills to hold their annual general meetings.
Just as important in many ways was the Seven Stars Yard which for many years was the home of local businesses, in 1982 it was still serving in that role. I'm not sure how important it is now that the pub is no more but is a funeral director's.
One thing that I came across in my researches into the Great War was that at the start of the war when many families were suffering because their men, the chief wage-earners, had volunteered for service and their income had fallen catastrophically. This was made worse by the fact that the government were slow to put in place the necessary administrative arrangements to get the families allowances to them. The local charities did what they could but the government was forced so step in and hand out basic foods to any woman who had evidence that their man was in the army. This distribution of food was done in Seven Stars Yard and continued until the situation was relieved by a proper support scheme for servicemen's families.

[Stanley]

I think many people will have forgotten that this was our local Town Hall at one time. This pic was in 1984 when it was losing its importance after the amalgamation with Pendle in 1974 but I can remember going in to pay our rates. I think it has now been converted into flats.



Because of the slope it was a natural venue for gatherings like this on in the 1920s, looks like the Whit Walk procession singing along to a band. It also served as a place for outdoor political gatherings and is mentioned in accounts of the More Looms disputes in the 1930s.
One item of interest is the wooden cupboard on the wall on the right with the peaked top and St John's Cross on the front. This held a laying out board and in the event of a sudden death you could go and get the board to lay the body out on before rigor mortis set in. It became redundant in the 1930s with the advent of the telephone and funeral directors.

[Stanley]

Not directly Barlick related but this image of a preserved Davis Brothers wagon is a forgotten corner on two counts. First the roped and sheeted load, at one time common but a lost art today when most of the wagons are containers or curtain sided. The other point of interest is the firm, Davis Brothers. They were famous in the trade as possibly the most devious owners in the business. At one time the Traffic Commissioners declared publicly that they weren't fit to hold a dog licence never mind wagons. I could tell you stories about them for hours! Incidentally, if any of you remember the TV series about road transport called 'The Brothers',it was filmed mainly in their yard at Charlton in London.

[Stanley]

There used to be a story in Earby which I leave you to make up your mind about.
One of the chimneys at the Station Hotel was notoriously bad to sweep it was a very tortuous flue. One man declared he could do it and went in one day and got to work. He was so successful that he managed to get his brush through but the helper who was watching to alert him when the brush emerged failed in his job and the first thing the sweep knew was when the landlord came in and informed him that he had just stopped the Ribble White Lady X43 service as his brush was waving about in the middle of the road.



My fluer at Bancroft, Charlie Sutton, used to sweep domestic chimneys as well. He told me about a bloke in Brierfield who had set up in business as a sweep specialising in 'impossible flues'. There was a flue like this at the local hotel and the man turned up one afternoon unexpectedly to sweep it. The landlord closed the room the fireplace was in and the man went about his job. His method was to drop a live hen down the flue and as it fluttered its wings on the way down it swept the flue. (Cruel I know but it used to happen) The hen was successful and the flue was swept but unfortunately he had dropped it down the wrong chimney and it emerged in the bar full of customers. I leave you to imagine the chaos that ensued......

[Stanley]

Not sure exactly what is happening yet but the old school kitchen and later Gisburn Road Nursery school will soon be a forgotten corner. There has been activity on the site of late. A new sliding gate has been installed and plastic ducts for cables etc. have been installed.
The thing that has always struck me is that if the garage site on the land that was originally the Corn Mill Dam was included this is a very attractive piece of real estate.

[Stanley]

These two planters intrigued me for years, especially when I realised what they were, large orchestral Timpani. Solid copper and I have no doubt quite valuable as they could easily be refurbished, copper is almost non-corroding and so they would be in basically good condition. They were outside a house on Wellhouse Road near the fire station. They vanished one day, I wonder what happened to them? Not a biggie but unusual and definitely a forgotten corner.

[Stanley]

Today's forgotten corner was triggered by shopping in Ilkley yesterday. Barlick, like Ilkley, has a relatively thriving local economy of small shops and this is an asset that we tend to forget seduced by the supermarkets and online shopping. I use both of them but try to support local small shops as well. What we forget about them is the personal interactions and meeting friends as we walk round the town. It's a social lubricant and is of course reinforced by the efforts of the volunteers who run Barlick in Bloom and the events in the Town Square.
(In passing I see that we have a kite festival on September 17th. What happens if it is a calm day?!)
The overall effect is that we have a vibrant heart to the town and we would do well to recognise this and remember to do our bit.

