Inside Lancashire Published by Inside Lancashire LTD PO Box 251 Accrington BB5 9DX
Published in 2011
This book is free to distribute, but all text and images are copywrited and should not be reproduced, distributed or sold without the express wishes of Inside Lancashire Ltd
For more local guides visit:
www.insidelancashire.co.uk Home of Inside Lancashire Magazine, the country’s newest magazine based on everything good about one of the greatest counties on earth!
While Inside Lancashire LTD makes every effort to ensure that the information contained in its publications is correct, some details may change and therefore readers should always confirm details such as opening times before making their visit.
View overlooking Gt Harwood and surrounding areas. (Opposite Pine Forrest)
Interesting facts about Great Harwood... This guide aims to show you a brief glimpse of the history of Great Harwood, a small town situated in East Lancashire. . As I drove around taking photos, I remembered the town from my own childhood forty years ago. Sadly, much has changed. However, I still believe it remains one of the most beautiful parts of the country and many of the old buildings that have stood the test of time are well worth a visit as many of them are over 100 years old. The history of the Town dates back to two knights who fought in the 1066 Battle of Hastings for William the Conqueror. Despite their bravery, they were not individually named as having participated in the Battle. However, they went on to become the founders of two separate families by the name of de Lacy. At that time, English nobles were dispossessed of their lands and titles and the de Lacy family shared in the spoils. This included control of the whole district of Blackburnshire in Lancashire. In 1085, Great Harwood was part of South Lancashire. The Rivers Calder and Hyndburn were boundaries and near these, the first
farms and smallholdings were built. Over time, more houses were built as settlers came in clusters at Hindle Fold, Cliffe, Butts, Lidgett and Whalley Banks. Great Harwood was bequeathed to Richard De Fitton in 1177 by Henry De Lacey and eventually, through marriage became the property of the Hesketh and Nowell Families. Heskeths owned 2/3rd of the town and the Nowells owned the rest. Great Harwood remained in the hands of these two families for nearly 500 years. Various births, marriages, deaths and wars kept Great Harwood in the hands of 'Lords of the Manor' for a further 400 years. The family names of Hesketh, Nowell and Lomax are of major significance to the development of Great Harwood for a total of 900 years until the final auction selling most plots of land in 1926. This e-book of information and photos give you an insight, spanning almost 1000 years, to some of the major events in Great Harwood and the families who inspired the changes that made this little town Great.
The Hesketh Family When William de Fitton died in 1289 he divided his lands between his three daughters, Matilda, Elizabeth and Annabel. Annabel & Husband Edmund de Legh sold their share to Matilda and William de Hesketh, who already owned neighbouring land, resulting in owning two-thirds of Great Harwood making the Hesketh family of superior rank to the Nowell family. This did not go down very well as the Nowell family ‘pedigree’ dated back to Henry 1st. In 1335, there were disputes over land between the Heskeths and the Nowells and matters had to be solved legally. From 1348 to 1350 the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) arrived in Europe, originating from China. It was thought for people to escape the horrors of this death, people fled out of large cities and set up new homes in the country. It was estimated between 25 and 50% of Europes population fell victim to this pestilence. There is no evidence it was every in Great Harwood but farmers in wanted more freedom to farm the land. Great Harwood Lords began to lease it to them. Gt Harwood people survived through farming and weaving and it remained a small village for around 200 years. In 1521, Thomas Hesketh founded a chantry in the Church then named St Lawrences. An ancient piece of glass bearing his initials and coat of arms can still be seen in this church now called St Bartholemews. In 1558 Thomas lived with his family at Martholme. Thomas Hesketh’s Eldest son, also Thomas (1519 - 1588), was knighted on 2nd October 1553 at the coronation of Mary Tudor. He was a supporter of Queen Mary, a Roman Catholic, but was able to retain the confidence of her sister the Protestant Queen Elizabeth when she came to power in 1558 and served her with distinction at
St Bartholemews (Old Photo)
after they married another son Cuthbert. Robert was loyal to the Monarchy being one of 79 gentlemen who signed a "loyal bond of allegiance to James I on his accession to the throne". He sat as an MP for Lancashire in 1597 and was High Sheriff of the County 1599-1600. In 1819 Upper town came up for sale owned by Sir Thomas Hesketh and was bought by Richard Grimshaw Lomax for £75,000. (See Lomax Family) the Siege of Leith in Scotland. Sir Thomas and his family lived at Martholme with his sons, Thomas and Richard. He died in 1588 and was succeeded by his eldest son Robert (d.1620).
