100....

Hello friends

This is my 100th blog post and I've something special for you but you'll have to wait until the end.

The town where I live used to cover a much bigger area when it was mentioned in the Doomsday book (1086) and centuries later it was divided into smaller areas creating villages/townships. The area within which I live became a village and had only few residents but with continuous house building over very many years the number of residents have grown and is now a town.

Today I wanted to show you some buildings that I find interesting around where I live. On the left is Marsh Mill (I can see the top when I look out of my front door) This was built in 1794 by Ralph Slater and was commissioned by Bold Hesketh (there is a lot of history regarding Bold Hesketh that can be found all over the internet and is quite interesting) The windmill was used to ground corn/wheat for flour up until 1922 then in 1928 the 1st and 2nd floors were used as a tea room until 1935 and was then left empty. In 1957 it bought by the council and has gone through a few restorations, mainly to the sails and is open to the public at weekends.

Just a little way beyond the mill is a little village of shops, apartments, a pub, a posh restaurant and one or two offices with a lovely cobbled courtyard. Once a month there is a popular farmers market.

When I go to my craft club,at the library, I walk though this village. This foot path looks as though it's a lovely country walk but on either side of them bushes and trees are parking bays for the village and pub and comes out at another car park behind the library and the Little Theatre.
The library and theatre was opened in 1938 by Sir Percy Meadon, who was the director of education for Lancashire at the time; is owned by Lancashire county council.
The theatre, however, now owned and look after by the local council and a few years back was renovated inside and brought up to date this has made it more versatile and can be used for all kinds of events. You can't see from the pictures I've taken but there's a beautiful garden at the front of these two buildings.

A little further down the road is the Methodist church. This part (on the right) was built in 1812 at the cost of £150 and then in 1905 the church next door was built and the old church then became the church hall.
In 2011 the church went through a huge refurbishment to modernise the interior which made it more accessible to both the Church and the wider community.

This next picture doesn't look very interesting but it has gone through a few changes. Built in 1876 by Earnest Thornton as a private house until 1949 when it was bought by the sisters of the religious order of mercy in Burnley and for 28 years was a holiday home for the nuns. It was then empty for many years, and this is when I got to know of this house, before being turned into a restaurant, first the Linden Tree then The Victorian House. I worked there when it was the Victorian House and had a ghostly experience there. Now it's owned by a brewery who erected and ugly extension onto the side and made it the front door. The view you can see on the picture is of the original front door.

Across the road from the pub is the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It was built in 1899 and designed by Pugin  & Pugin and became a listed building in 2006. Looking at the records this does not appear to include the priests home that's attached to the side. There is a school linked to the church but it's a modern school, however a short walk down this road and you will come to one of the second oldest schools in the area. It was opened in September 1914 as a fresh air school. It was a new idea and was designed so that there should be plenty of fresh air available to prevent getting TB. The school is planning big celebrations for the coming year.



The next picture (on the right) is known as The Old Smithe. It was built in 1804 and is a listed building. It looks well preserved and under that solid roof is a thatched roof and that is all I know about it.

And now for the final picture. This is Raikes Farm also known as Primrose Cottage. This is also a listed building. It has a date stone winch reads 1692 but records show that there was a death at this address in 1595 and a baptism in 1601. It was built of cobble stones similar to the garden wall but has since been pebble dashed. The farm house is L shaped with the leg going behind the building. I grew up near this farm and knew the family. It's up for sale £450,00 for the house and two run down barns that have planning permission for conversion.
Hope you enjoyed your trip seeing some of the old buildings in my area.

We are at the end now so it's time for the something special to celebrate my 100th blog post. I can't believe I've actually stuck with it for so long. I did keep a diary for two years , the year up to the millennium and the year after. I've put a few things together to do a give away, a small blank wooden picture frame just waiting for you to decorate along with a hanging wooden butterfly and an egg shape, there are some fluffy flower seeds (might want to save them until next year) a packet of salad leave to grow, a mini scented candle and some chocolates.  All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is. be a follower and leave a comment and all names will go in a hat and the winner will be drawn and announced on Sunday.

Best of luck

Carolx