[Stanley]

Today's forgotten corner is this. No, not the fact that we live in the middle of stunning scenery but the age-old matter of the North/South divide.
I was triggered while thinking of Ken's problem with his visiting relatives and the search for heritage. I was once stood with my American students at Greenberfield locks educating them about the Roman occupation of Britain and noticed that there were some local listening as well. Basically what I was pointing out that the Romans made a distinction between the souther 'civilised' part of the country and the military occupation of anything North of that. One of the locals buttonholed me afterwards and thanked me for explaining to him why we Northerners are 'different'. As is so often the case that started me thinking and over the years I think I have settled on a view.
I don't think it is coincidence that the boundary between civilised and military zones was roughly where we now accept that the North begins.
We had long discussions on the old site about this and at one time politicians tried to convince us that the divide had faded away, recently we have seen increasing evidence that this isn't true and in some ways it is stronger than ever. Think of the theories about 'The Northern Powerhouse' (or workhouse!). The divide is alive and well particularly the contrast with London which is becoming a separate economy almost.
I am happy to be different. I see more individuality in Barlick than in the whole of London. Or rather more difference, that last statement is a bit too dogmatic. I can walk into Barlick and fond people who appreciate my attitudes and sense of humour. People who say the divide is dead have no imagination and have missed the point! That's our forgotten corner for today, exploit it and enjoy it!

[Cathy]

I just love the pic, another one saved.

[Stanley]

[Tripps]

I can walk into Barlick and find people who appreciate my attitudes and sense of humour. People who say the divide is dead have no imagination and have missed the point! That's our forgotten corner for today, exploit it and enjoy it!

Here's another candidate for 'Pseud's Corner' - This reminded me of The Stranger by Kipling -

The men of my own stock,
They may do ill or well,
But they tell the lies I am wanted to,
They are used to the lies I tell;
And we do not need interpreters
When we go to buy or sell.

[Stanley]

Nice one David. Better people than I tell me that the essence of poetry is to reveal concisely in language that which would normally be far too complicated otherwise. I think they may be right. Kipling certainly had that one nailed down.
I often think that another factor is the topography. I am never totally at ease in landscape where you cant see higher ground. I always think of the psalm, 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills....'. I remember particularly the first time I was in Minnesota in early Spring, no colour and no hills, I was disappointed. In Barlick you can see green hillside from almost any point in the town. The opposite applies of course, look at the last pic I posted in this thread, the one that Cathy liked. A short walk up a hill and you can see 40 miles.
That reminds me of the first optician I ever had, Mr Cunningham in Stockport. He told me that the best exercise for the eyes was to look into infinity and try to distinguish detail. I have never forgotten that and think he was right. Look into the eyes of someone like a sailor and compare with someone like a clerk who spends the day doing close work at a desk. There is a difference. Mr Cunningham also said that green or blue was best for the eyes... (What does a screen culture do in this respect?)
That's another forgotten corner we would do well to contemplate.

[Stanley]

I well remember getting to the point in my preservation activities where I had to go to London to make a presentation in front of a committee of the Great and the Good. I was acutely aware of things like my dialect and unfamiliarity with the Corridors of Power. I told my mate David Moore about this and he said I was to stop worrying. He told me to go down there and act like the archetypical blunt Northerner. This made sense to me. He said that secretly they were afraid of Northerners and at first I didn't believe him but of course found out he was perfectly correct. I got all that I wanted and a brown paper bag to take it way in.
This reinforced my belief that there was indeed a North/South divide.
On another occasion I was hosting a good friend who was a senior man at Fortress House, the HQ of what was then English Heritage. (He had two secretaries!) His day out was to help me run the engine at Ellenroad and when he opened the steam valve and started it he went into transports of delight, his life's ambition fulfilled. I had to pull him up short and tell him that if he wanted to join the club he had to curb his enthusiasm. "We don't do enthusiastic, the highest praise is 'That's not bad'.... He got the point and still reminds me about it. We had a conversation about this and he asked me what I thought the origin was. I didn't know about the Roman connection then and said that I thought it was we had been disappointed so often that we only believe things when we see them and until that point we don't celebrate.
I think this might be getting diluted a bit now but you can still find people who have had a hard life and have developed the same attitude because they have found by experience that it's a good defence against the shocks of life. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Who knows, the storms that are coming might engender this attitude again and we will not be dinosaurs and forgotten corners.

