Haslingden Old and New...

Haslingden derives from Hazeldean or Valley of the Hazels. It lies 19 miles north of Manchester in the County of Lancashire. A area at one time noted in particular for its Stone, it also played a big part in the Woollen and then later Cotton Industries from the 18th and through the 19th and early to mid 20th Century... It is steeped in Local History and can also boast to have one of the most beautiful Natural Valleys around, where thousands come and visit annually

Tuesday, 1 September 2015

Would you like a ticket sir! for the ANNUAL BALL, this week its the "Police Ball"

Haslingden Wheelers and Motor Cycle Club Annual Ball
Photo: kindly from the late Marie Ives - Printed here at 1 1/2 times larger than actual
See below for contents of programme.

We did not need any excuse for a Ball, in fact the diary at the Public Hall was continuously booked up with all the various “ Balls” which seemed to be on during the winter months especially around the October and November periods.

I remember best the last “Mayors Ball” when Alderman Donald Butterworth (our last Mayor) and his good lady were the host. With being on the Town Council at the time, we got invitations and so off we trundled me in the old drain pipes (well I think that’s what I might have worn), there again it might well have been “bell bottoms” and my dearest in her “scarlet red hot pants” which brought looks from all around, but who cared it was the early 70's and we were having a “ball”. We were young and didn’t bother too much about protocol (evening dresses and all that stuff) them days.

Click over to enlarge
check further down for
inside of programme

One thing I remember quite clearly was the Mayor inviting us to take a drink with him in the private room set aside for his guest. Why not I said whilst lifting the glass and downing the Scotch in one! Whilst trying to hide the follow up cough!

“A towd thi that Tayern Hall ud spent thi hard earned cash” – knockin em back on quiet! WELL CHEERS Mr Mayor I’ll not be complaining!

There were Balls for this, that and tuther, and they were all for good causes and after cost of it all the remainder of brass would go to well deserving charities.

Each of the Towns Services had their Ball which included The Police, The Fireman’s, and a very popular event was the Farmer’s Ball.

I am sure you would naturally guess that the most popular Ball of them all and best attended was the Police Ball. When it was coming up to the time of the Police Ball there were tickets on the go everywhere in the town. Think about it! There were no parking tickets them days! And probably lots of minor misdemeanours may have been overlooked and dealt with by a strong warning, but you could guess that it was always followed up by, “Would you be interested in purchasing a ticket for the Police Ball Sir?” Of course officer, I will have four! I often wondered what would have happened if you said NO!

On the night of the Mayor’s Ball the band was our local Jack Taylor Band, and Jack would have drafted in one or two more members to make the band bigger than is regular weekly dance band. Another firm favourite band at some of the Balls was the Bob Whatmough Band from Accrington, they were quite a large band with never less than a dozen or so musicians.

Flannel Ball (flannels Optional)
shown here at 1 and 1/2 times bigger

Over the many years I’ll bet there were scores of “Balls” and scores of Cinderella’s attending them, the difference is that they would not all have had to be home for midnight. Let’s face it most Balls did not finish those days until about one o’clock in the morning!

The Swimming Club also had their Annual Dance which sometimes was on Boxing Day, December 26^th.

“The Flannal Ball” who had the R. Wright’s Syncopated Band to provide the Music.

Politics also came into the Annual Ball, I can remember the Haslingden Liberal Party Ball and also the Conservative Ball.

I have now included a list of well known Balls below and can you think of any others?

Mayors Ball,
Police Ball,
Firemans Ball,
Farmers Ball
Liberal Ball,
Conservative Ball,

St. Mary's Ball,
Wheelers Cycle Club Ball (see photo of programme),
Flannel Ball (see photo of programme),
Youth Club Coming of Age Ball
Swimming Club Annual Dance
Spinners and Minders Association Ball (Sat Nov 20th 1875) - Public Hall (The Popular Star Quadrille Band played for dancing)
The Children's Ball

This is the inside of the Wheelers and Motor Cycle Club, Annual Ball Programme
kindly supplied by the late Marie Ives - note the president was Walter Holland (Holland's Pies)

1944 Police Programme shown above kindly contributed by Chris Kirby

St. Mary's Ball on Friday March 15th 1967

(thanks to Chris Kirby)

Haslingden Liberal Association Ball - March 1956

(Click over photo to enlarge.)