Richard and his wife Catherine had 12 children, 10 boys and 2 girls. All the boys were educated at Stoneyhurst College in Clitheroe. (Please see our FREE Clitheroe Guide) and three became priests. Richard died in 1837.
Robert married three times, first to Mary and had five sons; secondly to Blanche Twyford; thirdly to Jane Spencer, daughter of one of his tenants. Jane had been previously married and had three children, but all are recorded as having Robert Hesketh as their father.
John Lomax, fourth son, succeeded to the estate. When John died he had no children so the estate went to James. James became Lord of the Manor and lived in Great Harwood for many years throughout the major development of the town.
Robert and Jane also had an illegitimate son, Robert, and then
St Lawrence Church (1335) re-named St Bartholemews by Thomas Hesketh (1521)
St Bartholemews (BACK)
The Nowell Family The Nowell family pedigree goes back to the time of Henry I when Adam Nowell married the heiress of Stephen de Mearley so bringing the estate of Great Mearley into his family. His son Roger married Elizabeth co-heiress of William de Fitton. When William died in 1289 he divided his lands between his three daughters, Matilda, Elizabeth and Annabel. Elizabeth and her husband Roger Nowell were given the Netherton (Lower Town) of Great Harwood and they were for a time joint Lords of the Manor with the Heskeths and the de Leghs. When the de Leghs sold their share of Great Harwood to the Heskeths, the Nowells became subservient and had to pay homage and pledge Knight's Service for their share of the estate to the Heskeths. FIRST MARKET AND FAIR Adam Nowell, the son of Elizabeth and Roger, fought in wars against Scotland and in 1338 and was rewarded by King Edward III with a Charter allowing him to hold a market every Thursday and an annual Fair on St. Lawrence's Day in August. Despite this early advantage, making the Lower Town the centre of commercial activity, Nowells still had to pay homage to the Heskeths as chief Lords of the Manor. The earliest surviving record of the Homage Ceremony is from Easter 1390 when John Nowell pledged his loyalty to Thomas Hesketh for the lands he held in "Harewode". Roger Nowell built Read Hall. He had three half brothers, Alexander, Lawrence and Robert. Before Roger died in 1567 he made an agreement with his two sons Roger and Thomas so that the former would succeed to the whole estate.
Another Roger (1582 - 1623) was responsible for bringing the Pendle Witches to trial.
cover his debts. The entire Lower Town was put up for sale at the Black Bull, Blackburn.
His grandson, Roger (1605 - 1695), was the next to inherit the estate. This Roger was active during the Civil War, raising an army at his own expense and defending Latham house for the King.
Neither this sale nor one in 1771 at the Swan, Whalley were great successes. When Alexander died a year later in 1772, his holdings in Great Harwood were put up for sale at the Queens Head.
Roger built Great Harwood's first school in Delph Road. Roger's son Alexander died before him so he was succeeded by his grandson yet another Roger who died in 1725. The name Roger Nowell was kept in the family for over 500 years and with so many Rover Nowells it’s hard to keep track.
Mr. James Lomax of Clayton-leMoors bought all the land to add to his acquisitions at the previous sales and Sir Thomas Hesketh bought the rights to the market and Fair.
In 1770 some farms had to be sold to pacify creditors but not enough money was raised and Alexander so he instructed his Trustees to sell as much land as was necessary to
Charlotte returned to London with her daughter Elizabeth Eleanor who died aged twelve bringing an end to this branch of the Nowell family.
The Lomax Family Richard Lomax (born 1688) was the heir of James Lomax of Pilsworth, South East Lancashire. In 1715 he married Rebecca Heywood ( granddaughter of John and Jennet Grimshaw) Eldest son James Lomax born 1717 was given Clayton estate in 1753. James did well. When the Nowells were forced to sell the Lower Town 1770 he was the chief buyer. James converted to the Roman Catholic Church. Rumour has it he was offered Brandy with the Petre’s Chaplain which led him to find out the religion of the country who produced it and ultimately he was converted.. James' eldest son Richard Grimshaw Lomax married Catherine Greaves. Richard leased more land from Sir Thomas Hesketh purchased any property for sale including upper Town when it came up for sale and became Lord of the Manor. Catherine had ten sons and two daughters. The sons who survived were educated at nearby, Jesuit, Stonyhurst College and three of them became priests. John, (4th son) inherited the estate and married Helen, Aspinall. They had no children. He died in 1849
and was succeeded by his brother James. James Lomax (1803) who married Frances, was given land in Great Harwood by his father where he built his home, Allsprings, in 1838. James continued to purchase any land for sale and eventually owned all but a few acres of Gt Harwood. It was during his lifetime that the village grew from 1,695 to 9,000. As the town grew, so did religious organisations. Roman Catholics met in a range of places until James decided to build Our Lady and St. Hubert's Church and School. The church was officially opened 5th November 1859 and the land and deeds were handed over to the Church debt FREE. James died in 1886 and was buried in the church he built. They had no children. The only one left from the large family of Richard Grimshaw Lomax was the youngest son Thomas and his daughter Helen and grand-daughter Helen Mary who jointly succeeded to the estate. Helen married her cousin Thomas Trappes. who died in 1891. After his death, Helen took the additional name of Lomax. Helen TrappesLomax, wife of Thomas, died 15th June 1924. She was succeeded by her eldest surviving son Richard and wife Alice who had 8 sons.
