VALLEY OUT AND ABOUT r r by Gerald Searle


LEFT: Part of the ruin of Whalley Abbey. Below Whalley Parish Church seen through an arch of the historic abbey.


and gnashing of teeth over Terry Wogan’s retirement from his early morning programme, I happily believed that togs were either posh clothes or even units of thermal insulation, which I learned only when sacrificing my trusty eiderdown for a duvet. The key was, of course, in the


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capitals - TOGs -which struck me as I watched a whole ufo fleet - sorry, that is UFOs, not an offensive text message - sweep across the Valley too close for comfort - eerie orange globes in an icy night sky. Now if I had indeed been one of


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Terry’s Old Geezers, I would never have heard the early morning discussion on Radio Lancashire about the latest craze of releasing "Khom Fay". These are Chinese flying lanterns, miniature hot-air balloons that can ascend a mile high and a far more neighbour- friendly way to celebrate than fireworks. Without this knowledge would


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my belief in UFOs therefore have been reinforced? On the other hand, do we actually believe in life on other planets and, more to the point, would intelligent aliens even bother to float around over the world in its current state? STRANGEST


From early childhood we really , '■"Vi -'il’-SsS


do believe in the strangest things and when I learned that Clitheroe had its own Fairy Bank, the possibilities seemed endless. Sadly however, although Fairy Bank has existed on the town’s outskirts for centuries, fairy activity there seems to have been neglible. Its name no doubt sprang from


E


ver since the 14th century, Whalley Abbey has stood serene on the banks of the River Calder.


It began as a home for the


Cistercian monks who moved to Whalley in 1296 from Cheshire, due to flooding of their original Stanlow Abbey.


Building Whalley Abbey proved to


be a slow process. The foundation stone was laid by Henry de Lacy whose family was one of the most powerful of the nobility who had arrived from France with William the Conqueror and had acquired vast amounts of land in both Lancashire and Yorkshire. It was the de Lacy family's


connections to the Cistercian monastery which made the move possible. Stone for the building was


obtained from quarries at Read and 18 the Valley


Simonstone. The Church was completed in 1380, but the remainder of the Abbey wasn’t finished until the 1440s. John Paslew, the last Abbot of


Whalley, had strong links to the Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular rising in York, which protested against England's break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries, instigated by King Henry VIII. Paslew was tried at Lancaster on a


charge of treason for his association with the Pilgrinlage of Grace and was later.executed in 1537. GRANDEUR


As the Abbey was then treated as


Paslew's personal estate, it was • claimed by the Crown and closed that same year (following the removal of the lead from the roof and the demolition of most of the buildings) as part of the dissolution of the monasteries.


By the mid-16th century, the Abbey


and its land were sold, and Richard Assheton eventually became the sole owner. He subsequently transformed the old Abbot’s lodgings into an Elizabethan manor house, boasting a definite architectural grandeur for the time. The heiress, the eldest of


Assheton’s daughters, had married and lost interest in the property, and it therefore, sadly, it fell into a state of grave disrepair. Her grandson, Earl Howe, later sold it and over the course of time it has had a succession of owners, most adding further alterations to the house. In 1923 the house and grounds


were sold again. The Diocese of , Manchester became the new owners, thanks to an appeal launched by Bishop William Temple. Three years later, the diocese was divided and the property passed into


the possession of the Diocese of Blackburn. Since then the house at Whalley


Abbey has been modified and is now a retreat and conference house, with the mission statement: "To continue to be a holy place that draws and points people to God and offers them an experience of peace." WEDDING


Whalley Abbey continues to be a


heart of prayer and mission, and offers a wide range of spiritual programmes and retreats for both individuals and church groups. "Wind down at Whalley" is a


popular choice, where there is opportunity to rest and relax at the end of a busy week, or to share company if you have felt alone; reading, conversation, relaxing


therapies, shared meals and worship are all available. However, nothing is expected or


compulsory. If peace and quiet is what you crave, that’s fine too; it’s


just a case of booking what you want, even a wedding! Whalley Abbey provides an ideal


venue for any family celebration or business conference. There’s also a coffee shop on site,


offering good home-made food and a visitor centre, where an exhibition describes the life and community of the monks who lived there. In today’s fast-moving world, it’s a


comfort to know that places like Whalley Abbey exist, to take stock and reflect. It truly is a peaceful haven. ■ Whalley Abbey Cloisters Coffee


Shop and Visitor Centre opening hours are Monday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4-30 p.m. For information about the retreat and conference house at Whalley Abbey, call 01254 828400. By Helen Stafford


the belief that fairies once were rife there, but even John Webster, one of Glitheroe’s most famous authors through his work on witchcraft in the 17th Century, found no real evidence, although he acknowledged that "vulgar people" were convinced of the existence of "certain Cl eatures they call Fayries, that were of very- little stature and, being seen, would soon vanish and disappear". Indeed, as a physician he found


this a distinct hindrance, as his patients preferred to believe not that they were ill, but that they were "bewitched’.; or "fairy-taken". Medical cures for "any sort of Epilepsie, Palsie, Convulsions or the like" therefore had to be prescribed with accompanying "charms" to hang round sufferers’ necks, if recovery was to be guaranteed! In spite of his contempt for such


beliefs, Webster attended the trial of a man who claimed to have worked wonders with ,a mysterious


t my age, perhaps I should be ashamed to admit that, until the national wailing


W'- C5:-l h1helro Fun Crossworc


THIS crossword is just for fun - no prizes


are given. The solution will be in next month’s issue of The Valley.


