\ 16 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, August 14th, 2008 J wnww.ciitheroeadvertiser.co.uk Ciitheroe 422324 (Editoriai), 01282 478111 (Advertising), 01282422331 (Ciassified) Clitherqe 422324 (Editorial), 01282 478111 (Advertising), 01282 422331 (Classified) www.ciitheroeadvertiser.co.uk excavation leads to bridges by Duncan Smith


A RECENTLY uncovered stretch of Mearley Brook which fascinated local historians and passers-by has now been covered over again as work on Clitheroe’s new Homebase store nears completion. We reported in our sister paper the


Clitheroe and Whalley Reporter (on , July 10th) that work on the new store had uncovered a section of Mearley Brook, between its car park and that of the neighbouring Sainsbury’s store. Also visible were what appeared to be


two arched bridges, one apparently re­ inforced with steel girders. Among those fascinated by this


industrial heritage was local man Ron Loebell, who set about researching Sal­ ford Bridge Mills, which previously occupied the site. He surmised that the reinforced


bridge would have linked various parts of the mill complex, which started on the Castle side of Moor Lane but was later extended on the opposite side of Mearley Brook. The other bridge could : have provided access to sluice gates. We published Mr Loehell’s findings,


■ together with his hope that the uncov­ ered section of brook and the bridges would be developed as a pleasant pub­ lic amenity area between the two b ig . stores. . Sadly it seems that was not to be, as


the whole area has now been covered over again and will soon have cars parked on it when Homebase opens for


Wise Old Owls in to meet


fly the over 50s


TWO coach loads of Wise Old Owls, bet­ ter known as Sheffield Wednesday Foot- ball Club’s Over 50s Luncheon C lu b , . descended on the Ribble Valley recently. After enjoying a leisurely walk around


Clitheroe and the market, the club’s mem­ bers were welcomed by Terry Joy, the licensee of The Swan and Royal Hotel, for Hunch.


. . They then embarked on a tour of the


Ribble Valley under the guidance of Simon Entwistle, who organiser John Preen said was “the most accomplished and khowl- . edgeable guide we have ever had”.


. The tour took in Downham and stopped


off at Chipping where members enjoyed homemade scones, cake and coffee. ■ Mr Preen said: “Thankfully Simon had


: warned the Cobbled Comer Cafe and vil- . lage hostelries in advance of the maraud­ ing owls invasion and everyone enjoyed


Hheir hospitality and refreshments.” . • Ice creams in Slaidburn then beckoned. “After a wonderful and enjoyable day, •


, the marauding owls returned over, the hill ■ to their home lands in the knowledge that^ beautiful Yorkshire still exists in Lan­ cashire stating that ‘thed better tak care on it els will ave it back to wer it cem _ frum’,” Mr Preen added..................... .... - Our pictures shows the'“Wise Old Owls’.’ ;


setting off and during a refreshment stop in the Ribble Valley, (s ) :


business (see Letters to the Editor, page 10 ). However, another local historian was


^


ONE of the uncovered bridges (s) •


prompted to dig into the history of Sal- ■ ford Bridge Mill. ^


John Lambert, of Chatburn Road,' .-


believes that rather than being built on . either side of Mearley Brook, part o f , the mill was built on top it it, which is' why the brook was ciilverted. The first ■ reinforced “bridge” actually supported. the massive weight of the engine house,- which drew water'.frorii the brook beneath to make steam to drive the engines which powered the looms. Mr Lambert also took photographs


. •


of the briefly-uncovered brook and “bridges”. Here is what he discovered about the mills: ■


■ - Salford Bridge Mills started life on


the north-west side of Salford Bridge, having been built by William Ark­ wright in 1826 for John Taylor and his two sons, George and Peter. John Taylor had previously been


involved with the “Standstill” factory at Up Brooks and the “Puff and Dust” in Shawbridge,' hence Taylor Street. ; -The two brothers commenced run­ ning the mill in 1827 and ran it for about seven years, then sold out to Jame Stuttard.;He then built the first weaving shed across the road, which may have cost him dear, because he failed or went bust in 1841. The next episode starts with William


Archibald and Robert Dewhurst, who extended the sheds, but not in the tra­


i s l H'"


ditional three or four-storey type build­ ings, probably to spread the load over the brook area, which would have had to be culverted. The power to run all the machinery


came from eight engines, with six boil­ ers providing the steam and, as a conse­ quence of all the weight, the culvert roof had to be strengthened, which recently became visible as the bridge- type structure.