One year later, in 1925 the Lomax family sold,, by public auction lasting 3 days,, almost everything in Clayton and Great Harwood. This was the end of a way of life which had been bound up with the Lords of the Manor for almost 900 years.
Photos Top: Mr James Lomax Bottom (left) Lomax Arms, (Middle) Allsprings Front View (Right) Allsprings view from garden
Our Lady and St. Hubert's Church
Churchfield House
Church Street, Great Harwood, BB6 7RE CAPACITIES & USES : 40 seat Theatre Style , 30 seat Cafe Style 15 seat Boardroom . Telephone 01254 380295
Built in 1851 by Mr. Henry Ainsworth (Surgeon). on land called Churchfield owned by James Lomax Spirit merchant Joseph Haydock made it his family home six years later in 1857. His son Milton and his wife lived there until their deaths. The couple were popular with the locals and Mrs Haydock was a fashionable person looked on as an attractive sight - seen here in the right. The childless couple requested that Churchfield house should become a free library and that the gardens should provide pleasure for the people of Great Harwood. The income from the residue of the estate was to be used to pay for outgoings in respect of Churchfield House.
When Mrs. Haydock died in 1936, a temporary library had been built on Water Street. Following an assessment of the house, some of the 2000 books were only suitable for a big reference library. It proved impractical to convert the house into a library so to comply with the terms of the will, Churchfield House was used as a reference library and a room was set aside for people to read the daily papers which were provided. The room is still available today for visitors. The house is used by many local groups for meetings, seminars, classes and social functions.
Mr. & Mrs Haydock, Churchfield House
Great Harwood War Memorial Since the first World war, the people of Great Harwood have wanted to remember the brave people who fought for the freedom of King, Queen and Country. A memorial was erected in 1926 on land already reserved for the people of Great Harwood. The Unveiling Ceremony on Tuesday 2nd October 1926. Major General Sir Neil Malcolm, K.C.B., D.S.O. The long list of names show that many families must have suffered tragic losses of their husbands, brothers, sons and fathers. Each war since has quite rightly been honoured with additional carvings on this commemorative statue and includes first and second world wars (1914-1918) & (1939 - 1945) Malaya (1948 - 1960), Korea (1950 - 1953) and the Falklands Campaign (1982).
JOHN MERCER
Nightingale.
(21 February 1791 – 30 November 1866)
John Mercer died at home in 1866 and buried in St Bartholemew's church. Other members of his family are buried in the Catholic Church at the bottom of St. Hubert's Road.
John Mercer was born February 1791, the second son of poor parents. Having never gone to school, he was taught to read and write by his neighbour. John was very interested in colours and dying and with the help of chemistry books he quickly picked up skills that sent him on his way to making some of the most significant discoveries in the cotton dying Industries and making him one of Great Harwoods most famous people.. Aged 23 he married Mary Wolstenholme and together had six children. His interest and skills led him to employment with Richard Ford, Calico Printer and John eventually became a partner in the business. One of his first discoveries was to create an ‘orange’ colour of dye for cotton. He went on to sell his invention to other countries. At the age of 53, he developed a process using sodium hydroxide which made cotton swell and become stronger. This made it easier to dye and made it softer to touch. He protected his invention with a patent in 1850 and is believed to have turned down £40,000 from France for the patent. The process 'mercerisation' taken after his name, is still used today in many manufacturing processes. Mercerised cotton yarns are used in shirts, sewing threads, socks and knitwear and are generally associated with a quality product. John Mercer was admitted to the Royal Society in 1852 and the Literary and Philosophical Society in 1860. His wife died in 1859 aged 68. Aged 70, the town Census records him as being a Chemist, living with his son John and 12 others at 29 Burlington Hotel. Rumour has it his neighbour was Florence
MERCER HALL When Maria Mercer, the last surviving child of John Mercer, died in 1913 aged 93, her estate was valued at approx £140,000. One of the many charities that benefited was Great Harwood with a £5000 donation to be used at the discretion of her trustees. The Council decided to built a community Hall at the junction of Water Street and Queen Street and it would be known as Mercer Hall. The estimate was £8,000 and it seems time has not changed in this aspect of our life as the final cost came to £25,000. The Opening Ceremony took place on 21 October 1921. The building was used for many local events but its
popularity dwindled and the upkeep meant heavy losses. The townsfolk had long wished for swimming baths and plans were drawn up to convert it to a swimming pool. Work commenced and on 22nd April 1967, almost 50 years after it was first built, the baths were completed. For nearly another 50 years, local schools teach our young people how to swim. In 2011, the baths are still in use but with the recent cutbacks, who knows.
