When considering what to do on a wet, cold Sunday afternoon in October, Whitworth Museum may not be the first venue that springs to mind but 17 members from SPAG attended on 3^rd October.

The same hospitality that we enjoyed when we visited in the summer for a walk down Cowm Valley was evident when we found a large table in the main room bedecked with a tea service and a fancy centre piece.  With over a hundred members and a working group of less than 20, it’s really amazing what has been achieved by this dedicated group.

The first port of call was the archives which contains a huge amount of data stored in old ledgers and other written records.  What a pleasure it was to see so many irreplaceable records saved for posterity, some of them literally from a skip!  Modern technology may be efficient (discuss) but old ledgers written in copperplate using early pens with steel nibs and real ink have so much more charm.

We now had time to view the museum exhibits, some of which our members remembered (I make no reference to our average age) but personally I found the bath brick of particular interest.  ‘What on earth was it for?’ I enquired.  ‘It was placed in the bath to save water’ came the reply!  Now, why didn’t I think of that!

Time for afternoon tea with delicious cakes and then a fascinating talk by their Chair; Brian Furness.  Perhaps the thing that most people know about Whitworth is Facit Mill (now sadly demolished) but what about the massive quarries, the famous Whitworth Doctors, the magnificent viaduct in Healey Dell or the fabulous old market place?  The story of the double railway bridge (the first one appears to have been built in the wrong place) was delightful.

The traffic using the main turnpike road through the town from Rochdale to Bacup was traced from horse drawn buses, steam powered trams, electric trams and now modern buses.  One of the first roads built by John Loudon McAdam, using small stones, cambered to drain the water away from the surface it has been an important route ever since.

Brian is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable speaker who has a genuine affection for his native town.  The museum is on Saturdays 11am to 4pm and is well worth a visit.