[chinatyke]

Pessimist's comment: "Not bad."

Optimist's comment: "Very good."

Tyke's comment "It'll do, lad."

[Stanley]

You've got it China!



As an add on to John's article about Elslack Reservoir; I found this in the yard of Standrise House at the reservoir in 2005.



Newfield Edge House at the bottom of Folly Lane (Moorfield Lane now) in 1910.

Here's a piece written by Colin Imrie AUGUST 1998

It is true that William Bracewell took up residence in Newfield Edge in 1845 but he never owned the property, in spite of his ownership of the two mills and much of the land and properties in Barnoldswick. The house, barn and attached cottage had been built by the Mitchell family in 1770. In September 1837 an indenture refers to Mary Anne Bracewell, Anne Mitchell, John Bracewell and Thomas Lonsdale who in all probability were descendants of the original owner. In the same year Mary Anne Bracewell married a William Fawcett and the ownership of Newfield Edge passed into the Fawcett family. This family resided in the house until 1845 when it was rented by William Bracewell. Mr Bracewell was not directly related as far as it is known to the afore mentioned Bracewells, being the son of Mr. Christopher Bracewell, a manufacturer of Green end House Earby. There was a memorial tablet to the Fawcetts of Newfield Edge , seen by the writer in the former Baptist Chapel, Manchester Road Barnoldswick before it was demolished in 1977. William Bracewell enlarged the house at the back to accommodate the first bathroom in Barnoldswick. The original bath of cast iron with mahogany surround was so large there were two small steps to aid entry. It remained in place until removed by the writer in 1959. The addition with the bathroom upstairs and a new kitchen below can easily be identified. The small home farm of 20 acres was run by one man at one time named Moses Lea and his family who lived in the cottage. The resident maids lived in the attics and were able to reach the kitchen area by a narrow back stairs which had been installed into the original house. A coachman/gardener was also employed full time. Interestingly the upstairs w.c. in a small room attached to the bathroom had two pull chains, one for the w.c. and one for an external bell, which could be rung for the attendance of the outdoor staff. It was possible to make an embarrassing mistake!

William Bracewell was widowed and remarried and had two further daughters. The eldest died when she was aged eight to ten years of age. Her full length portrait remained on the landing until 1970 when the house was sold by the writer and his wife Dr Jean Imrie. The youngest daughter Ada Whitaker Bracewell married a Mr. Joseph Slater, a cotton manufacturer who owned Clough Mill. In June 1914 they purchased Newfield Edge from a Cecily Debora Fawcett with the provision that if a Mary Anne Fawcett presented herself she was to be paid the sum of £200.00. The provision was still included in a contract made between Mrs. Hilda Mary Greenwood wife of William Greenwood of Burley- in- Wharfedale the only child of Joseph and Ada Slater and Colin and Jean Imrie when they purchased the house, barn and cottage but not the land in October 1959. Mrs Ada Slater had died on the 8th May 1959 at the age of 94yrs having lived all her life at Newfield Edge. At the time of her death the staff apart from two nurses as she was latterly bedridden were Tracey the maid, Mrs Coppinger daily help and laundress and Mr. Bracewell no relation as gardener/chauffeur. The barn at the time was rented by a Mr. Joe Green who lived in Smith Street, the cottage being derelict. Prior to Mr Green, the farm had been worked first as an employee, and later in life as a tenant by a Mr Thomas Spencer Tomlinson. His Bradley grandsons still farm in Salterforth. The cottage was renovated by the writer in 1963. In 1966 the two fields behind Newfield Edge were sold by Dacre Son & Hartley on behalf of Mrs Greenwood at public auction on the 20th June. The two fields at the front were in the same year sold to an Ilkley builder a Mr Hudson, thereby ending the connection with the Bracewell family.
In 1970 the writer and his wife sold Newfield Edge House, and in 1972 moved into Elm tree House. Thornton-in-Craven. This house had also belonged to a well known Barnoldswick cotton manufacturing family of Widdups.

