The Joy Of Flexibility – aka. The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men

Pendle’s Hidden Valley Field Walk (14 April 2018) Upper Craggs The Joy Of Flexibility – aka. The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men Alex Whitlock   The intention had been to look at possible prehistoric features between the Nick Of Pendle and Ogden Clough. And for the first few hundred yards we stuck to

Lady Anne’s Way

We had an excellent turnout for this afternoon talk in March, despite the sunny weather. And just to show that good things do come out of Yorkshire,  Sheila Gordon, who devised the trail, Lady Anne’s Way and has a book of the same name, entertained us with a splendid talk. People were very appreciative of

Archaeology and Local History Group: Post Ex. Day

A group of fifteen of us gathered on a Post Ex Day.     With regard to Pre History, Alex Whitlock mentioned examining antiquarian sources or contemporary accounts of the Hidden Valley (HV). Field walking in upland area may show significant areas that had not been ploughed out. Legal documents also may show some boundary lines due

Betsy the Scullery Maid

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

Our Christmas Party – 2017

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

The Five Corn Mills of Whalley and Billington

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

Quiz Night

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

Visit to Hoghton Tower

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

Marsden, Nelson and the Norse Vikings

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

A Grand Day Out! Our Visit to Sheffield

“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,

Garden Event

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

Archaeology Field Trip to St Helen’s Chapel Malham

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. 

Ramble round Ribchester

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 

Another Widdop Wander

    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

Around the Rugged Rocks by Peter Charnock

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

Tour de Yorkshire 2017!

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

Pendle’s Hidden Valley Project – 8th April 2017 – Barley to Roughlee Field Walk

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)

Jo Midgley- Old & Hidden North West

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 – Site Visit

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

Research at Lancashire Archives 27th January 2017

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

The Manor House at Ightenhill – Burnley Roger Frost

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