ACROSS ■


6. As nosey as a dog with debts (7) 7. Nobleman gives no backing to prohibition (5)


9. Wild animals after 20 ancestors (5) 10. Boast about relations slowing the vehicle down (7) 12. The majority have a bigger role to play (7,4) 14. Don't lose contact, but make sure the ball stays out of play (4,2,5) 18. Marched in different order and became enchanted (7)


The headless statue of Peg o' Nell


white powder that he had received from the fairies. We are probably entitled to wonder about the exact nature of this powder when we are told that the accused claimed to have gone regularly to a hill and knocked three times whilst repeating "I am coming!" to receive his supply! Apparently, on his way home


from work, the accused initially met a fair woman in fine clothes who, touched by his poverty, offered him the opportunity to cure the sick - and make a good living at the same time! She took him inside the hill to meet the fairy queen and all her people, where he received a little wooden box of the powder that would provide countless cures. Although the judge felt that the


man’s punishment, if found guilty, should be "whipping from thence to Fairy-hall", much to Webster’s disapproval, the jury believed his story and acquitted him! However, various villages of the


Ribble Valley did have their own evidence of fairy legends. Sabden, for example, with its famed treacle mines - or at least treacle well - also had its Fairy Well with equally amazing curative powers, although the fact that it flowed near what were believed to be the "devil’s footprints" in the rock may call its authenticity into question. We may also question the old


pack-horse bridge over the brook behind Bashall Hall being known as "Fairy Bridge". Apparently it was built in a single night by the fairies, which were spotted by the farmer the following morning dancing for joy in the field. Perhaps he had just knocked three times on the hill for some of that white powder!


at Waddow Hall We can possibly trust the


Grindleton fairies a little more because at least they frolicked in technicolour. Near the Hundred Steps these 2ft tall creatures were heard singing whilst dashing through the trees, resplendent in green coats and red peaked caps. However, as the two witnesses were lads on their way home to West Bradford after a good night out, again the evidence may have more local colour than credibility! Fortunately, Whitewell seems to


have been a positive hive of buzzing fairies, as a wealthy hunter called Mitchell once discovered. Apparently he was soon reduced to beggary once he took his whip to a fairy that appeared in the road before him. Near the village, Fairoak is also


believed to be a corruption of Fairy Oak, where the little creatures would frolic openly on summer evenings, while on Whitestone they were reputed to do their washing and spread it out to dry in the spring sunshine. FAIRY HOLES


Not surprisingly then, natural


caves in the limestone rock close to the village were known as Fairy Holes - after all they had to have somewhere to rest after all their exertions! Final proof of Whitewall’s role as


a fairy mecca comes in the form of a story about one particular Whitewell fairy in need of a midwife. She duly sent her husband into Clitheroe and somehow he persuaded one to return home with him. When they arrived, he touched one of her eyes and instantly she could see her patient and all turned out well. Some weeks later at Clitheroe market, she saw the fairy husband


19 & 3 Down. Be dissipated when Simon isn't at home (5,3)


helping himself to the week’s provisions from various sacks and enquired as to the health of his family. Realising he had been seen, he promptly touched her eye once again and, as if by magic, disappeared for ever from the midwife’s sight. We may well wonder how any


local generations could believe such tales, but then we are in the shadow of Pendle, where the inhabitants were once described by a visitor, southern of course, as "as ignorant of God or of any civil course of life as the very savages among the infidels". Perhaps then we can be excused


for retaining, for example, the tale of the "Chipping cuckoos" when the villagers felt that summer was simply not long enough. Apparently they blamed the cuckoo for taking away the fine weather too soon, so one day they waited until it was perched in a tree then promptly built a high wall around it. Needless to say it simply flew above it, but one plaintive voice was heard to say: "Another row of stones would have done it!" And could we possibly doubt the


evidence of Grammar School head the Rev. Thomas Wilson, who, amid a mighty storm, sensed that his pupils were up to no good and burst in to find that they had raised the devil. In a last desperate , bid to defeat him they challenged him to "knit knots out of a strike of sand" and he was forced to retreat, through the hearthstone, which was promptly shattered - and whenever it was replaced the new stones cracked as well! So, who knows what Ribble


Valley inhabitants will find to believe in next? Witchcraft - surely not!


21. A point of view to fish for (5) 22. Have a discussion about one kind of tree (7) DOWN


1. See 20 Down. 2. Looking into it gives cause for reflection (6) 3. See 19 Across. 4. Give support to footballer who is on his feet again (4,2) 5. Land of noblemen? (7) 8. Liberty taken to defer changing till doctor gets up (7) 11. Artist has rope to hold the boat (7) 13. The name given to marsh-gas (7) 15. Not altogether in keeping with one's role? (6) 16. Direct form of loan (6) 17. It measures, in maritime terms (5) 20 & 1 Down. How composers acquire great wealth? (3-5)


SOLUTION TO MARCH CROSSWORD Across: 1 Schematic; 8 Pie; 9 Round figure;


11 Radiate; 12 Leave 13 Porter; 15 Stairs; 17 Large; 18 Designs; 20 Train-bearer; 22 Nee; 23 Hush money. Down: 2 Coo; 3 Media; 4 Toiler; 5 Couplet; 6


Opera-singer; 7 Heiresses; 10 Underwriter; 11 Repellent; 14 Eyewash; 16 Adonis; 19 Steam; 21 Eve.


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