Spring Hill House

Only three or four of Stacksteads large detached mansion houses survive, the rest such as Fern Hill House, Spring Hill House and Heath Hill House have been demolished with little or no evidence of their once grand existence. Spring Hill House, which stood in 5 acres of grounds, had been the home of James Ashworth,

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Peace Day 1919

On the 18th of July, Bacup and Stacksteads basked in glorious sunshine, with the streets of Bacup adorned in festive decorations. St James Street was festooned with colourful bunting, and the Market Hall and Court House were similarly adorned. On Burnley Road, St John’s Sunday School featured a floral archway over the gates, interwoven with

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Druggists & Dentists

The working class often avoided the expense of calling a doctor, relying instead on home remedies passed down through generations or purchasing readily available medicines from the local druggist. Enoch Sutcliffe was one of Bacup’s earliest druggists, initially operating a shop at 13 St James Street before moving to 3 St James Street. In the

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The School House

The first schoolhouse in Bacup was built on land purchased in 1692 from Mr. John Whitaker of Broadclough Hall. This site is now home to Bacup Library, which was formerly the Mechanics Institute, opened in 1846. The land was bought for £3.8s.0d. The school also served as a meeting house and a place for prayer.

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The Brownback

Brownback’s were classed as the lowest of the low, people didn’t want to know them or discuss them in conversation. In 1878 a letter appeared in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph which the Bacup Times reprinted. The “factory hands” are an entirely different class. They are as insignificant physically as the “brownbacks” (quarrymen) are prodigious. Cadaverous

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