Time we had a look at Salterforth and before we go any further, I have no idea why or how it got the by-name Sodom. I don't know how common this usage is today but it was certainly common from the 50s onward when I was talking to the older end. If anyone knows where it came from I'd be glad to hear from you! As for the origins of the name Salterforth, there is general agreement amongst my advisers that it derives from 'Salter's Ford', that is, the place where the pack horses of the salters crossed the local beck.
Most of us know that salt is essential in our diet and it is so cheap and easily available nowadays that we tend to forget that this wasn't always the case. In theory it is possible to survive on a diet without added salt because a certain amount is in the natural foods but for over 3,000 years there has been a trade in salt for use not only in seasoning food but preserving it as well. The Romans were addicted to Garum, a sauce made by packing fish in layers of salt and leaving it until it liquefied. Before you reject this out of hand have a look at the list of ingredients in Worcestershire Sauce, you'll find it contains Anchovies. That's right, Lea and Perrin's is a direct descendant of the Roman Garum. All kinds of meat were salted to preserve them, the most common today is salted pork or bacon. In early days, this demand for salt was met by the 'salters' who traded in salt from the natural brine wells of Cheshire and Droitwich in our case because they were the nearest sources. Incidentally, whenever you see a place name ending in 'wich' you can be sure it was a source of salt. There is much I do not know connected with the pack-horse routes in this area but from the evidence we can be pretty sure that one was coming from the south, probably via the East side of the Weets and down Moor Lane, what we now call Salterforth Lane.
One consequence of being on a trade route was that, from the earliest times, news travelled with the traders. A small village like Salterforth would get news from far and wide much more quickly than we may have thought. As early as the mid 14th century broadsheets, an early type of newspaper, were being printed using carved wooden blocks and by the end of the century Gutenberg's moveable type technology meant that the printed word was common. The packhorse traders were the main avenue of distribution for the new media so we can assume that from this time the villagers were not living in a time-warp. They would be fairly up to date with current thinking. Remember also that whilst not many people would be able to write, almost all could read because this was essential for using the new English Bibles. For too many years we have assumed that until the 17th and 18th century most people were illiterate but modern research has changed all this, standards of literacy were surprisingly high.
So, we haven't really got going yet but we are building a picture of Salterforth as a small hamlet concerning itself mainly with farming but quite well connected with the wider world and in touch with the latest news and trends, particularly in matters of religion. As for why the village grew where it is, we have to remember that before the Kelbrook New Road was built in the early 20th century, Cross Lane from Coates met the Earby Road and the Colne Road via High Lane and so it was an important cross roads. We shall see later that the village also benefited from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal when it was opened in the years before 1816. Traffic means the opportunity for trade and the villagers weren't slow to take advantage.
There are very few resources prior to 1700 and all I can say is that Salterforth, like Earby at that time came under the Manor of Barnoldswick. In 1848 Edwin Chadwick reported to Parliament on Public Health and the result was the establishment of local Boards of Health which took powers to regulate and soon developed into what we now know as Local Government. Salterforth came under the Skipton Board which soon developed into the Skipton Rural District Council. Larger villagers like Earby and Barlick took advantage of the late 19th century opportunities to form their own Local Boards which soon developed and became Urban District Councils but as late as 1930 there is a report in the Craven Herald that Salterforth Parish Council decided to reject offers of amalgamation from the Earby and Barnoldswick Urban District Councils. The Skipton Rural District Council had assured the Parish of continuing support and the villagers could see no advantage in any change. Having said all that, Salterforth was subject to the Barlick court at one time because I have this snippet. “In the Barnoldswick Manorial Court we find the following entry: ‘17th April 1733. Every person using the way from Salterforth Town Stoops to Barnoldswick Coates with cart or carriage or any other loads (not having the right to be there) in the mercy of the Lords [fined] 4/-'. This must be the old road from the boundary at Salterforth to Coates. This was not a public road as part of it at Rainhall was later designated a private road. From this judgement we also know that it was not considered of sufficient standard for wheeled vehicles. This is the first direct evidence I know for the existence of wheeled vehicle traffic in Barnoldswick and is proof of the pressure that was growing for adequate roads for such vehicles. The owners of this way were trying to reduce the wear on it by excluding wheeled traffic and hence the expense to them of repairing it. I'm not too sure of how this would work, it evidently allows foot traffic and horses but not wheeled vehicles. Perhaps wheeled vehicles were not as common as we might have thought, after all, this was a main route. The alternative would be the hard pull up Moor Lane to Higher Lane and down into Barlick that way. Much more to come.....
SCG/09/06/12
Salterforth Bridge in about 1900 with the Co-op in the background.