Day 2 dawned bright and fine, following cancellation of digging the previous day due to heavy rain and wind. Work continued in Trench 1, and Trench 2 was opened in the ditch. The stones on the top of the bank were defined. In doing so, more of the compacted yellow clay layer was revealed. The
On a day of sunshine, wind and heavy rain, trench 1 (2m x 4m) was opened on the northern side of the bank and ditch feature. The turf was difficult to remove, probably due to the recent dry weather. Once the turf had been removed, the top soil was trowelled. Removal of the grey,
What a smashing turn out to hear and see Kate Saffin and Heather Wastie part of Alarum Theatre perform the roles of Idle Women. Of course they weren’t idle at all and neither were the Idle Women in the title, this myth grew after Susan Wolfit wrote the book ‘Idle Women’ about the life of
The summer weather was kind to the group on their trip to Yorkshire, with plenty of sunshine. After setting off bright and early, a visit to a coffee shop was required to recharge batteries before driving through country lanes to begin the day at Wharram Percy, Europe’s best known deserted village. Wharram Percy Settlement in
The AGM was conducted satisfactorily and dear friends, as there was no one to step into the breach!, last year’s committee members were reinstated. At the end of the evening we enjoyed a light supper, before that however we were treated to some aspects of Pendle that we did know and quite a few that
A good group of people gathered at Wycoller car park for a splendid guided walk by our Chairman David Taylor. We examined the vaccaries (or medieval cattle ranches) in the area that had been researched by the group many years ago. It was a beautiful day and many people saw aspects of Wycoller that they
Eeee by gum… what a gradely day that was. We were chuffed wi’ good weather and able to spill out inter garden and the courtyard and mill around in the warm sunshine. Local Morris dances performed by local Morris dancers – The Malkin Morris Dancers, whoever knew there was a Morris dance called Whalley!
King’s Highway to Heyhouses (with return via Whin’s House) After parking on Clitheroe Road the group walked along the track towards the Craggs Farms until it met the junction with the King’s Highway. The group walked down King’s Highway into Heyhouses. The road was followed to Sabden Bridge. The walk looked at tracks, roads and
With mixed feelings of trepidation, anticipation and excitement fourteen bewildered adventurers boarded the coach for Hull with the common question of; why are we doing this? Why Hull? First stop Sandal Castle, where we were amazed to find a renegade member who’d recently returned to live in her native Yorkshire but was missing us already
The Craggs Revisited The group began the day studying LIDAR images and maps of the Sabden area in the Green Room. The proposed location of the Craggs vaccary was discussed. With the weather improving, an intrepid group braved the mud and the streams to visit the Craggs above Sabden. The purpose of the visit was
We had an excellent turnout for this afternoon talk in March, despite the sunny weather. And just to show that good things do come out of Yorkshire, Sheila Gordon, who devised the trail, Lady Anne’s Way and has a book of the same name, entertained us with a splendid talk. People were very appreciative of
What an excellent turn out on a cold February evening, it was well worth it to see the architectural hidden gems that are part of our northern heritage. Kevin Illingworth entertained us from his vast store of images and knowledge starting with features of Rufford Old Hall where a curved canopy gave protection to the
A group of fifteen of us gathered on a Post Ex Day. With regard to Pre History, Alex Whitlock mentioned examining antiquarian sources or contemporary accounts of the Hidden Valley (HV). Field walking in upland area may show significant areas that had not been ploughed out. Legal documents also may show some boundary lines due
According to Louis C. Tiffany, “Colour is to the eye what music is to the ear” and it is the luscious rich glowing colours that the world remembers when thinking of Tiffany Glass. However, not many people are aware of the fascinating and extraordinary story of Joseph Briggs a Lancashire Lad from Accrington made good.
Our Christmas event was very well attended and people were pleased to welcome local actress Joanne Halliwell in the guise of Betsy the Scullery maid with her quick wit and big gob. Betsy is a simple soul, perhaps one bauble short of a Christmas tree and Joanne carried it off superbly. There were double entendre
The weather did not seem to deter the Christmas Spirit at our party in the barn, almost all of those who intended to arrive did so despite heavy snow earlier. The smell of warm garlic bread met our noses and wetted our appetites and after an excellent buffet we were in fine fettle for energetic
This was not a dry and dusty millers tale as might be expected from the title, Brian enlightened the audience as to some of the causes of recent flooding in Whalley and surrounding areas and the history of the local corn mills. A member of the wealthy and local De Lacey family, Petrus de Cestria
It was heads down and pencils at the ready at our November Quiz night. First prize winners were The Niplags or Galpins – a team of three, followed by the Smarties in second place. This was followed by a warming potato pie supper. Many thanks to our Quiz Masters John and Ann Dodd for an
A goodly group of people were gathered for our first afternoon session of the Autumn Season and Denise North enabled us to unpick some of our preconceived ideas about the links between Benedictine and Burnley. Whilst DOM on the label of a bottle of Benedictine stands for “Deo Optimo Maximo” (“To God, most good, most
What a rich tapestry of history we imbibed at Hoghton Tower on Tuesday 26th September. This fortified early 12th Century and later Tudor Elizabethan Manor House, the home of the de Hoghtons has entertained many illustrious visitors. You may know that James 1st knighted a loin of beef there but did you know he rode
We had a very interesting evening at the start of our 2017/18 season when Peter Marsden demonstrated his skills as an archeologist and historian (and author and speaker) to delve into his own family history and the links to his Viking heritage. He revealed some very interesting details and links between his family of Marsdens
“Fourteen members set off by coach on 20 September to travel to Sheffield, via the peak District. It was a very pleasant, warm, sunny day, all day, so we were lucky with the weather. We stopped off at the lovely village of Hathersage in the Peak District for a coffee break and short walk around,
If you looked through any window of the Barn at the Garden Event on August 6th – yeah What did you see? People moving round the highways and the byways of the 18th Century Walled Garden Where did they go? For Strawberry Teas and to visit Harry with his bees Sandra and her flowers, Pat
A small but very select group visited the St Helens’ Chapel dig at Malham. This visit was in lieu of a reciprocal visit by Ingleton Archeology Group. Dr David Johnson, dig leader, outlined the main finds so far. The nave pit exposed a north west buttress which was probably a later addition to the chapel.
A group of friends enjoyed a guided tour of the Parish Church of St Wilfred and the village of Ribchester. Alan and Colin ably conducted us around St Wilfreds Church, currently undergoing roof repairs and whilst we were appreciating the beauty of the church entertained us with scurrilous stories of various individuals. We then viewed
To view progress on the full 18 days of the June dig, please click here.
A small group – The Secret Six – set off for Widdop Reservoir with lashings of ginger beer and buns for an adventure seeking pre historic and other material on the shores of the reservoir. There was evidence of habitation and activity from various ages including Mesolithic times and from when the settlements
When a speaker arrives with a large suitcase one has to wonder what is going to happen! Does he intend to stay over to save driving home after a very long talk? Maybe he has a ventriloquists dummy? Has he been thrown out by his other half? Fortunately it was none of those things! Peter
Main photo courtesy of Andy Barratt Our two night/three day residential trip to York was off to a flying start when we visited Ripley Castle, a 14th Century country house. At all the places we visited we were given a warm welcome and imbibed the history of ‘everything’ from knowledgeable and well informed guides. On
Alex Whitlock, leader of our archaeology group and expert on lithics (stone tools) gave an informative and entertaining talk as he brought us up to date on the work the group have been undertaking on Pendle Hill. Evidence of habitation by mesolithic people (10,000 to 5000BC) to the modern day have been found represented by