Lancashire Past

Lancashire History Website and Blog

Georgian & Victorian

Lancashire Georgian and Victorian Halls

Hurst Grange, Penwortham Once the private ground of a Victorian mansion, now a public park

Penwortham Priory Gatehouse Once in Penwortham, now moved to Hutton

Leighton Hall, near Carnforth The seat of the Gillow family, the hall features a wealth of the firm’s furniture

Astley Park Curiosities The parkland at Astley was laid out in the Georgian era, with Victorian and Twentieth Century additions

Cuerden Hall, Bamber Bridge  A late Georgian Hall with a large historic parkland

Cuerden Hall Gardens, Bamber Bridge An American garden and pinetum are just two of the features of this country estate

Cuerden Valley Curiosities Hidden history around the historic parkland

Elmfield Hall, Accrington Home of Frederick Gatty, pioneer cotton dye maker

Turton Tower Curiosities  Lots of Victorian heritage in the grounds of the much older tower

The Hall at Lostock, Lostock Hall near Leyland  The new Park of St Catherine’s incorporating nature, history and commemoration

Worden Hall and Park, Leyland Georgian and Victorian parkland and buildings much loved by the locals

Worden Park Walled Garden, Leyland  A recently restored kitchen garden with original Georgian and Victorian features

Worden Park Icehouse and Folly Arch, Leyland Picturesque buildings hidden in the park

Platt Hall, Platt Fields Park, Rusholme A superb Georgian House that doubles as Manchester’s Museum of Costume

Lytham Hall, Lytham  The finest Georgian Hall in Lancashire ?

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Ruined Georgian and Victorian Halls

Ribbleton Hall ruins, Preston The footprint of this large Victorian mansion can still be seen in Grange Park

Arden Hall ruins, Accrington A Victorian hall that has been excavated and now reclaimed by nature

Moss Bank House and Ainsworth Bleachworks, Halliwell, Bolton A prosperous bleaching dynasty and what remains from their time

Feniscowles Hall ruins, Blackburn  From a distance can be spied the old hall, but there are lots of other buildings and landscape features you can visit nearby

Witton House ruins and remains, Witton Park, Blackburn Although the hall has gone, there’s much to explore at this site

Hollinshead Hall ruins and Well House, near Tockholes The woodlands encroach on this idyllic setting

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Lancashire Notable Georgian and Victorian Churches

The Lost Church of St Stephen’s, Astley  The graveyard stands as a memorial to a church struck by disaster

St Stephen’s Church, Holden Wood and Haslingden Grane The church that moved…

Becconsall Old Church, Hesketh Bank  A small Georgian Chapel on the edge of the Hesketh Marshes

St Walburge’s Church, Preston An impressive building with tallest church spire in the country

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Lancashire Civic Buildings

A History of the Judges’ Lodgings, Lancaster A Georgian Town House that hosted visiting judges on the Northern Circuit

Singleton Fire Station A tiny Victorian building, which once held the village’s fire engine

Marshside Fog Bell Set up after a terrible tragedy, as a guide to those lost in the fog

Lancaster’s Georgian Customs House Now the Maritime Museum, this building has an interesting history in establishing the wealth of the town

Formby Lifeboat Station  Not just the first in Britain, but the first worldwide

Holker House : Darwen Heritage Centre  A grand Victorian house, formerly home of two doctors is now the hub to promote  Darwen’s history

Tottington Dungeon, Bury  A Victorian town lock up with intriguing carvings on the stonework

Mount Pavilion, Fleetwood  A Victorian garden and viewpoint, restored back to its original splendour

Fleetwood’s Victorian Lighthouses  Two are in fantastic condition, one is probably not long for this world…

St George’s Hall, Liverpool  A huge grade I Neo-Classical Victorian  building

Brindleheath and Old Jewish Cemeteries, Pendleton, Salford  Hidden away close to the city centre is  a small historical and wildlife site

Lancaster Castle : The Prisons and Courts The castle has been a prison and a court right from the very beginning

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Lancashire Canal History

Enfield Wharf A late Georgian warehouse and stable block on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal

Worsley Delph A relic from the canal age, that now has a look of the picturesque

Worsley Green and Fountain Monument A monument to a vanished way of life

Halsall Navvy A commemorative sculpture, remembering the work of the navvies on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

Wyre Aqueduct From above or below, an impressive bridge that carries the Lancaster Canal over the River Wyre

Portland Basin Warehouse  One of the  largest canal warehouses to be constructed and now an excellent museum

Preston Dock Curiosities  There still plenty to see at the modern Riversway development, if you know where to look

Foulridge Wharf and Lime Kiln Superb restored cotton warehouse and nearby kiln

Burscough Wharf, West Lancashire From canal horse hospital to retail therapy…

Aqueduct, Thompson Park, Burnley  The tunnel vaulting contains a range of intriguing carvings

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Lancashire Windmills

A History of Lytham Windmill The iconic Fylde coast windmill, that is open to all

Preesall Windmill An early Victorian mill in need of some renovation

Pilling Windmill A formerly derelict mill now restored as a residence

Parbold Windmill A fantastically preserved Georgian mill, now home to an art gallery

Kirkham Windmill Now converted to a house, this Georgian windmill is well worth a look

Marsh Mill, Thornton The only working windmill in the whole of the north west of England

The Dub and Windmill, Wrea Green near Preston  A village with a large rural green and a host of historical features including a converted windmill

Clifton Windmill, near Preston   A late Georgian windmill, saved from demolition and now converted to a public house

Craggs Row Windmill, Preston  Many locals don’t know about this well hidden secret, but it’s easy to find…

