... and interesting history of walk 30 miles away
OVER the years, this column has referenced Rossendale’s history as a bit of a holiday hotspot in Victorian times, when trains brought people out to Snig Hole, near Helmshore, for day trips.
What I didn’t know until hearing from John Lowe was Rossendale’s role in the creation of another holiday hotspot... St Annes, near Blackpool.
John referenced it in his email, not least because Lytham St Anne’s was featured in the most recent edition of Country Walking magazine as a great place to explore.
But the town, certainly in its current guise, wouldn’t have existed had it not been for eight Rossendale men, who drove the creation of the St Anne’s-on-the-Sea Land and Building Company in the 1870s.
A square mile of land was leased, including the sea front, from the Clifton estate which owned Lytham Hall – who retained the right to hunt on the land they leased at the time.
The men saw that the mill towns of Lancashire could provide a steady supply of holidaymakers on the coast – and they were right!
The Rossendale men involved included Joseph Wood Whitehead, of Alder Grange, Henry Ashworth, of Lea Bank, and Elijah Hargreaves, all of Rawtenstall, as well as James Taylor, of Warth House, Waterfoot.
Cotton spinners John Warburton, of Greenfield, Haslingden, Thomas Barrowclough and James Crabtree, both of Bacup, along with William Greaves, of Spring Field House, Bacup, who was a warp sizer, are also credited with being involved.
The newly-established company was even represented by Haslingden solicitors John Woodcock, of Haslingden.
The architects for the project were Maxwell and Tuke of Peel Chambers, Bury.
James Maxwell himself came from Haslingden and these men later went on to design Blackpool Tower.
They built the pier, St Anne’s Church and various public buildings and houses before falling into financial difficulties and were then rescued by William Porritt, the mill owner, of Helmshore.
He invested what today would be millions of pounds into the town, and helped it become what it remains today.
It might be 30 odd miles away, but if ever there’s a walk which resonates with Rossendale’s history, it’s one through St Annes.
I think John’s email is the most memorable to ever to drop into the Scribbler inbox.
You can write to the column too at rossendalescribbler@ gmail.com.