Goodbye Vienna by Christine Wilshaw

Goodbye Vienna 2 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.

Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project – 2015 review

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

Kiln Site Entrance
Kiln Site Entrance

Kiln Site Overview - under the arrow
Kiln Site Overview – under the arrow

T3 detail - Kiln Lining
T3 detail – Kiln Lining

5000 SIGN ‘SAVE WYCOLLER’ PETITION IN FIRST WEEK

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”

Friends Christmas Party

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.

SAVE QUEEN STREET MILL AND HELMSHORE MILLS – 8,500 HAVE SIGNED PETITION SO FAR

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”

Celebrating Lancashire Day – Banner at Pendle Heritage Centre

Real LancashireTowns 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.

Full story HERE

Blackburn exhibition focuses on life during the First World War

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”

SAVE HYNDBURN AND ROSSENDALE LIBRARIES – SIGN PETITION

All 5 of Hyndburn’s libraries at Accrington, Oswaldtwistle, Rishton, Great Harwood and Clayton-le-Moors are under threat from Lancashire County Council cuts. The same is true regarding the 5 libraries serving Rossendale Borough – Rawtenstall, Crawshawbooth, Haslingden, Whitworth and Bacup. Click HERE to sign the petition against the closures.

As well as a terrible loss to all book-lovers, it will also mean the closing of local history sections and their collections (Accrington’s is excellent, ed.).

Continue reading “SAVE HYNDBURN AND ROSSENDALE LIBRARIES – SIGN PETITION”

Open Museum and Lancashire Tea event

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The Friends held a successful Open Museum Event on Saturday 21st November with the aim of raising awareness of this Pendle gem.

Frank Janet and Gillian guided over 40 visitors, some from as far away as London, round the museum and were available to answer their many questions.

With Lancashire Day approaching  (27th Nov) the Real Lancashire Society were there to promote the County Palatine whilst the Leeds and Liverpool Society, the Earby History Society and the Burnley and Pendle Branch of the Family History Society were on hand to  highlight  local groups, along with the Burnley and District Branch of the U3A. Continue reading “Open Museum and Lancashire Tea event”

Winter comes to Wycoller

We’ve had such a warm autumn that the recent cold weather has caught us by surprise. The snow stuck at Wycoller and gave the place a cold gloomy romantic feel that the Bronte sisters would have loved!

Wycoller hamlet and country park is Lancashire’s Bronte Country and is one of the places the Friends actively seek to conserve. It never fails to inspire.

 

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Old Barrowford Mill – Its Story Is Told

Friends of Barrowford Park, Pendle Heritage conservation group and the Council Parks Department all pooled their efforts to research, design and erect an information board in the park. It tells the interesting story of Old Barrowford Mill, fragments of which survive in the park. Next time you are in the park, go and have a look.

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