Our Christmas event was very well attended and people were pleased to welcome local actress Joanne Halliwell in the guise of Betsy the Scullery maid with her quick wit and big gob. Betsy is a simple soul, perhaps one bauble short of a Christmas tree and Joanne carried it off superbly. There were double entendre
The weather did not seem to deter the Christmas Spirit at our party in the barn, almost all of those who intended to arrive did so despite heavy snow earlier. The smell of warm garlic bread met our noses and wetted our appetites and after an excellent buffet we were in fine fettle for energetic
This was not a dry and dusty millers tale as might be expected from the title, Brian enlightened the audience as to some of the causes of recent flooding in Whalley and surrounding areas and the history of the local corn mills. A member of the wealthy and local De Lacey family, Petrus de Cestria
It was heads down and pencils at the ready at our November Quiz night. First prize winners were The Niplags or Galpins – a team of three, followed by the Smarties in second place. This was followed by a warming potato pie supper. Many thanks to our Quiz Masters John and Ann Dodd for an
A goodly group of people were gathered for our first afternoon session of the Autumn Season and Denise North enabled us to unpick some of our preconceived ideas about the links between Benedictine and Burnley. Whilst DOM on the label of a bottle of Benedictine stands for “Deo Optimo Maximo” (“To God, most good, most
What a rich tapestry of history we imbibed at Hoghton Tower on Tuesday 26th September. This fortified early 12th Century and later Tudor Elizabethan Manor House, the home of the de Hoghtons has entertained many illustrious visitors. You may know that James 1st knighted a loin of beef there but did you know he rode
We had a very interesting evening at the start of our 2017/18 season when Peter Marsden demonstrated his skills as an archeologist and historian (and author and speaker) to delve into his own family history and the links to his Viking heritage. He revealed some very interesting details and links between his family of Marsdens
“Fourteen members set off by coach on 20 September to travel to Sheffield, via the peak District. It was a very pleasant, warm, sunny day, all day, so we were lucky with the weather. We stopped off at the lovely village of Hathersage in the Peak District for a coffee break and short walk around,
If you looked through any window of the Barn at the Garden Event on August 6th – yeah What did you see? People moving round the highways and the byways of the 18th Century Walled Garden Where did they go? For Strawberry Teas and to visit Harry with his bees Sandra and her flowers, Pat
A small but very select group visited the St Helens’ Chapel dig at Malham. This visit was in lieu of a reciprocal visit by Ingleton Archeology Group. Dr David Johnson, dig leader, outlined the main finds so far. The nave pit exposed a north west buttress which was probably a later addition to the chapel.
A group of friends enjoyed a guided tour of the Parish Church of St Wilfred and the village of Ribchester. Alan and Colin ably conducted us around St Wilfreds Church, currently undergoing roof repairs and whilst we were appreciating the beauty of the church entertained us with scurrilous stories of various individuals. We then viewed
To view progress on the full 18 days of the June dig, please click here.
A small group – The Secret Six – set off for Widdop Reservoir with lashings of ginger beer and buns for an adventure seeking pre historic and other material on the shores of the reservoir. There was evidence of habitation and activity from various ages including Mesolithic times and from when the settlements
When a speaker arrives with a large suitcase one has to wonder what is going to happen! Does he intend to stay over to save driving home after a very long talk? Maybe he has a ventriloquists dummy? Has he been thrown out by his other half? Fortunately it was none of those things! Peter
Main photo courtesy of Andy Barratt Our two night/three day residential trip to York was off to a flying start when we visited Ripley Castle, a 14th Century country house. At all the places we visited we were given a warm welcome and imbibed the history of ‘everything’ from knowledgeable and well informed guides. On
Today’s field walk explored the valley that connects Barley and the Ogden Valley with Thorney Holme, Roughlee, and the main Hidden Valley. Starting at Barley we walked up Hay’s Lane and followed that to Thorney Holme. Running down the south side of the valley, this rather rough public highway affords famous views of Pendle (above)
Alex Whitlock, leader of our archaeology group and expert on lithics (stone tools) gave an informative and entertaining talk as he brought us up to date on the work the group have been undertaking on Pendle Hill. Evidence of habitation by mesolithic people (10,000 to 5000BC) to the modern day have been found represented by
Edgar is the third of four generations in a local family of plumbers merchants. He began his talk surprisingly, with the first ancient bath in Knossos three and a half thousand years ago. He then amazed our small audience with a large variety of interesting facts, for instance: Did you know? The expression “the wrong
If you weren’t at Pendle Heritage Centre two weeks ago last Friday then you missed an old naked man and an old naked lady! Now don’t get excited…. they were part of a slide presentation by Jo Midgeley as he delved back into history to present us with a trip down memory lane. Among a
Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project – 18th February 2017 – Portfield Alex Whitlock This month’s fieldwalk was centred on the key feature of the western end of the Sabden Valley – Portfield. The site is private property and not open to the public so we are most thankful to the owners for their kind permission to visit. Portfield
The expression ‘give the man a medal’ has never seemed more apt. The audience at the talk on Friday evening benefitted from the vast store of knowledge and experience that Mike has garnered and developed by ‘messing about ‘ in boats and navigation canals for over 50 years. By doing so he has been heavily
Two members of the Friends visited Lancashire Archives to research into the area of Craggs on Pendle Hill where the archaeology group have carried out several digs over the past few years. We didn’t find a great deal to further our research but we did discover some fascinating information. In the 1296 accounts of the
Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project – 21st January 2017 – Fieldwalk to Deerstones Alex Whitlock The first field walk for 2017 took place on a clear crisp day. The sort of day you that can give you a glimpse of one of the transient beauties of the Pennines – an inversion. When these happen the low
2017 was off to a good start when Roger Frost an eminent local historian introduced us to the existence of the Manor House at Ightenhill which was revealed through geo-physics, examination of the land and records demonstrating that the house was built around 1180. Although there is no evidence of how the Manor looked Roger
Well, what a party that was! 27 people, plenty of food, very little alcohol but plenty of games! In fact it were a reet gud do! It was great to see some new faces as well as old ones (!) including some who joined with not a little trepidation that the games might prove
What was not to like on our Friday Evening talk – November 18th? Maggy Simms enthralled us with images of fabulous artefacts and made ancient history come to life. The discovery of Mycenae and Knossos by Schlieman and Arthur Evans respectively was unpicked, stunning wall paintings from Tiryns exhibited and new ideas exposed. The elite
Miracle in Manchester was our first autumn afternoon talk. Geoff Scargill gave us interesting insights into the life and career of Sir John Barbirolli and his work with the world renowned Halle orchestra at Belle Vue and the Free Trade Hall. Despite trials and tribulations his personality and skill as a conductor ensured that his
On Saturday, 29th October the group met to clean and classify the finds from the excavation carried out last June at The Craggs. Initially the finds, mainly comprising pottery, were washed on the picnic tables outside the cafe and then brought inside the Green Room to be sorted and classified. On Saturday, 29th October the
Friday night was movie night. Pendle Movie Makers brought a wonderful medley of films to entertain us. From a nostalgic trip to Blackpool, Howarth and the Bronte’s, The Last Towel Mill, the world famous magician “Faust” and a hypnotic film of Bancroft Mill Engine set to music, all were fascinating and beautifully presented. During the
After meeting at The Corner Café for discussion and refreshments we walked uphill, starting beside Limey Water. We eventually crossed fields above Rake Foot reservoir. The winter pasture of Crawshawbooth vaccary could have been in this area. On reaching Height Side Lane we turned left, passing a farm with a datestone of 1775 and further