Haslingden Liberal Association Ball - January 1963
(Click over photo to enlarge)

Haslingden Youth Club "Coming of Age Ball" - October 1962
(Click over photo to enlarge

Liberal Ball c1963 - The Helmshore Methodist Contingent (Click over photo to enlarge)

The Liberal Ball when Frank Mitchell was Mayor.

The photo shows the Helmshore Methodist contingent.

From left to right:-

Kenneth Riding, Valerie Barlow, Barbara Mudd, Keith Riding, Alan Isherwood, Ronnie Wolfenden, Ian Jefferson, Christine Mitchell, Florence Clough and Kathleen Barlow. Obviously, the alcohol was just for the purpose of the photo!

(Photo kindly sent in by Florence Walsh (nee Clough) on 3rd September 2015.

Haslingden United Clubs - Grand Late Ball
Programme cover kindly contributed by Dave Wise

Local advert for the very last "Mayor's Ball" held at the Public Hall
(kindly sent in by Chris Kirby - Click over to enlarge

Haslingden Childrens Ball 1963 - Mayor and Mayoress Mitchell and John Wood at front left (Click over to enlarge)
Photo: archived (Balls) and uploaded here on 16th March 2016

Mayoress Childrens Christmas Party at the Public Hall

Photo: Thanks to Adrea Lysons for kindly sharing with us

NOW ARCHIVED UNDER "THE ANNUAL BALL AT THE PUBLIC HALL"

Check there are also other Childrens Ball photos.

Thanks to the late Marie Ives, Chris Kirby and Florence Walsh for their contributions.

Request for Photos and Sending photos for the Blog

We are constantly struggling to find photos to fill the header on the front page and so your photos would be a absolute delight to receive and as long as they are yours and of historic value, we have no problem showing them on the blog, so many people get so much pleasure from these. The feedback has been quite remarkable. So please send your scans of the photos in so they can be put on the blog and subsequently filed within the blog, and can then be seen by the thousands who are watching on a regular basis. This way hopefully the photos will be preserved for not just us but also for the future generations of Hazeldeners, Haslingdonians, Ex pats and friends. Thank you.....

Also just as important as photos are memories or stories of the past and other snippetts of information which may give pleasure together with any posters, programmes and scans of memorabilia pertaining to Haslingden.

If at all possible can photos being submitted to the blog as jpeg images (or another image type file if preferred), and be sent to me in a "full" or at least "large" resolution size (eg: the original size which they are scanned at) and without any reductions in size, before sending through to me. If I have them in full resolution I can do far more with them especially when it comes to showing enlargements etc eg "click over the image to enlarge" etc.

Don't worry should this be a problem, I can still show them in smaller resolution sizes, because even small photos are better than no photo.

Thank you.

Bryan.

Preserve the past in words and pictures

Over the many years there must be lots of interesting facts and tales what have gone on within our Haslingden and Helmshore, some vintage, some old and some new....

And here in our blog we are trying to re-introduce some of this precious information and where possible also offer photographs...

As they say its probably only the tip of the iceberg, but its got to be worth "Passing it on or sharing it before it gets lost forever" ... Have you something you want to share? If so please let us know.

Description of the Arms of the Borough (shown above) - The Arms and Crest of which the following is a description, were assigned to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Haslingden, by grant from the Herald's College, dated 25th March, 1892 and are therein described as follows: Quarterly Or and Argent on a fesse wavy Azure between a Lion rampant purpure, holding between the paws a Quatrefoil ermine, in the first quarter; six Eagles displayed three, two and one; Gules in the centre chief point a Rose of the last barbed and seeded proper, in the second; a Cog-wheel Sable, in the third; a Pick-axe in bend surmounting a spade in bend sinister, entwined by a Chain in arch all proper in the fourth; a Shuttle fesswise of the first tipped and furnished with thread pendant of the second and for the Crest, on a wreath of the colours upon a Mount a Rock thereon, a Moorcock holding in the beak a Sprig of Hazel, between two branches of Hazel fructed all proper.

Haslingden in its own right was incorporated as a Municipal Borough in the year 1891 and ran most of its affairs from the Municipal Offices, Bury Road (now Car Park) - see photo below. Sadly in 1974 it lost most of its former Independance by being swallowed up to form part of the (then) new Rossendale Borough Council...

