Boyd's photo diary. |
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Sat 30 Jun 2018
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Early afternoon out for bike ride to Horwich. Looking across
Lower Rivington Reservoir I could see the large moors fire on
Winter Hill getting worse. The bottom of Sheep House Lane had
been closed and then on to Jepson’s Gate where I could see the
huge plume of smoke rising and being blow over towards
Southport. |
Winter Hill from Jepson's Gate |
The smoke blocking out the sun |
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Fri 29 Jun 2018
Happy 50th Birthday to St John's School, Brinscall. Such a
fantastic evening for a party & celebrations. |
Happy Birthday |
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On my way home from Scotland did a short walk by Carbisdale
Castle at Invershin north of Bonar Bridge, Scotland.
CARBISDALE CASTLE ("Castle Spite")
As you look across the
Kyle of Sutherland you can see Carbisdale Castle. It was built
between 1906 and 1917 by Mary Caroline Mitchell the Dowager
Countess of Sutherland, "Countess Blair". |
Carbisdale Castle |
She became the second wife of the 3rd Duke and 18th Earl of
Sutherland in 1889. After his death in 1892 a bitter family
dispute broke out over the contents of his will. He had left
almost everything to Countess Blair and in the course of this
acrimonious dispute she was charged with destroying vital
documents and earned herself 6 weeks in Holloway Prison.
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last a financial settlement was reached which included a
condition that the Sutherland family build her a new home, to
her specification, but outside the county.
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At the time this site was in Ross-shire and ideal, but more
importantly it would also be extremely visible to her late
husband's family as they journeyed up and down the railway line
to their Sutherland estates. She spent over £168,000 on the
building and its contents (this is equivalent to £1.4 million
today). |
The 3rd Duke and 18th Earl of Sutherland's Private locomotive
"Dunrobin" |
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Thu 28 Jun 2018
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In Scotland to do some walking. |
Loch Stack to Arkle and boat |
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Sat 23 Jun 2018
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Afternoon walked to the Clayton-le-Woods Parish Council Summer
Fair in the grounds of Manor Road School. |
Summer Fair |
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Fri 22 Jun 2018
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Happy Birthday and congratulations to Brinscall Baths on your
107th birthday.
I learned to swim at Brinscall Baths and a
coach or chara (charabanc) would pick us up from Withnell Fold
School every Friday morning, call at other schools in the area
and take the children to the baths for swimming lessons. It was
all thanks to Herbert T. Parke (1859 - 1917) of Withnell Fold
who paid for it all. Thanks him we soon knew how to swim are
drowning incident reduced.
Brinscall Baths were opened in
1911 but Chorley didn’t get their public baths until the late
1930s and that has now gone. Brinscall is still going strong and
9 separate schools around the area still sent their pupils for
swimming lessons.
These Baths were built by Herbert t. Parke
and given to the Withnell Urban District Council June 22nd 1911. |
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Herbert T. Parke (1859 - 1917) |
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Plaque inside the baths |
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Thu 21 Jun 2018
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Cycled to Denham Hill, Brindle for the Summer Solstice sunrise.
It was about 04:47am when the sun first peeped above Pendle
Hill. |
After returning from my Cumbria walk I drove to Bamber Bridge
and the Hob Inn or Ye Olde Hob Inn as it is stupidly called. The
reason was for a guided local history walk lead by Dr David Hunt
who gave us a tour of sites and events of the
Battle of Bamber Bridge in 1943. It was an outbreak of
racial violence and mutiny that began on the evening of 24 June
1943 among American servicemen stationed in the British village
of Bamber Bridge. During the Second World War Bamber Bridge
hosted American servicemen from the 1511th Quartermaster Truck
regiment, part of the Eighth Air Force. Their base, Air Force
Station 569 (nicknamed "Adam Hall"), was located on Mounsey
Road.
