On a sunny evening in late May, fourteen Spaggers met below Moss Bank Park in Bolton at the bottom of the steps leading up to Barrow Bridge village.  Those who had enjoyed Geoff Timmins talk on Lancashire Factory Villages a couple of weeks before were particularly keen to see the reality of what had been outlined.

At a time when worker’s houses were built close together to keep costs down, Bazley & Gardner built this delightful settlement for workers at their two six storey Dean Mills in the valley below.  Some of the houses were back to back, some back to end and others through houses but all had a small garden, outdoor lavatories and communal washhouses which explains their status as a ‘model village’.  All had access to the village institute which was the hub of village life and has now been converted into attractive apartments.

Nowadays this is a sought after, residential conservation area but after 1861 when the mills were closed and then demolished, the many housed were unoccupied and fell into disrepair.  As we approached Second Street towards the top of the hill we were fortunate to meet three generations of local residents from the same family: Audrey, Victoria and Hannah!  This fortuitous meeting resulted in a wonderful conversation as tales of the history of the area were presented.

Returning to the the road, we crossed over to view Victoria Lake, the  remains of the mills and the probable site of an old gasometer used by the mill.  Still enjoying the delightful weather we walked further up the road to view the Mission Hall and the picturesque mill managers houses.

All told, a delightful evening.