_ - William Dewhurst died in 1868,


Robert and his sons went bankrupt in 1883 and the mill was empty for four years. It was then bought by a Greek merchant from Manchester called Mr Cassadinos, who leased the premises to various manufacturers. After a fire in • 1892 he formed the Clitheroe Industrial Mill Company, but that only lasted five


years. In 1899, Mr Richard Ryden, of


Blackburn, took over the property and he also leased the sheds to various firms until eventually two companies - Wm. Westhead and Sons and the Sun Street Mill Company - took over all the leases and consolidated the whole business. They continued successfully until, in


1958, Westheads sold part of the mill to furniture manufacturers Bowkers and the Sun Street Company closed down in 1960. Bowkers carried on up to the 1980s in their section of the mill, while Atkinson’s Agricultural Appliances had: taken over the Sun Street part in 1960 and used the premises until 1973. The final occupants were Rectella


International, who relocated to Burn­ ley in 2005/6.


Dry month


A SHOWER on May kk | with rain on the 4th OT) followed by three weefe '


of easterly winds and no rain whatsoever.


Temperatures were


average with only one hot day on the n th . The last few days of the month


brought a lit t le rain, making the total for the month a mere 23.2 mm or


0.928 inches. DATE MA-W MA.VF .MINT RAIN 1 2 3 4


10 12 17 15


5 16 6 19 7.


20


8 20 9 19 10 20 11 24 12 19


51 38 55 44 62 54


mm 0.7


58 50 9.4 61 50 66 52 68 50 68 53 67 56 68 58 72 56 66 50


13 IS ­ 58 46 14 IS


15 16 60 44 16 11 17 11


57 44 54


50 53 42 trace


18 11 . 54 40 19 11 54 40 20 12


21 15 58 50 22 18 64


56 48 50


23 18 64 52 24 16 60 48 25 16 60 50 26. 14 57 48 2.1 27 11 52 48 4.6 28 14 57 52 5.3 29 18


30 16 60 48 64 52


31 18


64 54 1.1 .


-


Went South MEMBERS


•Taxi boss Bill was a man with a passion about cars


WELL-KNOWN former coach and taxi boss Mr William Bridge has died at the age of 80. Never happier than when


he was tinkering'with his motors. Bill was passionate about his work and ran Bridge Taxis and Coaches for 25 years. . Bill, who lived in Clitheroe


all his life, was born in Fort Street in January 1928. After at ten ding St James’ CE School and Ribblesdale Sec­ ondary Modern School, Bill became a cabinet maker before joining the Royal Air Force in 1947 at the age of 18. It was while Bill was in the


RAF that he met his wife, Dorothy, who he married in 1951. The couple later had two daughters, ^Cathy and Susan. After working as a driver for many years. Bill decided


familiar sight in the Ribble Valley countryside with Bill ferrying and picking up chil-


,dren from many of the vil­ lage'schools. A true family man, B i ll’s children were never far from his heart, with Bill naming his first coach after his daughter, Cathy, and the second after Susan.. . As well as transporting the


'1'.


it was time to set up on his own in partnership: with Dorothy, who was responsi­ ble for the taxi side of the firm.


, For two decades the cou­


p le ’s trademark pink and grey 41-seater coaches were a


Valley’s workers to and from local factories. Bill also used to organise trips to UK holi­ day de st inat ions and had many loyal customers, who, year after year, enjoyed trips to Bournemouth and the south coast. Before Clitheroe had its own swimming pool,. community-spirited Bill ran a free service for local chil­ dren to Skipton swimming baths. The couple also ran a day care service to Clitheroe Hospital. However, in the early


eighties tragedy struck, when on a trip to Preston one


Dentist Geoffrey was a mentor to many


of


Clitheroe Naturalists travelled south to explore th e ’ area around Entwis tle and Wayoh reservoirs. The trip was in memo­


ry of the late George Haythornthwaite, past treasurer and chairman, who loved the area. . The group went first uphill to Edgefold then descended to Entwistle Reservoir for a lunch stop before walking anti­ clockwise round Wayoh Reservoir going under the impressive railway viaduct and over the dam at Edgeworth to : return to Entwistle along. the opposite side through woods providing welcome shade from the hot sun.. . The banking had a


lovely mix of mead-> owsweet and sneezwort, also radiant yellow rag-


'wort, hawkweed and large stands of pink r o p ;


. bay willowherb. The bird, Hife was very quiet.