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Hob Inn and start of the walk |
2376 (Bamber Bridge) Sqn Air Training Corps. Last surviving
building of the Army camp. |
St Mary's Church interior Brownedge Rd. |
Sunset on the logest day |
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I returned to Denham Hill in the car at 09:40pm to watch the
sunset. This photo shows the sun sinking into the Irish Sea but
there are some other features of interest. To the right is St
Walburge’s Church, Preston. It is 6 miles distant and the spire
is 309 feet (94 m) tall. It is one of the tallest structures in
Lancashire. After Salisbury and Norwich Cathedrals it is the
third tallest spire in the United Kingdom and the tallest on a
parish church. On the middle horizon can be seen the tall radio
masts at Inskip 13 miles away. The tallest masts are 180m (600ft)
tall. It was 4 years ago (2014) since I last had such a good
view. |
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Wed 20 Jun 2018
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Lunchtime walk up Well Ln Brinscall to visit the site of photo I
took of Steve in the late 1970s. |
Steve in the late 70s |
The same location today |
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Tue 19 Jun 2018
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Had to abandon drive to Cumbria as front nearside brake calliper
siezed and had to return. Fortunately Stocks Garage at Wheelton
were able to help me out and fit new ones during the afternoon |
Front nearside siezed brake caliper |
New calipers fitted on 2 front brakes |
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Sat 16 Jun 2018
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A very heavy rain downpour in whittle-le-Woods around 3pm |
New Temple & stone cross
Extract from July 1883 estate plan |
Boulder and cross near New Temple |
Solomon's Temple farm ruin |
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I was out for a walk with my son up Well Lane above Brinscall
and thought we’d check out the estate map of the Solomon’s
Temple, New Temple area and the stone cross. I’ve not seen a
cross marked on any map at that location. The map turned out to
be very accurate and checking google earth it was possible to
see the old land boundaries. I walked to the Stone Cross
location shown and found a large natural boulder about 1*1.5m in
plan. On the top was a roughly incised carving of a cross
corresponding with that shown on the map. It is exactly the same
size and style as the two merestone crosses near Brinscall
Pinewoods. The main difference is this one appears to be a crude
copy which is a shallow cut into the rock. You can just see it
on the photo. Its position doesn’t correspond with any boundary
so I can only assume it was carved on a whim. |
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Fri 15 Jun 2018
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Heading home from my bike ride. |
At Withnell Fold the Thirlmere Aqueduct line gate posts by the
stocks have been broken. Apparently by a DHL van. It was was
driverless at the time but fortunately didn’t collide with any
cars. It’s been reported to both DHL and the council. The driver
was confused and pretty shaken.
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Thirlemere Aqueduct line gate posts |
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Thu 14 Jun 2018
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Heading home from my bike ride. |
Leaving Norwich Railway Station |
Arriving at Manchester Piccadilly. |
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Wed 13 Jun 2018
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Cycling on to the outskirts of Norwich |
Passing the Old Forge |
Old shoes |
Approaching Wymondham |
Wymondham level crossing
at the Railway Station |
Wymondham Abbey |
Wymondham Abbey |
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Wymondham is a market town in Norfolk. The Great Fire of
Wymondham broke out on Sunday 11 June 1615 and destroyed much of
the town. It was started by three Gypsies.
Kett's Rebellion started here and was a revolt in Norfolk
during the reign of Edward VI, largely in response to the
enclosure of land. It began on 8 July 1549. One of the
organisers was Robert Kett who was tried and hanged on Norwich
Castle. His brother William was hanged on the church tower at
Wymondham. |
Wymondham Market Cross dates from 1617. |
The Market Cross is now the Information Centre |
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Tue 12 Jun 2018
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Cycling through the village of Orwell on my way to Cambridge.
I've also crossed the meridian into the eastern hemisphere. |
Radio telescope on the way to Cambridge |
River Cam in Cambridge |
Reached Cambridge hoping to see their 'Bridge of Sighs' but the
access wasn't open and would have cost £10. |
Approaching Newmarket & this Queen's Statue that was unveiled in
2016 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to mark her 90th
birthday. |
Newmarket |
Crossing over the old 14th century pack-horse bridge
at Moulton, east of Newmarket. |
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Mon 11 Jun 2018
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Morning cycle ride to
Bletchley Park which was the central site for British
codebreakers during World War II. It housed the Government Code
and Cypher School. |
Bletchley Park Mansion |
Bletchley Park Mansion |
Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park Mansion Aug
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A high proportion of Bletchley Park workers were
women |
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Sun 10 Jun 2018
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Reached “the
Bridge of Sighs”, Oxford or more accurately Hertford Bridge
the skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New
College Lane in Oxford. It was completed in 1914. |
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The amazing Windmill at Brill.
The first mill on this site
was 1685 but this structure dates back to around 1865. |
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Sat 09 Jun 2018
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Heading off with my bike to do some touring. This time I'm
heading south. First to Preston and the train to Birmingham |
My carriage from Preston was empty when we left at 06:17am |
Leaving Birmingham |
Nice terra-cotta in Knowle |
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Thu 07 Jun 2018
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Morning bike ride over the Belmont Road where embankment
rebuilding works are underway. |
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Wed 06 Jun 2018
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A morning walk at Hurstwood
Reservoir above Burnley |
Hurstwood Embankment |
The filter house is being converted |
County Borough of Burnley 1923 |
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An afternoon visit to Withnell Hall to take some more progress
photos of the renovations
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The main hall in 1900 |
The main hall area |
Front view of the Hall |
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It was originally thought that the roof could be repaired but it
cant so is being completely re-constructed |
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Evening drove to Wigan Archaeological Society. The presentation
was by David Casserly about the Civil Wars in Lancashire (1642
to 1651)
He did the same presentation to Chorley Historical
Society on Tue 10 March 2015. |
David Casserly |
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Tue 05 Jun 2018
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A day walk in Cumbria. This is the old Coach Road to the east of
Keswick. |
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Mon 04 Jun 2018
Returned to Corporation Park, Blackburn to the site of the
cannon Battery.
