Clithcroe Advertiser & Times,Thursday, October 6,2011


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OUR guest author for this month's Country Living spotlight on the village of


Gisbum is Kathleen Calvert. Kathleen, who lived in Gisbum for more than 20 years, before moving to the family farm at Paythome, is the press officer for Gisbum W.I. and a founder member of Gis­


bum History Society. Always heavily involved in village life, Kathleen was a member of Gisbum Festival


Hall Committee for many years and involved with the “Gisbum 2001” tillage appraisal - a “stocktaking” of community life.


Read Kathleen’s feature on Gisbum below.


SURROUNDED by beautiful countryside and small hamlets, agriculture, transport, small business, community spirit, and the church are important to life in the village of Gisburn, helping keep the area alive and


prosperous. Now part of Lancashire under Ribble Val­


ley Borough Council, Gisburn was, until 1973, a Yorkshire village under Bowland Rural Dis-


■ trict Council. With many children in the area, Gisburn’s primary school is thriving. It and the beautiful medieval church and refurbished vil-


. lage hall are parts of the fabric of the commu­ nity, together with the many small businesses. The village straddles the A59 along which oc­


cur the auction mart, the Patel’s fuel station and mini mart, the award-winning La Locanda Ital­ ian Restaurant, Stirk House Country Hotel, Solo Hair Design, the Smallbones family-run used car sales business, Zivanna Hodson’s general store, and Famworth’s Cottage Restaurant. A recent addition to the village is the Deli­


cious Deli & Cafe, formerly the village post of­ fice. It offers home cooked food and cakes and sells good quality, locally produced foods. Local girls Maxine Bridge and Sharon Smalley own the premises, providing employment for over a doz­ en staff and a focal point for the community. Pan Ash is a classy stove and range cooker


showroom owned by Kirsty Booker and Gina Sugden, who provide a full installation and maintenance service, whilst spending their spare time working on their family farms in Laycock and Cowling. Farm & Lawntrack Supplies on Mill Lane is one of the North West’s top garden machinery


VILLAGE CENTRE: Gisburn’s Main Street. specialists with products from ride on tractor


. mowers to all types of garden machinery. The Waddington family have run Railside


Trading wood yard for many years and Alistair Mackintyre’s Assured Environmental Services has provided pest prevention and control serv­ ices, wildlife and habitat management. Local farmer’s son Richard Comthwaite owns the car­ penter and joiners shop, and although the Pate family business was sold after over 90 years in business, third generation Michael Pate owns and runs Able Care, providing a bespoke stair lift and power scooter service, whilst cousin James is a local farmer. Carrs Billington, originally Preston Farmers,


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supply animal feed, agricultural supplies, cloth­ ing and groceries, and Guys Machinery provide agricultural supplies, machinery and trailers. Gisbum Auction Mart houses a butcher’s van


and various agricultural serviees, and a fish sup­ plier visits the village every week. Jill Armer. the owner of Gisburn Auction Mart’s Cafe, is renowned for her belly-busting breakfasts and delicious wholesome meals. There are several other small businesses in the surrounding area. The loss of the post office in spring 2010 re­


sulted in local businesses and residents having the additional burden of travel cost and time to complete often simple transactions. Its demise removed a community meeting point, important to the elderly residents of the village. Agriculture is pivotal to the survival of rural


villages and the countryside as it circulates mon­ ey back into in the local economy. Dairy farms in particular have a consistent year round need for a wide range of goods and services and so provide abundant business and employment for local allied trades as well as local shops, build- ■ ers, joiners, pubs, etc.


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NEXT GENERATION: Headteacher Mrs Christine Grimshaw is pictured with pupils at Gisburn Primary School.


SWEET SUCCESS: Maxine Bridge and Sharon Smalley at the Delicious Deli in Gisburn.


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Gisbum’s community activities include a his­


tory society, aerobics and exercise classes, Tiny Tots, the Monday Club, Brownies, Young Farm­ ers’ Club, Mothers’ Union, an after school club, and a thriving Women’s Institute. These community, groups all pull together to


support large village events such as-the Millen­ nium celebration, and the diamond anniversary celebrations for the Festival Hall. For almost 50 years Gisburn Gala was a spe­ cial and very popular annual event. Preceded


CONCEALED:


To preserve the view and avoid frightening the Lord’s horses,


the railway line was carried


through part of Gisburne


Park grounds in a tunnel.


G050308/2e TYPICAL PROP­ ii; j •


ERTIES: Sturdy stone cot­ tages line the road through Gisburn. G050308/2)


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FOCAL POINT: St Mary the Virgin Church is in the process of appointing a new vicar after the Rev Eric Kyte, who was the Priest-in-Charge of St Aidan’s , Hellifield, and St Mary’s since 2001 emigrated to New Zealand. (G050308/2)


by a traditional procession of floats, led by the gala queen and her retinue from the auction


- mart to what once was the Commercial Hotel, now Travellers Court, returning to the village playing field where events and sideshows were enjoyed. Impatient traffic, insurance difficulties and changed lifestyle priorities sadly led to its demise. The war memorial garden is a focal point,


honouring men of the village who laid down I their lives for King and country. The fundrais-


STRIKING FEATURES: The intricate stone gatehouses at the entrance to Gisburne Park. G050308/2d


ing cookery book “A Taste of Gisburn” has a foreword about the war memorial. The new playground is a recent community success fol­ lowing many fundraising activities. Certainly not a sleepy dormitory village, Gisburn has a diverse


history. Henry III granted a charter for Gisburne Fair


to the monks of nearby Sawley Abbey in 1260, when pigs were said to have roamed the streets. Before 1911, when Gisburn’s Cattle Market was established, cattle and sheep were sold in


the main street, now the A59. Visiting cattle dealers and drovers slept at the village inns, and the 1891 census lists all four innkeepers as also being farmers. The White Bull public house, named after the famous herd of white cattle that once roamed in Gisburne Park, stands in the main street, and is the only public house still remaining in the vil­ lage. It’s new licensees are Rachel and Hassan


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VILLAGE ACHIEVE­ MENT: The play area in Gisburn which the local community raised money for.


STREET SCENE: This picture by Gisburn resident and Wl president Shaun Cole shows Back Main Street, Gisburn. (s)


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