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Watermills

Barton Corn Mill A rare surviving example of a watermill in Lancashire

Black Rock Waterwheel, Edgeworth A monument to the bygone age of watermills

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Social Justice in Lancashire

The Winter Hill Trespass 1896 A series of marches for access to the moorlands, long before the more famous Kinder Scout protest

The Co-operative Pioneers, Rochdale Cemetery The stories and graves of the men that helped inspire a world wide co-operative movement

Plug Riots and Chartists, Preston A memorial to the Preston Martyrs

Kersal Moor Chartist Meeting A historic mass gathering attended by local campaigners for democracy

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Lancashire Mills

Galgate Silk Mill The first and last silk mill in England

Beal Vale History Trail A guide to the local streets and the location of where the mills once stood in Shaw

Burrs Mill, Bury Constructed by Robert Peel senior, who tried to enact legislation to protect child workers, while shirking responsibility for those that worked for him

Bradshaw Hall and Bleachworks, near Bolton A historic house that had a bleachworks built right next to it

Birkacre Mill, near Chorley Arkwright’s early pioneering factory, that met with an early demise

Cheesden Lumb Mill, near Heywood An impressive ruin, which had a variety of uses in the textile industry

Cinder Hill Engine House ruins, Bury A rare discovery of an early mill site in Holcombe

Tentering Tower, Ramsbottom An eye catching building that played an interesting role in the town’s textile industry

Ellenroad Engine House On steam days visitors can still see the huge twin engines of Victoria and Alexandra in action

Kem Mill The extensive ruins of a print works and bleach croft  that came to a dramatic end

Plantation Mill, Accrington  The ruins of a Victorian calico printing factory

Moss Bank House and Ainsworth Bleachworks, Halliwell, Bolton A prosperous bleaching dynasty and what remains from their time

Kirkham’s Last Loom  An Edwardian loom that stands as testament to Kirkham’s textile industry that stretches back to early Victorian times

India Mill Chimney and Darwen’s Victorian Machinery Italian architecture and Victorian mill machinery, all on the street to be seen for free

Higher Woodhill Mill ruins, Bury Industrial heritage preserved for all to see

Tottington Mill Print Works ruins, Kirklees Valley, Bury Once almost lost to the woodlands, but now reclaimed

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Lancashire Steam Engines

Fred Dibnah Statue and Corliss Steam Engine, Bolton  The famous steeplejack memorialized  in bronze stands before a Bolton built steam engine

Ellenroad Engine House On steam days visitors can still see the huge twin engines of Victoria and Alexandra in action

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Lancashire Railways and Tramways

West Lancashire Railway Bridge When the railway was dismantled, the bridge still had an unusual other function

Steam Tram Turning Triangle and Twin Waiting Rooms, Darwen At the cutting edge of steam powered transport

Longridge Station, Longridge Trains don’t run here anymore, but there’s plenty of heritage still…

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Monuments and Follies

James ‘Treacle’ Sanderson Monument  Remembering the trailblazing Victorian runner

The Mexico Disaster  A daring rescue and the biggest lifeboat disaster in the history of the RNLI

The Witch’s Grave, Lytham  An isolated grave in a woodland setting

Worsley Green and Fountain Monument A monument to a vanished way of life

Peel Monument or Holcombe Tower  This Victorian monument can be seen for miles around Bury and affords great views over the countryside

Scotsman’s Stump Many people have passed this memorial and wondered how and why the Victorian traveller George Henderson was murdered…

Grants Tower, Rambsottom, Bury  A ruined folly is saved from total collapse

Jubilee Tower, Quernmore, near Lancaster A folly view tower on the road to the Trough of Bowland

Parbold Bottle Monument An unusual structure, with stunning views

Ellen Strange Memorial and Cairn  A stone pillar and cairn of stones are a present day reminder of a terrible crime

The Starting Chair, Moor Park, Preston  It looks like a rough wayside cross, but has had a more recent use…

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Lancashire Reservoirs

Cowm Reservoir and Deserted Valley The story of the emptying out of a valley to meet Rochdale’s demand for drinking water

Ashworth Moor Reservoir, near Heywood In a stunning setting, this reservoir led to the closure of nearby mills

Piethorne Valley Reservoirs Six reservoirs built near Rochdale for the people of Oldham

The Lost Village of Haslingden Grane  Three reservoirs were to seal the fate of this once thriving community

Watergrove Reservoir and Drowned Village  A Victorian village and mills destroyed to make way for clean drinking water for Rochdale

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Roadside Wells

Cann Street Well, Tottington  An old coaching road well, still in very good condition

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Bridges

West Lancashire Railway Bridge When the railway was dismantled, the bridge still had an unusual other function

Penwortham Old Bridge, Preston A vital link that replaced the dangerous fords on the Ribble

Brungerley Bridge, Clitheroe A scenic beauty spot for over a hundred years, this site once witnessed the dramatic capture of a king

Sawley Bridge, Sawley A Georgian bridge over the River Ribble

Edisford Bridge, Clitheroe Both a battle and a medieval leper hospital mark this important ford and bridge crossing

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Turnpikes

Garstang Toll House and Roman Milestone A north-south route, as important in the Georgian times as it was in Roman times

Preston to Garstang Turnpike Milestones  An impressively long sequence of milestones from the Georgian era

Two Unusual Sign Posts Bury Rare survivors of a time before local maps were commonplace

Georgian Miscellanea

Searching for Benjamin Franklin in Lancashire The American scientist, inventor and statesman had strong connections with the county

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