The two cannons were donated to the town on
the orders of Queen Victoria when the park was opened soon after
the Crimean War of 1853-56. The pair of 24lb cannons (that’s the
weight of ball that was fired) were captured when Sebastopol
fell to the British and French. Hundreds of cannons were taken
and many were given to towns and cities throughout Britain.
The women’s suffragette movement was well underway in 1914 and
the cannons were cleaned then packed with about one-and-a-half
pounds of explosive then fired, without a ball.
They left
behind a brown paper parcel with a large piece of calico cloth
inside. Written in blue pencil were the words: ‘Wake up,
Blackburn!’ |
The Battery today |
Old photo with cannon |
The Battery today |
Old photo with cannon |
The
Cottontown Website gives an excellent report.
By far the
most interesting and unusual event involving a suffragette in
Blackburn was the firing of the cannon in Corporation Park in
mid-February, 1914. At about quarter past seven on February
Sunday a loud bang was heard throughout Blackburn and even
beyond. The house around the park were reported to have been
shaken by the blast and the police and fire departments were
overflowing with people wanting to know what was going on. Many
people thought there must have been an explosion at the Addison
Street Gasworks. There was an official statement to the contrary
but it was not until Monday morning the truth was discovered. It
was obvious that the cannon had been fired as someone had
removed several years' worth of stones and gravel from the
barrel. Also, the surrounding area was splashed with a yellow
substance that indicated that the cannon had not been cleaned
properly before use. Experts at the time reckoned that about
11/2 lb of explosive was used, not enough for a proper charge
which would have moved the gun but enough to make a loud noise.
People who were in the park at the time of the blast saw a flash
of light and reckoned it was a lightning bolt. The cannon firing
was blamed on suffragettes because on Monday morning a brown
paper parcel was found next to the cannon. Inside the parcel was
a large piece of calico cloth on which was written in blue
pencil:
Wake up, Blackburn! The Labour Party who claim to
stand for Justice and Freedom support a government that Tortures
Women under the Infamous Cat and Mouse Act. |
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Sun 03 Jun 2018
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The Battery. 213.5m above sea level, the battery was built
to display two 24lb bronze cannon captured at Sebastopol in 1855
and gifted by Queen Victoria. They were sold for scrap early in
WW2. |
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Cycled to Blackburn and Corporation Park. Had a look at the
old Conservatory then the site of the old captured Russian
Cannons from the Crimea which were sold for scrap during WW2. |
Flora in Blackburn Corporation Park |
Conservatory |
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Then cycled to Revidge, Mellor, Brindle to look at the plaque
for a V1 bomb that landed on Gregson Lane on Christmas Eve in
1944 |
V1 Flying Bomb |
V1
Flying Bomb |
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Sat 02 Jun 2018
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In Astley Park, Chorley there has been a fountain by the access
road from Ackhurst Lodge since the grounds and gardens were
constructed in the 18th Century. The volunteer group ‘Friends of
Astley Park’ have been working hard for some time to refurbish
the fountain and bring it back to life. The original gravity
feed of water comes from a nearby pond but has been blocked for
many years. |
Councillor Roy Lees, Mayor of Chorley Councillor Margaret Lees
and Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP for Chorley. |
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The original cast iron supply pipe with lead sealed spigot and
socket joints has now been cleared and able to supply the
fountain without the need of a pump, using nothing more than
gravity. One of the original researcher into the history of the
fountain was Rosemary Boyd (1943 – 2017) who died last year. |
Dedicated to Rosemary Boyd |
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Rosemary was a well-known historian and naturalist and so it was
a fitting tribute to fix a stone plaque in her memory before the
fountain was officially opened this morning Sat 2 June 2018 by
Chorley’s Mayor Councillor Margaret Lees. The Mayor was
accompanied by her consort and husband Councillor Roy Lees. Sir
Lindsay Hoyle MP for Chorley also attended as well as
representatives from some of the groups that Rosemary was a
member of |
Restored fountain |
Plaque and fountain |
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Fri 01 Jun 2018
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Morning cycled to Pleasington Crematorium to see the Book of
Remembrance open at Dad’s name. He died 39 years ago. |
Pleasington Crematorium |
Book of Remembrance |
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