
(Here is a photo taken at the bottom of Northfield Road, Rising Bridge. -click over to enlarge)
I was sixteen at the time and remember it as though it was yesterday. It all started around the 10 o’clock mark during the mid morning of Saturday July 18th 1964. It did not start with rain, but large hailstones, and when I say hailstones, by the left they were the biggest I have ever seen, and remain so from that day to this, I know many say “as big as golf balls”, well I certainly would not go that far, but they must have been well above one inch in diameter.
They made a noise like no other noise you’ve ever heard before, such was the downpour against your slated roof, which sounded of a thunderous nature, and wondering if at any minute your windows where going to crack and shatter!. I thought at the time about poor old Donald the milkman from Gibbon’s Farm, who had just gone past our house delivering milk from his horse and cart! Just about the time when the hailstones had started, and thought about what a stinger he and his horse must have received with hailstones like that!. Then after a further ten minutes the hailstones stopped, but this was soon to be followed by thundering and lightening and then torrential rain, so powerful the drains could not take it.
I suppose for us at the top end of Hud Hey it wasn’t so bad, but sadly for people who lived in the bottom or in the direct line of any of the local water courses, it must have been a nightmare to say the least.
I think it may have been about twelve noon or a little later that the torrential rain finally abated.
But the damage had been done, and the lodges at the top of Northfield Road, together with others at Duckworth Clough, Brook Street and elsewhere, had burst their banks and were causing severe flooding further down their watercourses, especially to the houses at the bottom of Northfield Road and also to the shops on Blackburn Road, Rising Bridge.


I remember at Rising Bridge, that the flooding had become so severe that it caused major structural damage to a couple of houses/shops on the main Blackburn Road, in fact, one of the shops was actually built directly above the “torrented stream” and was in part washed away and the property was so severely damaged that it and the property next door had to be demolished.
But far worse tragedy had to come that day, and it happened further on towards Haslingden, with the loss of life, when poor little “Annie Wroe” drowned whilst in her house situated in Back Carr Mill Street (just off Hud Hey near Carr Mill factory). I can remember Annie, who was a very pleasant little lady and she was of about 5ft in height, she had lived there with her brother Frank who was the fork lift driver at the nearby Carr Mill Factory.
Below is a photo kindly sent in by John Sumner of a Yellow Ford Anglia, which was forced under the road bridge and when it came out the other side taking out the keystone causing the bridge to collapse. If you look at the picture of the house collapsing you may spot two people beside the end house. Those two people are my aunt and my grandma.
5th August 2012 - Jackie Ramsbottom, has kindly sent in the undermentioned newspaper cuttings and it also confirms that there was another flood during September 1960. This also goes on to confirm the fact that the boat rescue shown in the photographs above which show Mr. Walter Cockerill being rescued in a small boat must relate to the period of the 1960 flood...
Larry Sagar kindly informs me that in regards to "the rescue of Walter Cockerill, one of his would be rescuers was Walter's youngest brother Alan assisted by Terry Southam who still lives in the village. There four brothers in the Cockerill family, the other two, Fred and Jim both served in the army during the war and having survived the D-Day landings on the 6th of June. Jim was killed in France on 11th June 1944. Fred survived the War"
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James Lewis Hall clearing the hailstones at Carr Parkers Mill on Charles Lane from the freak hailstones on the 25th July 1964. |
(Please click over any of the photos below to enlarge)
Flood damage down at Every Street which was off Grane Road leading to Waterside (photo kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw |
Another photo of flood damage at Every Street - note submerged car (photo kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
flood damage down at Every Street (photo kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
Another photo of flood damage down at Every Street (photo kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
Floods at Broadway (photo kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
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Here is a scan of the front page of the Lancashire Evening Telgraphs "Flood Souvenir" published on the 25th July 1964 a week after the actual floods. (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
Showing small individual photos of the tragedy of Rising Bridge caused through the great floods (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
More Rising Bridge flood photos (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
Photos showing Rising Bridge Road and thats Raymond Clegg there who was then a firemen at Haslingden. (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
A photo showing the giant hailstones outside of Cordingleys next to the Bay Horse Pub (kindly sent in by Alan Bradshaw) |
Astonishing daring work being carried out at Rising Bridge (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
A gaunt relic of the flood - Rising Bridge (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
Flood havoc at Sheperd Brothers Rising Bridge (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
More Rising Bridge photos (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
Caught in the action of collapse at Rising Bridge (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
precision time of collapse (kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) |
And a 15 second shot later (Kindly sent in by Allan Bradshaw) *************************************************** |