House & Home

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,

  On July 29, 1857, the Bacup Court House was inaugurated at Bankside, hosting its first petty session on the same day. Before this, the Police Station was located on Todmorden Road, in a building that was recently known as the Wellington Hotel. On August 6, 1887, the Bacup Watch Committee, responsible for the Bacup

P.C.25 Martin was one of Bacup’s most respected police officers. Known as Felix, by local people he earned this nickname as he carried out point duty in Bacup Centre, where he walked backwards and forwards with his hands clasped behind his back just like Felix the Cat a 1920 cartoon character. One of his most

The Mechanics School was taken over by Bacup Board School in 1893 with Mr Bell of Burnley submitting plans to build the new Central Board School at Thorn in 1894. The plans were made up of two schools; the infant school could hold up to 500 pupils and the junior school 325 pupils. The infants

Rockliffe House was built by John Maden cotton spinner and manufacturer, in 1866 on land once known as Raw Cliffe. John started off life as a humble handloom weaver, born at Bent in the hamlet of Heald. At the age of twenty, he married and, encouraged by his wife, he saved his first £5.00, walking

Thanks for the Memory  by Albert Pattison 1972 This entry won First Prize in a Memories of Bacup Competition in 1972.   Fifty years ago, I was attending the old St Mary’s R.C. School, on Bankside. Bacup at that time was a dimly lit cotton town, composed in the main of pubs, chip shops, cloggers 

The arrival of the fair transformed the town into a bustling hub of excitement and colour. The open land opposite the police station at Bankside, became a vibrant tapestry of stalls and amusements, each vying for attention with bright signs and the enticing aromas of sweet treats. The market area, known for its daily trade,