VALLEY ADVERTORIAL AND FINALLY hoe in three,,, by Gerald Searle


I 1 i


i day


ew ooK tor every eweek


r well, a I most!


Mrs Louise Stevenson, of Padiham, is thrilled with the service she has received at Direkt Optik. Here, she expiains why...


trouble and everything was clearly explained. There was such a great selection of frames. Louise said: "Thank goodness for


L


the ‘3 for T offer as it was so hard to settle on what to buy. The choice was fantastic."


Louise has now bought six pairs of


ouise thought the service at Direkt Optik was absolutely First Rate; nothing was too much


glasses from Direkt Optik because of the '3 for 1' offer, as she believes that it's great value. They have such a wonderful selection of frames and there are new styles arriving every week or so. Louise thought that a lot of


customers might believe the offer was too good to be true but she has really benefited from the promotion - she now has six pairs suitable for all occasions and different outfits. Louise was very happy with all the


advice given and mentioned that Sarah and Bev at Direkt Optik answered all her questions which filled her with the confidence that what she had chosen would be perfect for her. She also mentioned that Sarah and


Bev really went that extra milell! "Initially I wasn't sure what I really


wanted and Bev actually went to Head Office to look through more stock for me. Nothing was too much trouble. They were very professional!" Louise first heard about Direkt Optik


through an advertisement in the local newspaper and then saw the shop as she was driving along the main high street of Clitheroe. Because Louise couldn't fault the


service she has received at Direkt Optik, she has already recommended two friends who have both taken advantage of the '3 for V offer. She added: "I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Direkt Optik to anyone."


Initially, I wasn t sure what I really wanted and Bev actually


went to Head Office to look through more stock for me. Nothing was too much trouble. They were very professional!'


my word for it, it is by public request. Only last week someone said to


M


me: "Are you still writing that load of...?" Well you get the idea, so I will


say no more, except that I decided to dip my toes yet again into the murky waters of my ignorance of the history of sewage in the Ribble Valley. Among all the obscure


terminology of precipitation, filtration, irrigation, ash pits, cesspits, etc., I finally came across bacteria beds - not, as it sounds, yet another Victorian health hazard. In fact, just the opposite, because they actually removed impurities before raw sewage was recycled. The other"&xpression that


caught my eye was "the three holer", ideal for the family who wanted to go everywhere together! Did they still exist in the 20th


Century Ribble Valley, following the laying of the new system in Clitheroe and adjacent villages during the 1890s? The answer proved a resounding


"Yes!", mainly because the outlying villages were not incorporated info the modernising scheme, while parts of Clitheroe also remained unconnected. This was hardly surprising considering the severe financial restrictions and


■


antiquated woTking practices surrounding the early preparations.


EXTRICATE By June, 1893, only 50 men were


employed to dig an 18 foot deep trench the length of the town, as well as having to extricate at least one unwary horse and cow from its depths. Nor were they wholly reliable - alcoholic navvy Harry Mitchell was charged with the theft of two spades after offering one for sale to his landlord for "two pints and a tanner"! !ndeed it caused quite a stir


when Mr Cowman's horse and trap bolted from outside the shop and, as it careered down Henthorn, was halted only when it barged another horse and cart 20 feet down a newly dug trench. • But by 1895 almost 9,000 yards


Al " ' ' - iw ; j -


DIREKT OPTIK


22 the Valley .f'C' . V • S f r t ’ ■ - i a v . . i ' r R i


of mains sewering was complete, though the battle of Rough Field down on the sewage farm - to plough or not to plough - aroused strong feelings among councillors. Meanwhile, the Advertiser


seemed to have uncovered an ' international incident, under the headline."Home pule Resuscitates! Justice to Ireland". It simply transpired that Harry Ireland had been given'notice to quit his Henthorn farm to accommodate the sewage works, far too early in


The Clitheroe site in 1999 - picture


many councillors' opinion, so further delay ensued before the decision was reversed. In spite of all the problems and


mounting costs, the plan for Clitheroe and nearby villages progressed steadily, although as the Advertiser noted: "With five sewage schemes in progress the Authority have certainly their hands full." Clearly this was no time for a


friendly handshake from your local councillor! Nowadays, the vast majority of


us in the Ribble Valley not only take our mains sewage system for granted, but also consider it an essential service. However, in the villages this may not have been the case 100 years ago. Certainly, in Bolton-by-Bowland


in 1912, change was far from popular. The scheme first introduced in 1903, then quickly shelved, was "vigorously condemned as far too elaborate and expensive for the needs of the community". However, the West Riding Rivers


Board was legally obliging the district council to act, following complaints of pollution of the stream running through the village. Although the brook was


described as "very objectionable", the fact that the village was generally healthy was considered sufficient justification to object to the "excessive cost" of the scheme, namely £45 per house. As for the concept of"Love thy '


neighbour", there was absolutely no support for extending the system to the inhabitants of Holden and Copy Nook!


