Briercliffe with Roger Frost

A morning of heavy, wind-blown rain showers did not deter the dozen SPAG members who joined local historian Roger Frost on a guided tour of Briercliffe with Extwistle (to give the area its full name).

From our vantage point at the picnic site above the Thursden valley Roger pointed out various features in the landscape and described the past lives of the people who have occupied the land since the Mesolithic.  Across the valley, on the other side of Thursden Brook in the Extwistle area, there is a bronze-age burial mound at the top of Pike Lowe which I investigated many years ago when few stones were still visible at the burial site.  Roger explained that Extwistle is a Manor, having held that status since the 12th century. The local Manor House, Extwistle Hall, now a ruin, was once home to handloom weavers and farmers. One SPAG member recalled that an ancestor of hers once occupied a room in the Hall.  Nearby we could see what looked like an old farmhouse but Roger revealed that it had once been the local tannery where pig, sheep and cattle hides were processed.

Rushing back to our cars at the start of another heavy downpour we drove in convoy down into Thursden Valley passing the many limestone hushings on the way. Thursden was once the site of a village of some 300 people with lime kilns, a chapel and even a village pub.  The sun came out as we walked along Thursden Brook and this once industrious place became a pleasant rural idyll.

The last part of our journey of discovery was the village of Lane Bottom, a short drive away.  Here Roger described this typical mill village with its own chapel and shops.  One of the oldest buildings, a handloom weaving factory, has unfortunately been demolished but we were able to view the weavers’ cottages including the 18th century three-storey Higher Buildings as we walked to the site of the 19th century cotton mill.  This was the first weaving shed to be built as a distinct unit, not as an attachment to a spinning mill.

From here we drove to Shores Hey Farm where a welcome hot lunch awaited us at the splendid *HAPPA cafe.

*Horses and Ponies Protection Association