[Stanley]

Thornton in Craven in about 1900. If you look down the hill on the left hand side you'll see a large tree on the side of the road with a low stone wall surrounding the base. In modern times this was outside the Post Office. (That was in the days when a small village like Thornton could support its own post office!)
The tree was know locally as the 'Love Tree' and the local story was that this was because it used to be a meeting place for courting couples. I've always been curious about the name and found that some trees were venerated as being 'Trees of Life' and myth said that if you kissed a girl under such a tree you fell in love. I wonder whether there was an ancient folk memory in Thornton connected with Pagan Tree Worship.
When the tree became unsafe a few years ago it was felled and a new one planted in its place. At the time I was told that 'Love Tree' was a name for a Lime Tree but I have never been able to find any evidence for this.
I've always said that the folk memory can retain some very ancient beliefs and I think I'll go for the tree worship legend.

[Stanley]

If you look on the left hand side of the map where the Thornton Road crosses the canal you'll see Gill Rock Quarry. In the 18th century it was the main limestone quarry in Barlick but was overtaken by Rainhall Rock which was a smaller quarry until the Canal Company took a lease on it, connected it to their new canal and exploited it for many years. Though disused, Gill was still a quarry until after WW2 when BUDC took it over and filled it in with household waste as the successor to their tip at what was to become Victory Park. In turn it was superseded by Rainhall Rock. When the new road was put in from Coates to Gill Brow where it rejoined the Roman Road from Greenberfield to Thornton the new road works cut through the west side of it at the top of Gill Brow. All you can see now is a reclaimed green field which I think is part of Gill Hall Farm.
A forgotten corner now but this was a piece of land that served the town well for over 200 years!

[Stanley]

We tend to forget what a busy place Thornton in Craven was at one time. Remember that until later in the 19th century Earby and Kelbrook were accounted as part of the Parish of Thornton. Earby didn't even have a church until much later.
This is the 1853 survey and Thornton had a large and very busy limestone quarry connected directly to the railway by its own internal rail system which included a substantial tunnel. Booth Bridge mill was working, no longer a corn mill but a busy bobbin making works. The village had its own station, village institute and school and some very well-heeled residents. All this changed over the years as Earby and Barnoldswick grew and became relatively major textile towns and the focus of economic activity changed. Today it is a sleepy Craven village and we forget the scale of activity there.



Thornton railway station.



Thornton Rock quarry at the height of production.

[Stanley]

This is the 1894 survey of County Brook.
County Brook has always fascinated me because if you look at it before 1840 when the Leeds and Liverpool Canal built the new Whitemoor reservoir it was one of the best water power sites in the district. It had Midge Hole Mill opposite Mount Pleasant Chapel, the only Arkwright Water Frame mill in Barlick. It is just in the manor because County Brook (originally Black Brook) is the boundary. Further down the lane where Fold Beck meets Count brook was Wood End Mill, a pirate corn mill and of course at the bottom was the New Mill which we now know as County Brook Mill, originally a corn mill, then a place where wood was 'stewed' to make chemicals and charcoal and then, unusually, in the early 20th century it became a water powered textile mill in the age of steam mills.
What killed the development was the building of Whitemoor Reservoir because the canal company restricted the flow in County Brook to suit their needs for the canal. It was only the slackening in canal transport and the lowering of demand for water for the canal traffic that allowed the County Brook to have a continuous flow again and that was what triggered the late development of the New Mill.



County Brook Mill in 2004.

I can't help wondering what would have happened if the Canal Company hadn't interrupted the flow. Would the water resource have triggered development and resulted in a new village? We know that at one time County Brook Mill had a steam engine so coal transport to the site was no problem. The paradox is that the canal could have spawned a coal wharf and made coal even easier to obtain but of course it was the canal that had hindered development. Just imagine what the result would have been if there had been a coal wharf in time to allow Midge Hole and Wood End mills to convert to steam.
Of course it never happened and County Brook became what it is today, a sleepy backwater. But all the elements were there if only there had been the capital to exploit it. It was all a matter of timing!