The government of the place in 1825 was thus described: 'The district is formed into six divisions called posts or stations, and the executive consists of a constable and six churchwardens. Each churchwarden is charged with the care of a station and is made responsible for its good order.' The system appears to have been successful at the time. It was not till 1875 that a local board was formed. The district ruled by it was extended in 1883 so as to include parts of Haslingden, Henheads, Higher and Lower Booths in the parish of Whalley, and also Musbury and part of Tottington in Bury. In 1891 a charter of incorporation was granted, the council consisting of a mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors, chosen by six wards named Town, Acre, Syke, Helmshore, Holden and Grane. The borough area was consolidated into a single township, called Haslingden, in 1894.

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's (later LMS) line from Clifton to Accrington did run northward through the township, having stations at Helmshore and at Haslingden, it was opened in August 1848.

Dr. Aikin, writing in 1795, says:—Haslingden has been greatly improved within the last twenty years, chiefly from the increase of the woollen manufacture, though much of the cotton trade has likewise been introduced within a few years, particularly the branch of making twist for warps, for which purpose alone several factories have been erected in its neighbourhood. . . . The people were (forty years since) chiefly employed by moneyed men at Rochdale; but now the trade is supported by capitals acquired on the spot by the industry and enterprising spirit of the manufacturers, who have erected inns for the entertainment of travellers, shops and handsome houses for their own residence. A square is lately planned here, and some capital houses are already built in it. . . . A number of mills for carding cotton and sheep's wool and spinning them into cotton twist and woollen yarn for the flannels made here, are erected upon the Swinnell. There is also a corn mill on the river, formerly belonging to the Holden family, now extinct.

Haslingden was one of the chapels existing when Whalley was bestowed on the monks of Stanlaw, and in 1296 it was found that its tithes were worth 5 marks and the altarage 4 marks; the chaplain had a stipend of 4 marks, and the chapel had an endowment of 1 oxgang of land. The church, which is now called St. James's, was rebuilt in the time of Henry VIII and again in 1780, after having fallen down. There was no regularly founded chantry, but in 1548 the names of two priests were recorded in the bishop's visitation list, and the same in 1554; later there was only one minister, the curate. His fixed income was £4 a year out of the rectory of Whalley. The Commonwealth Church Survey of 1650 fails to give any account of the income of Haslingden Chapel, but in 1717 it had £17 8s. 7¾d. a year, including £11 10s. out of the rectory, various fees and the Easter roll. There were six chapelwardens. In 1719 George Hargreaves and others gave £200 to augment the endowment, and with later increments the net value is now £368. The vicars of Whalley formerly presented the curates, but about 1848 the Hulme Trustees acquired the patronage. The benefice is styled a vicarage. In the 16th century the north chapel was acquired by the Rawstornes of New Hall in Tottington. The south chapel belonged to the Holdens of Holden. 'In 1857, during alterations, there were found in a cavity under the floor of the church where the altar anciently stood a skull and crossbones with traces of gilding upon them, and therefore believed to be the relics of St. James, the patron saint.' A large 'plague stone,' with two holes in it, was found in the churchyard. The entries in the registers begin about 1620, but are only fragmentary until 1653.
From: 'Townships: Haslingden', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (1911), pp. 427-433. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53147

Haslingden On Film

St. Mary's Class of 1951 at a 1991 re-union - kindly sent in by John McGuire.

St. Marys Class of 1951 (1991 Re-Union)

Films kindly given to us by Bernard Rostron - Chairman of the Friends of the Higher Mill Museums - Three films which were filmed by the late Maurice Edmundson:

Green Valley and part of the Walking Day (St. Thomas)

Walking Day (St. Thomas and also Mayor's Sunday

Films kindly sent in by Dave Rothwell (copyright: D. Rothwell)

HGS Staff versus Pupils Hockey Match 3:48

1964 St James Sports Day 3:50

HGS Camp 1965 31secs

HGS Rag Day 12secs

A film by the BFI

Haslingden Peace Celebrations July 19th 1919

Check out DJ Drone on Haslingden Grane (You Tube)

Haslingden Carnival 1950s - Shows Willie Horam and Georgie Berry as the King and Queen.

Click here