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Richard Matthews lecture on Dunkirk Pit, Read near Padiham, Lancashire.

A total of 33 people turned out on a cold November evening to listen to Richard Matthews describe five years of hard physical work and painstaking research to uncover the secrets of a lost coal mine in Read near Altham.  Richard together with his colleague Brian Jeffreys have uncovered a host of fascinating artefacts, reconstructed the wheel pit and surrounding areas including sections of the old tramways and then pieced together the story of the mine in the 18th century.  Comments like ‘That was the most interesting hour and a half I’ve spent in a long time’ and ‘What an achievement’ were heard afterwards from across the room.  Roger Grimshaw proposed a vote of thanks for such an excellent talk.
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Pendle Murders

Pendle Heritage CentreOur October talk looked at the darker side of life in Pendle. “Pendle Murders” was the title of an entertaining talk presented by Fiona McIntyre. What a place Pendle as been! Many murders caused by unhappy marriages and heavy drinking (did one cause the other? I ask). Fiona managed to add a little humour to this grim subject. The last murder mentioned was back in the 1930s.  Fiona could talk of more recent murders but due to the fact that relatives of both the victims and the murderers might turn up for the talk, the 1930’s was the cut-off point.  Anne Eves gave the vote of thanks for a well presented talk….FW

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Autumn Vignettes – Brookside Printworks, Oswaldtwistle

Brookside Printworks was one of the very first textile printing factories in Britain, set up by the Peels of Oswaldtwistle in the mid 1700s.  They were a notable family of early industrialists which subsequently produced Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850), Prime Minister of the 1830s-40s and the creator of the Police Force, named after him as ‘Peelers’.

Just up the slope in the hamlet of Stanhill lived another great man, James Hargreaves (1720–1778)  the inventer of the ‘Spinning Jenny’, a machine that revolutionised textile production.

DSCN5214Today the stone printing works have long gone and their attractive reservoirs are now surrounded by new woodland planting.  All is turned turned over to nature where fragments of history can be stumbled upon amongst the trees and plants.  Yesterday, in a sunny breeze, everything glowed in the colours of Autumn.

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Autumn trip to Anglesey and North Wales

Twenty members boarded the coach bound for South Stack near Holyhead to view the ancient hut circles in warm sunshine (yes, this was October!). After a picnic lunch and many favourable comments on how the site is being maintained and interpreted, we retraced our steps for a guided tour of Telford’s masterpiece – The Menai Bridge.

After viewing a video on the subject we were lead by Bob Daimond (retired Gwynedd County Engineer) over, under and round the bridge to learn many fascinating facts and see how the bridge chains are secured in the mother rock.

We made a quick diversion to Beaumaris prior to booking in at our hotel in Llandudno, for an enjoyable dinner, games and a hilarious poem by one of our number.

Sunday, after a stroll down the prom and the pier we boarded the Victorian tram for what felt like a near vertical ride up the Gt. Orme. Eight of us visited the fascinating Bronze Age copper mines whilst the remainder continued to the summit to enjoy the sun and explore the area before joining the coach for Conway.

With four hours in the town – the castle, town walls, 15th century Aberconwy House, Plas Mawr Town House and the opportunity to compare the original designs of both road and rail bridges to those seen the day before ensured there was something for everybody.

We arrived back at Barrowford early on Sunday evening with our heads full of memories and a couple new friends as well.

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Archaeology Christmas party

The Archaeology Group held its Christmas party in the barn function suite at Park Hill on the evening of Saturday 14th December.  A quiz started the evening.  After indulging in a buffet of quiche, cold meats, salads, trifle, mince pies and a slice of Gillian’s excellent Christmas cake, we were expected to take part in energetic games organised by Michael and Georgina.  Having played musical chairs and chased the pig (a balloon) and burst several balloons while dancing (don’t ask) we were then given less strenuous but more skilful games to play such as boules using potatoes.  The evening drew to a close with the singing of traditional carols.

Image from Archaeosoup

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Pendle Heritage Centre – Park Hill

Visit the Heritage Centre to enjoy Pendle Hill and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Pendle Art Gallery at the centre has jewellery, silk scarves, ceramics and prints by local artists and the Parlour Shop is a great place to find that perfect gift, book or greeting card.