.


; '- Chairman F. Mason thanked the leaders, C., Pickles and J. Trotter. .


Car dama^


VANDAI^ caused almost / £50. worth of .damage; when they broke the wing, ^mirror of a Vauxhall


Corsa parked in the. Brook’Street area of.


Clitheroe between 11 P'O'- on Friday and 8-30 a.m. onSaturday.’


A RIBBLE VALLEY dentist who had been a member of Clitheroe Golf Club for the past 30 years has died suddenly. ,• Bom and brought up in


Rossendale, Mr Geoffrey 'Wood (pictured) attended Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School where he was head boy from 1949 to


■ 1950. - ■ He trained as a dentist at Manchester Victoria j University’s Turner School


■


, ' of Dentistry, qualifying in - 1956. For a year Mr Wood ' then worked as a house surgeon at the dentistry school in Moss Side, Man- chester., He married Anne Nut- tall in 1957 and the couple


: had three children - daughters Kay and Gillian


• and son Peter. Mr Wood was in prac-


’ tice as a dental surgeon for 52 years. He bought Holts Dental Practice in Water- foot in 1956/57 and lived


■ above his workplace for : three years before the fam­


ily moved to Brentwood before eventually settling


’ in the Ribble Valley in ^^^^75 where they made


their home in Read.; Mr Wood’s practice was


very busy and over the years he employed a suc­ cession of young dentists, acting as their guide, men­ tor and friend. He was highly regarded


by his professional col­ leagues in the British Den-; tal Association and was chairman of the Burnley branch for three years in : the late 1960s. He later went on to be elected Pres­ ident of the East Lan-. cashire and Cheshire Branch in 1975/76. He continued to work


right up until his death and was a locum for Irene Gott at her dental surgery in Wellgate, Clitheroe. A keen golfer, Mr Wood


was a member' of Rossendale Golf Club for


50 years. He captained the club in 1971 and was presi- , dent from 1979 until 1982. After a brief spell at Whal­ ley Golf Club, he then joined Clitheroe Golf Club in 1975 and was also a member at the golf club in Pwhelli in North Wales. An active member of the


Rossendale Round Table, he went on to join the 41 Club and was president of the Rotary organisation in 1986. He also enjoyed ball- ; room dancing in West Bradford and was a keen - : gardener.


■ Mr Wood who died at— Preston Royal Infirmary . on Sunday morning leaves his wife, his three children, sons-in-law Duncan and, ’ Peter, and grandchildren . Ian, Charles, David, James and Leonie. Mr Wood also has an elder brother, Bert, and a ■


’ younger sister Kathleen. His family expressed;


their thanks.to all those who did everything they could to try and save Mr-. Wood and care for him.


' - Arrangements for Mr ;■ Wood’s funeral are still to , be finalised.- ’


Your chance to help save a life • BLOOD donor sessions::


-will take;place at West.,; Bradford:Village Hall on -


Friday,' August 22nd.. u- Existing and new


; the; sessi6ns,-:which ;r,un frdm 2,tq 4' p.m. and from;


-5-30 to y'-^SO p.m. Giving :blood;is'^quick;-,easy: and :


donors are urgeil to attend ,■


ivirtually pain-free,-andi' could save someone’s ; life.


i‘'visit;the;NationalHBlood ;■ Service


■ FormoTedMormatio’ni':' , website


- 0845 7 711711_01 see,. ' Ce'efax page 465. ' ' " .' H


; ’: (W .W W ; b lo o " d ;C O . u k - : ) , ;C a ll;S


afternoon to pick up Moor­ land School boarders return­ ing from an “out weekend”, an oncoming car overturned colliding with Bill’s taxi near the Feilden Arms, Mellor, leaving him crippled for life. Although he was awarded compensation for his injuries,


.:the'accident;spelled the end of .the road for the business with Bill forced into retire­ ment. In later life, Bill enjoyed


weekends away with Dorothy touring in their car­ avan. However, his main pas­ sions remained his motors and family, which included his three grandchildren Emma, Christopher and Far- rah and his great-grandson Charlie George. The funeral will take place


a t St Paul’s Church, Low Moor, Clitheroe, at 1 p.m. tomorrow with mourners in v ited to The Swan and Royal Hotel afterwards.


sa v e £ 2 0 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, August 14th, 2008 17


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