| Helmshore | |
  Helmshore shown within Lancashire |
|
| District | Rossendale |
|---|---|
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ROSSENDALE |
| Postcode district | BB4 |
| Dialling code | 01706 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Hyndburn, Rossendale and Darwen |
| List of places: UK • England • Lancashire | |
Helmshore is a village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government Rossendale is a local government district with Borough status Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one North West England is one of the nine official Regions of England. Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The, also known as the Blackburn postcode area, is a group of postal districts around Accrington, Barnoldswick, Blackburn, Burnley The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. Lancashire Constabulary is the Home Office police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in the North West England The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the Shire county of Lancashire The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust was formed on 1 July 2006 as part of Health Minister Lord Warner's plans to reduce the number of NHS North West England is a Constituency of the European Parliament. This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Hyndburn is a Constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a list of places within the ceremonial county boundaries of Lancashire, England. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. The Rossendale Valley is part of the Forest of Rossendale, an upland area of North West England, principally in Lancashire. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is situated south of Haslingden, broadly between the A56 and the B6235, approximately 16 miles north of Manchester. Haslingden is a small town in the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire, lying 19 miles (30 km north of Manchester.
Contents |
History
Early history
The area around Helmshore is moorland. Post-Ice Age this would have been forested and bog oak can still be found on the flat peatland tops over 250 metres high. An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets The forest declined in the Neolithic period, and largely disappeared during the Bronze Age, mainly as a result of climatic change although hastened by human activity. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for [1] There is some evidence of human habitation in the area during the Neolithic period - stone implements found on Bull Hill and at Musbury valley, and the stones at Thirteen Stone Hill near Grane, and there are a relatively complex network of both local and long distance old tracks crossing the area. Haslingden Grane is a glaciated valley lying to the west of Haslingden and in the north east of the West Pennine Moors.
The Park
The village is dominated by the spectacular flat-topped Musbury Tor, once the centre of the medieval hunting park, or Forest. Musbury Tor is a flat topped hill in Helmshore, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. Either side of the Tor are two valleys: Alden valley in the south-west and Musbury valley to the North-west. The Alden Valley is a small valley in the east Pennines, west of Helmshore in Rossendale, Lancashire. The 'whole land of Musbury' was granted to John de Lacy (before 1241) by Lewis de Bernavill. A licence for a 'free warren' was granted to the Earl of Lincoln in 1294. Work on fencing the Park was completed by 1304-5, with palings being erected. The park, with its 'herbage and agistments' was said to be worth 13s. 4d. in 1311. In 1329 and 1330 it is described as 'Queen Isabel's park of Musbury', and fines were being applied for trespass to, among others, the rector of Bury. Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, north-northwest of the city of Manchester, west-southwest of Stretches of the ditch enclosure can still be seen at Grane and Alden valleys, and deer are still occasionally seen in the area. Haslingden Grane is a glaciated valley lying to the west of Haslingden and in the north east of the West Pennine Moors. There are still several place names identifying the Park. [2]
The Pilgrims route
One of the main early tracks that passed through Helmshore was a route from the south (by the Pilgrim's Cross which was in existence in AD 1176) on Holcombe Moor, and then goes through Haslingden on its way to Whalley. For other meanings see Whalley. Whalley is a large village in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in [3]. This also connected with Watling Street at Affetside, and a well-established way from Bolton to Rossendale. Watling Street is the name given to an Ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Celts mainly between the modern Affetside is an upland village located in the West Pennine Moors area in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England In Anglo-Saxon times, Whalley church was an important Minster and the mother church of an enormous parish. Later, in the medieval period, several chapels-of-ease were attached to Whalley church for the 'ease' of the scattered population providing access to the Mass and the sacraments. After the move made by the Cistercian monks of Stanlow to Whalley at the end of the thirteenth century, traffic would have increased along this route. Stanlow Refinery is part of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England.
To the south on the old pilgrim road is Robin Hood's Well, and above that is a cairn and memorial stone in memory of Ellen Strange, generally believed to be a young girl murdered by her lover - an event recorded in a Victorian ballad by John Fawcett Skelton but now known to be a murder of a wife by a husband in 1791 that has become replaced by a colourful, but fictional, story. A ballad is a Poem usually set to Music; thus it often is a story told in a Song. These routes fell into disuse for anything other than foot traffic after the turnpike improvements of the nineteenth century. A toll road, (also known as a tollway, turnpike, pike, or toll highway, especially if it is constructed to Freeway standards
The Industrial Revolution
Helmshore owes its development to a damp climate that was ideally suited to the development of the wool, cotton and linen industries. Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Linen is a Textile made from the Fibers of the Flax plant Linum usitatissimum. During the early part of the Industrial Revolution, from the 1790's on, small mills were built on the river valleys, such as Alden valley where there are still ruins, close to the farming areas - indeed most mill-owners were also farmers. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the But by the latter half of the nineteenth century these mills became redundant and industry expanded enormously as mill owners such as the Turner family built terraced dwellings to house the workforce necessary to run their cotton mills close to the roads and railways. [4] During this period Helmshore gradually superseded Musbury as the main name for the community.