TOWN CLOCK Thirty years after his discovery, the process nearly died out until a historical manual published in 1902 revived the process. The decision to build a clock tower in Mercers memory was taken by the Urban District Council and Dr. Cran was mainly responsible for carrying it out. The stone was taken from the best beds in Howley Park Quarry. The official opening ceremony took place0th June 1903 and was unveiled by the Mayor of Accrington, Alderman Thomas Broughton. The clock was made by Messrs. William Potts & Sons of Leeds, makers of the most important clocks in the country. The clock making business which ran for five generations was purchased by John Smith & Son Ltd and still operates today http://www.pottsclocks.co.uk
Then and Now
Baileys, Queen Street, Gt Harwood
Delph Road, Gt Harwood
The Plough Inn, Gt Harwood
Dog & Otter Inn, Gt Harwood
Then and Now
Blackburn Road, Gt Harwood
Cliffe Lane, Gt Harwood
Railway Terrace, Gt Harwood
Edge End, Gt Harwood
The Co-Operative Society Great Harwood had a Cooperative shop presence for almost 150 years until 2010 when it sold to a rival supermarket chain, Morrisons One of the first shops to be built in Great Harwood is still in existence on the corner of Orchard Street and Meadow Street. . The shop has been used for many things over the last century and is now a nursery. It would not have been unusual to see a co-operative shop on most street corners and as the town grew, a large centrally located co-operative was built in 1908 most likely, in part by the wealthy landowners. As the building is still standing, you can clearly see the family crest and initials of the Heskeths as well as the completion date of 1908. It was sold on when a new purpose built single floor building was completed opposite. The original stone built construction is home to several families who rent luxury modern flats on the first floor and businesses on the ground floor including a Bar, Restaurant and Hair Salon. The Co-operative moved on to a new construction developed on the old Library site which was demolished to make way. A new library was constructed close by next to Mercer Hall on Queen Street.
Co-Op building on the corner of Orchard Street and Meadow Street (1899)
Westbys (1858) Entering Clayton Street from St Huberts Road, on the left (opposite the Merry England Pub) is a small side street where Westbys Engineering Works was built in 1858 most likely using Accrington Nori Brick. The workshop made Healds and Reeds for the many weavers in Great Harwood. . The heald is part of the loom used to move the threads up and down. The threads pass through eyelets on the heald. For a plain weave, alternate eyelets are moved up to raise half the threads and the other half are moved down. When the shuttle travels back their positions are reversed.
The reed is like a comb and controls the separation of the threads. The reeds have a short life. A shuttle was thrown between the up and down threads two or three times a second which made a lot of noise.
Westbys from the back
In the late 50s, the engineering firm closed down but is still used today.. For many years it was a shoe manufacturers owned by Ashworth and Young - known to residents as ‘the slipper factory’. The expert footwear manufacturing industry in the North West of England was well renowned for quality shoes but in the 1980s, fierce competition from ‘foreign’ imports saw the business close in 1988. The building was taken over by ‘The Bedding box’ who previously ran their business from a small garage on Queen Street and made bedding, curtains and towels.
The business thrived for several years and sold products from the factory showroom. They also sold their product in the Co-operative building on Lomax Street.
The original brick-built Engineering company, built by Westbys over 150 years ago is now home to several smaller businesses including a printers.
Public Houses in Great Harwood Over 100 years old The Cross Axes pub on Church Street was the first venue in Great Harwood to sell raw meat. Over time, public houses have even been used for many things including to worship in. The Dog & Otter is just ‘down the road’ from the TrappsLomax family home and was built in 1805 They have stood the test of time for over
100 years including wars, recessions, religious and cultural changes. However, Summer 2007 saw the introduction of the smoking ban in pubic houses to protect bar staff. It was reported in 2009 there was a 12% reduction in smoking related illnesses by
those working in the bar industries but is this because these people don’t have a job any more? It matters not, the end of an era is clearly in sight. Let’s hope the buildings are not demolished and they find another use is found for them instead.