courtesy of Gordon Taylor At that time there were only four


water closets in the whole village, so it was felt that the sewers would remove only slop water, although as one local admitted: "From the point of view of nuisance he knew of nothing that smelled worse when allowed to enter the stream". Otherwise, it was generally felt


that as the common practice of throwing dead rats into the stream was still considered acceptable, a modern system had no place in Bolton-by-Bowland! In contrast, when Barrow


opened its £1,200 system in March 1914, it was seen as a significant step forward with no mention of dead rats - "the effluent is quite pure, if not exactly wholesome, and is discharged into the brook" - and by 1923 the residents of Wiswell, where sewers were in good condition but led only to an old tank in a field, were enthusiastically planning to update their primitive facilities by connecting to Barrow's water' carriage system. While this scheme was delayed


by the money shortage caused by the First World War, by 1930 there was greater progress and Chipping was also preparing its own system, based on a site 300 yards east of Startifants Farm, to drain into Chipping Brook. Nevertheless, finance remained the key factor and a restricted scheme, costing £4,800, was agreed. This actually excluded the dairy, even though it produced more effluent than the rest of the village put together! Six years later, Grindleton was


forced to confront the problem of river pollution, but again


ay I apologise from the outset for what we are about to receive - but take


"excessive cost" was a major complaint. However, here residents were more concerned with the unreliable water supply provided by Clitheroe Corporation. During the December enquiry, reacting to the charge that he had not complained earlier, a Mr Turner stated that had he been a woman and required water on Mondays for washing purposes, he would certainly have done so! It was felt that with too little


water, a water carriage system for the benefit of only half the village was simply "putting the cart before the horse". While the Clitheroe scheme was


substantially extended in 1937, Downham, apparently overflowing with both an excellent water supply and outside privies, was described as an anachronism and residents were keen to be linked to Chatburn, although even there, the Ribble Board reported that "the effluent showed an excess of suspended solid matter"! Although the Assheton family


were keen to invest significantly in a new scheme, Chatburn ratepayers felt aggrieved that Downham had not shared in the original costs and Coun. Lee stated: "In effect Downham will be getting a sewage works for £418 when that sewage works cost their neigh­ bours at Chatburn £2,700 for modernising in 1926, to say nothing about the original expenses incurred in 1885." CLOSSETS


However, other Valley villages


fared even worse. For example Hurst Green, where a scheme was approved in principle as late as 1946, or Sawley, which in 1976 still had pail closets and was "to be given a last chance to have a full sewage system installed" - needless to say at considerable expense to residents - having been described by a local councillor as "an open sewer that stinks to high heaven"! No doubt the vi!!agers of


Balderstone are not the on!y ones in the Ribbie Valley to still rely on septic tanks, but in Clitheroe a series of improvements have taken place. The extension in 1937 and the major sewers project in 1987 are notable examples and when £400,000 was invested in 1971 to also incorporate the effluent from ICI and Stalwart, at the opening by Lord Clitheroe the new facilities were described as "almost park­ like". For a family picnic with a


'difference... Oh, the joys of sewage! So, to c!ose with a different


opening, I return to March, 1914 when Mr Turner commented during the official opening of Barrow's sewage works: "Nobody could get particularly enthusiastic about sewage". Obviously he was not mixing with the right people!


Fun Crossword


■ THIS crossword is just for fun - no prizes are given. The solution will be in next month's issue of The Valley.


ACROSS


7. Humble sailor on a rough sea (5) 8. Eternal theme of the beautician (7) 9. Possibly pleased to have passed (7) 10. Get the feel of things? (5) 12. Looked happier when the light improved? (10) 15. Place that makes a man lie in part! (10) 18. Classical type (5) 19. Finds nothing in a ruined castle (7) 21. Mary and child featured in stone work (7) 22. Musical journal? (5) DOWN


1. He won't get the sack if the bag's big enough! (10) 2. Sat upon an enemy of good (5) 3. Fixed forms of worship (4), 4. Greyhound? (6) 5. One who lays about a boat crew to increase the effect (8) 6. About unbroken echo (7) 11. They normally succeed (6,4) 13. Prevailing wet weather, we hear (8) 14. My word! (7) 16. Mother prepares the table for Asians (6) 17. Boards a coach (5) 20. Whip cut (4)


SOLUTION TO AUGUST'S CROSSWORD Across; 7 Hearts: 8 Laxity 10 Regally; 11


Latin; 12 Till; 13 Beard; 17G!are; 18 Fair; 22 Aside: 23 Express; 24 Resign: 25 Grouse. Down: 1 Charity; 2 Largely; 3 Still; 4 Gallery:


5 Lists; 6 Hyena; 9 By degrees; 14 Allergy; 15 Careful; 16 Dresser; 19 Harry; 20 First; 21 Sport.


For information


and news online 24 hours a day, seven days a week


-visit our website


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the Valley 23


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