Helmshore became a mill workers’ settlement, comprising an extensive area of woollen and cotton mills and associated workers’ housing built along the valley of the River Ogden. The Turner family, whose tan pits and Hollin Bank mills were built as water-powered mills in the early nineteenth century, first established the settlement. The surviving mills later converted to cotton production. The area expanded with the opening of the railway in 1848, and includes the Station Hotel and St Thomas’s Church (1851/2). The housing is mixed, with some two-up, two-down terraces, top-and-bottom houses and a few surviving back-to-back cottages. [5]
Recent
There was a major railway accident in Helmshore in September 1860. There were eleven lives lost and around 100 people injured. The accident happened on the line between Snig Hole and the Ogden Viaduct, both local beauty spots, 400 yards from Helmshore Station. Snighole is a local beauty spot situated in the valley of the River Ogden in the Lancashire village of Helmshore, near Haslingden in the About 3,000 people had gone from East Lancashire on three excursion trains to Salford to visit the attractions at Belle Vue Gardens. Belle Vue Zoological Gardens was a large Zoo, Amusement park, exhibition hall complex and Speedway stadium located in Belle Vue, Gorton
The second train with about 1,000 passengers and 31 carriages got to Helmshore Station where it stopped to let out some passengers. "When the guard released the brakes there was a jerk and 16 carriages broke away from the train and started sliding down the line between Helmshore and Ramsbottom. Ramsbottom is a small town on the border of Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. Mr Shaw, the superintendent, saw what had happened and unhooked the engine from the train in order to go down the other line to warn the third train, but unfortunately he was too late. The carriages had already run 400 yards down the line and collided with the oncoming train. " [6]
On 25 September 1916 a 179m-long German military Zeppelin airship flew over Helmshore on a bombing mission. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A Zeppelin is a type of Rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century based on designs he had outlined It was probably following the railway, attempting to infict damage on the transport system. One bomb dropped near Clod Lane, Haslingden, where there was a gun cotton factory. Ewood Bridge station was destroyed by bombs and, after passing over Helmshore, the Zeppelin flew on to Holcombe where it did further damage. [7]
The railway that ran through Helmshore was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching rationalisation plan, but relics of the old railway routes remain in and around the village. The Beeching Axe is an informal name for the British Government 's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system The Ravenshore viaduct has been vandalised but remains a considerable monument to the railway heritage. The Helmshore viaduct, close to the textile museum, is now a popular footpath. The railway preservation society that was founded to fight the Beeching cuts became the East Lancashire Railway, which now operates the Rawtenstall to Bury line. This article is about the present East Lancashire Railway for the previous incarnation see East Lancashire Railway 1844-1859 Overview Rawtenstall (pronounced "Rottenstall" ˈrɒtənˌstɔːl or ˈrɒʔnˌstɔːl is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, north-northwest of the city of Manchester, west-southwest of
One of the world’s first municipal bus services linked Helmshore to Haslingden in 1907.
Helmshore has had a second major expansion since the 1970s with the building of a large number of new estates, and infill, often for commuters to Manchester. However parts of the village—and the surrounding countryside—remain very attractive.
Textile mills
Originally Higher Mill, Helmshore Mills Textile Museum is a water-powered fulling mill and a 19th century condenser cotton spinning mill, with working machinery. Built by the Turners in 1789, it now details the changes made in textile technology over the last three hundred years through the use of interactive displays. Mill ponds, weirs, sluice gates and an aqueduct are also part of the museum as well as a 19th century working waterwheel, fulling stocks and other machinery associated with the finishing of woollen cloth, an original Arkwright water frame, and a Hargreaves Spinning Jenny. Sir Richard Arkwright ( Old Style 23 December 1732 / New Style 3 January 1733 – 3 August The water frame is the name given to the Spinning frame, when water power was used to drive it James Hargreaves (also known as James Hargraves) (1720 – 22 April 1778) was a weaver, Carpenter and an Inventor in Lancashire The spinning jenny is a multi- Spool Spinning wheel. It was invented circa 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, near Blackburn
In 1856 Joseph Porritt established Sunnybank Mill, an enormous mill which once housed the world's largest spinning mules. The other main Helmshore mill dynasty were the Whittakers, one of whose mills makes up part of the Textile Museum.
The Tor Mile Race
Every year, an athletics race takes place in Helmshore - The Musbury Tor Mile. The race is thought to have started in the early years of the last century, and may have an even older ancestry. Originally the runners ran to, and around, Big Nor, a large stone at the tip of Musbury Tor, and back, but it was stopped after the farmer withdrew permission to use his land. The route was altered to make all parties happy, and it now actually measures nearer two miles than one - a mile up and a mile back down. Since 2004 the race has been taking place again and is part of the fell running tradition of the area.
References
- ^ Oliver Rackham: The History of the Countryside; Phoenix Press 1986: ISBN-13 978-1-8421-2440-6
- ^ A History of the County of Lancashire: Vol. 5; Farrer & Brownbill; 1911; Victoria County History.
- ^ Haigh, Christopher, (1975); Reformation and Resistance in Tudor Lancashire, p. 168, Cambridge University Press
- ^ Lancashire - The First Industrial Society; Chris Aspin; Carnegie 1995; ISBN 1-85936-016-5
- ^ http://www.lancscc.gov.uk/environment/archaeologyandheritage/historictowns/HaslingdenComplete_LowRes.pdf
- ^ Lancs. Family History and Heraldry Gazette, Burnley and Pendle. Vol. 23 July 2006.
- ^ World War One - News - Rossendale Free Press
Further reading
- Aspen, Chris, Derek Pilkington, and John Simpson. Helmshore. Helmshore: Helmshore Local History Society, 2000. ISBN 0906881072
- Baker, Sydney J. History of Methodism in Helmshore: A Souvenir of the Jubilee. [England: s. n, 1923. ]
- Simpson, John "Musbury and Alden, 700 years of life and landscape". Helmshore Local History Society 2008; ISBN 978-0-906881-19-4
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic