Inside LancashirePublished by Inside Lancashire LTD

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Published in 2011

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This guide aims to show you abrief glimpse of the history ofGreat Harwood, a small townsituated in East Lancashire. .

As I drove around taking photos, Iremembered the town from my ownchildhood forty years ago. Sadly,much has changed.

However, I still believe it remainsone of the most beautiful parts ofthe country and many of the oldbuildings that have stood the test oftime are well worth a visit as manyof them are over 100 years old.

The history of the Town dates backto two knights who fought in the1066 Battle of Hastings for Williamthe Conqueror. Despite theirbravery, they were not individuallynamed as having participated in theBattle.

However, they went on to becomethe founders of two separatefamilies by the name of de Lacy.At that time, English nobles weredispossessed of their lands andtitles and the de Lacy family sharedin the spoils. This included controlof the whole district ofBlackburnshire in Lancashire.

In 1085, Great Harwood was part ofSouth Lancashire. The RiversCalder and Hyndburn wereboundaries and near these, the first

Interesting facts about Great Harwood...

farms and smallholdings were built.

Over time, more houses were builtas settlers came in clusters atHindle Fold, Cliffe, Butts, Lidgettand Whalley Banks.

Great Harwood was bequeathed toRichard De Fitton in 1177 by HenryDe Lacey and eventually, throughmarriage became the property ofthe Hesketh and Nowell Families.

Heskeths owned 2/3rd of the townand the Nowells owned the rest.Great Harwood remained in thehands of these two families fornearly 500 years.

Various births, marriages, deathsand wars kept Great Harwood inthe hands of 'Lords of the Manor'for a further 400 years.

The family names of Hesketh,Nowell and Lomax are of majorsignificance to the development ofGreat Harwood for a total of 900years until the final auction sellingmost plots of land in 1926.

This e-book of information andphotos give you an insight,spanning almost 1000 years, tosome of the major events inGreat Harwood and the familieswho inspired the changes thatmade this little town Great.

View overlooking Gt Harwood and surrounding areas. (Opposite Pine Forrest)

When William de Fitton died in1289 he divided his lands betweenhis three daughters, Matilda,Elizabeth and Annabel. Annabel& Husband Edmund de Legh soldtheir share to Matilda andWilliamde Hesketh, who already ownedneighbouring land, resulting inowning two-thirds of GreatHarwood making the Heskethfamily of superior rank to theNowell family.

This did not go down very well asthe Nowell family ‘pedigree’ datedback to Henry 1st. In 1335, therewere disputes over land betweenthe Heskeths and the Nowells andmatters had to be solved legally.

From 1348 to 1350 the BubonicPlague (Black Death) arrived inEurope, originating from China. Itwas thought for people to escapethe horrors of this death, peoplefled out of large cities and set upnew homes in the country. It wasestimated between 25 and 50% ofEuropes population fell victim tothis pestilence. There is noevidence it was every in GreatHarwood but farmers in wantedmore freedom to farm the land.Great Harwood Lords began tolease it to them.Gt Harwood people survivedthrough farming and weaving and itremained a small village for around200 years.

In 1521, Thomas Heskethfounded a chantry in the Churchthen named St Lawrences. Anancient piece of glass bearinghis initials and coat of arms canstill be seen in this church nowcalled St Bartholemews. In 1558Thomas lived with his family atMartholme.

Thomas Hesketh’s Eldest son, alsoThomas (1519 - 1588), wasknighted on 2nd October 1553 atthe coronation of Mary Tudor.He was a supporter of Queen Mary,a Roman Catholic, but was able toretain the confidence of her sisterthe Protestant Queen Elizabethwhen she came to power in 1558and served her with distinction at

The Hesketh Family

the Siege of Leith in Scotland.

Sir Thomas and his family lived atMartholme with his sons, Thomasand Richard. He died in 1588 andwas succeeded by his eldest sonRobert (d.1620).

Robert married three times, first toMary and had five sons; secondlyto Blanche Twyford; thirdly to JaneSpencer, daughter of one of histenants. Jane had been previouslymarried and had three children, butall are recorded as having RobertHesketh as their father.

Robert and Jane also had anillegitimate son, Robert, and then

after they married another sonCuthbert.

Robert was loyal to the Monarchybeing one of 79 gentlemen whosigned a "loyal bond of allegianceto James I on his accession to thethrone". He sat as an MP forLancashire in 1597 and was HighSheriff of the County 1599-1600.

In 1819 Upper town came up forsale owned by Sir Thomas Heskethand was bought by RichardGrimshaw Lomax for £75,000. (SeeLomax Family)

Richard and his wife Catherine had12 children, 10 boys and 2 girls. Allthe boys were educated atStoneyhurst College in Clitheroe.(Please see our FREE ClitheroeGuide) and three became priests.Richard died in 1837.

John Lomax, fourth son, succeededto the estate. When John died hehad no children so the estate wentto James. James became Lord ofthe Manor and lived in GreatHarwood for many yearsthroughout the major developmentof the town.

St Bartholemews (Old Photo)

St Lawrence Church (1335) re-namedSt Bartholemews by Thomas Hesketh (1521)

St Bartholemews (BACK)

Another Roger (1582 - 1623) wasresponsible for bringing thePendle Witches to trial.

His grandson, Roger (1605 - 1695),was the next to inherit the estate.This Roger was active during theCivil War, raising an army at hisown expense and defendingLatham house for the King.

Roger built Great Harwood's firstschool in Delph Road. Roger'sson Alexander died before him sohe was succeeded by his grandsonyet another Roger who died in1725. The name Roger Nowell waskept in the family for over 500 yearsand with so many Rover Nowellsit’s hard to keep track.

In 1770 some farms had to be soldto pacify creditors but not enoughmoney was raised and Alexanderso he instructed his Trustees to sellas much land as was necessary to

The Nowell Family

The Nowell family pedigree goesback to the time of Henry I whenAdam Nowell married the heiress ofStephen de Mearley so bringing theestate of Great Mearley into hisfamily. His son Roger marriedElizabeth co-heiress of William deFitton.

When William died in 1289 hedivided his lands between his threedaughters, Matilda, Elizabeth andAnnabel. Elizabeth and herhusband Roger Nowell were giventhe Netherton (Lower Town) ofGreat Harwood and they were for atime joint Lords of the Manor withthe Heskeths and the de Leghs.

When the de Leghs sold their shareof Great Harwood to the Heskeths,the Nowells became subservientand had to pay homage and pledgeKnight's Service for their share ofthe estate to the Heskeths.

FIRST MARKET AND FAIR

Adam Nowell, the son of Elizabethand Roger, fought in wars againstScotland and in 1338 and wasrewarded by King Edward III with aCharter allowing him to hold amarket every Thursday and anannual Fair on St. Lawrence's Dayin August.

Despite this early advantage,making the Lower Town the centreof commercial activity, Nowells stillhad to pay homage to the Heskethsas chief Lords of the Manor.

The earliest surviving record of theHomage Ceremony is from Easter1390 when John Nowell pledgedhis loyalty to Thomas Hesketh forthe lands he held in "Harewode".

Roger Nowell built Read Hall. Hehad three half brothers, Alexander,Lawrence and Robert.

Before Roger died in 1567 he madean agreement with his two sonsRoger and Thomas so that theformer would succeed to the wholeestate.

cover his debts. The entire LowerTown was put up for sale at theBlack Bull, Blackburn.

Neither this sale nor one in 1771 atthe Swan, Whalley were greatsuccesses. When Alexander died ayear later in 1772, his holdings inGreat Harwood were put up forsale at the Queens Head.

Mr. James Lomax of Clayton-le-Moors bought all the land to addto his acquisitions at theprevious sales and Sir ThomasHesketh bought the rights to themarket and Fair.

Charlotte returned to London withher daughter Elizabeth Eleanorwho died aged twelve bringing anend to this branch of the Nowellfamily.

Richard Lomax (born 1688) wasthe heir of James Lomax ofPilsworth, South East Lancashire.In 1715 he married RebeccaHeywood ( granddaughter of Johnand Jennet Grimshaw)

Eldest son James Lomax born1717 was given Clayton estate in1753. James did well. When theNowells were forced to sell theLower Town 1770 he was the chiefbuyer.

James converted to the RomanCatholic Church. Rumour has ithe was offered Brandy with thePetre’s Chaplain which led himto find out the religion of thecountry who produced it andultimately he was converted..

James' eldest son RichardGrimshaw Lomax marriedCatherine Greaves. Richardleased more land from Sir ThomasHesketh purchased any propertyfor sale including upper Town whenit came up for sale and becameLord of the Manor.

Catherine had ten sons and twodaughters. The sons who survivedwere educated at nearby, Jesuit,Stonyhurst College and three ofthem became priests.

John, (4th son) inherited the estateand married Helen, Aspinall. Theyhad no children. He died in 1849

The Lomax Family

and was succeeded by his brotherJames.

James Lomax (1803) who marriedFrances, was given land in GreatHarwood by his father where hebuilt his home, Allsprings, in 1838.James continued to purchase anyland for sale and eventually ownedall but a few acres of Gt Harwood.

It was during his lifetime that thevillage grew from 1,695 to 9,000.As the town grew, so did religiousorganisations. Roman Catholicsmet in a range of places untilJames decided to build Our Ladyand St. Hubert's Church andSchool. The church was officiallyopened 5th November 1859 andthe land and deeds were handedover to the Church debt FREE.

James died in 1886 and was buriedin the church he built. They had nochildren. The only one left from thelarge family of Richard GrimshawLomax was the youngest sonThomas and his daughter Helenand grand-daughter Helen Marywho jointly succeeded to the estate.

Helen married her cousin ThomasTrappes. who died in 1891. Afterhis death, Helen took the additionalname of Lomax. Helen Trappes-Lomax, wife of Thomas, died 15thJune 1924. She was succeeded byher eldest surviving son Richardand wife Alice who had 8 sons.

One year later, in 1925 the Lomaxfamily sold,, by public auctionlasting 3 days,, almost everything inClayton and Great Harwood.

This was the end of a way of lifewhich had been bound up with theLords of the Manor for almost 900years.

PhotosTop: Mr James LomaxBottom (left) Lomax Arms, (Middle)Allsprings Front View (Right)Allsprings view from garden

Our Lady and St. Hubert's Church

Built in 1851 by Mr. HenryAinsworth (Surgeon).on land called Churchfield ownedby James Lomax

Spirit merchant Joseph Haydockmade it his family home six yearslater in 1857. His son Milton andhis wife lived there until theirdeaths. The couple were popularwith the locals and Mrs Haydockwas a fashionable person lookedon as an attractive sight - seenhere in the right.

The childless couple requestedthat Churchfield house shouldbecome a free library and that thegardens should provide pleasurefor the people of Great Harwood.The income from the residue ofthe estate was to be used to payfor outgoings in respect ofChurchfield House.

Churchfield House

When Mrs. Haydock died in 1936,a temporary library had been builton Water Street. Followingan assessment of thehouse, some of the 2000books were only suitablefor a big reference library.

It proved impractical toconvert the house into alibrary so to comply withthe terms of the will,Churchfield House wasused as a reference libraryand a room was set asidefor people to read the dailypapers which wereprovided.

The room is still available todayfor visitors. The house is used bymany local groups for meetings,seminars, classes and socialfunctions.

Mr. & Mrs Haydock,Churchfield House

Church Street, Great Harwood,BB6 7RE

CAPACITIES & USES :40 seat Theatre Style ,30 seat Cafe Style15 seat Boardroom .

Telephone 01254 380295

Great Harwood War Memorial

Since the first World war, thepeople of Great Harwood havewanted to remember the bravepeople who fought for thefreedom of King, Queen andCountry.

A memorial was erected in 1926on land already reserved for thepeople of Great Harwood.

The Unveiling Ceremony onTuesday 2nd October 1926.Major General Sir Neil Malcolm,K.C.B., D.S.O. The long list ofnames show that many familiesmust have suffered tragiclosses of their husbands,brothers, sons and fathers.

Each war since has quite rightlybeen honoured with additionalcarvings on thiscommemorative statue andincludes first and second worldwars (1914-1918) & (1939 - 1945)Malaya (1948 - 1960), Korea(1950 - 1953) and the FalklandsCampaign (1982).

JOHN MERCER(21 February 1791 – 30 November1866)

John Mercer was born February1791, the second son of poorparents.

Having never gone to school, hewas taught to read and write by hisneighbour. John was veryinterested in colours and dying andwith the help of chemistry books hequickly picked up skills that senthim on his way to making some ofthe most significant discoveries inthe cotton dying Industries andmaking him one of Great Harwoodsmost famous people..

Aged 23 he married MaryWolstenholme and together had sixchildren. His interest and skills ledhim to employment with RichardFord, Calico Printer and Johneventually became a partner in thebusiness.

One of his first discoveries was tocreate an ‘orange’ colour of dye forcotton. He went on to sell hisinvention to other countries.

At the age of 53, he developed aprocess using sodium hydroxidewhich made cotton swell andbecome stronger. This made iteasier to dye and made it softer totouch. He protected his inventionwith a patent in 1850 and isbelieved to have turned down£40,000 from France for the patent.

The process 'mercerisation' takenafter his name, is still used today inmany manufacturing processes.Mercerised cotton yarns are usedin shirts, sewing threads, socks andknitwear and are generallyassociated with a quality product.

John Mercer was admitted to theRoyal Society in 1852 and theLiterary and Philosophical Societyin 1860.

His wife died in 1859 aged 68.Aged 70, the town Census recordshim as being a Chemist, living withhis son John and 12 others at 29Burlington Hotel. Rumour has it hisneighbour was Florence

Nightingale.

John Mercer died at home in 1866and buried in St Bartholemew'schurch. Other members of hisfamily are buried in the CatholicChurch at the bottom of St.Hubert's Road.

MERCER HALL

When Maria Mercer, the lastsurviving child of JohnMercer, died in 1913 aged93, her estate was valued atapprox £140,000. One of themany charities that benefitedwas Great Harwood with a£5000 donation to be used atthe discretion of her trustees.

The Council decided to built acommunity Hall at thejunction of Water Street andQueen Street and it would beknown as Mercer Hall. Theestimate was £8,000 and itseems time has not changedin this aspect of our life asthe final cost came to£25,000.

The Opening Ceremony tookplace on 21 October 1921.The building was used formany local events but its

popularity dwindled and theupkeep meant heavy losses.The townsfolk had longwished for swimming bathsand plans were drawn up toconvert it to a swimming pool.

Work commenced and on22nd April 1967, almost 50years after it was first built,the baths were completed.

For nearly another 50 years,local schools teach our youngpeople how to swim. In 2011,the baths are still in use butwith the recent cutbacks, whoknows.

TOWN CLOCK

Thirty years after hisdiscovery, the process nearlydied out until a historicalmanual published in 1902revived the process.

The decision to build a clocktower in Mercers memorywas taken by the UrbanDistrict Council and Dr. Cranwas mainly responsible forcarrying it out. The stone wastaken from the best beds inHowley Park Quarry.

The official opening ceremonytook place0th June 1903 andwas unveiled by the Mayor ofAccrington, Alderman ThomasBroughton.

The clock was made byMessrs. William Potts & Sonsof Leeds, makers of the mostimportant clocks in thecountry. The clock makingbusiness which ran for fivegenerations was purchasedby John Smith & Son Ltd andstill operates today -

http://www.pottsclocks.co.uk

The Plough Inn, Gt Harwood

Delph Road, Gt HarwoodBaileys, Queen Street, Gt Harwood

Dog & Otter Inn, Gt Harwood

Then and Now

Blackburn Road, Gt Harwood

Then and Now

Cliffe Lane, Gt Harwood

Railway Terrace, Gt Harwood Edge End, Gt Harwood

The Co-Operative Society

Great Harwood had a Co-operative shop presence foralmost 150 years until 2010when it sold to a rivalsupermarket chain, Morrisons

One of the first shops to bebuilt in Great Harwood is stillin existence on the corner ofOrchard Street and MeadowStreet. .

The shop has been used formany things over the lastcentury and is now a nursery.

It would not have beenunusual to see a co-operativeshop on most street cornersand as the town grew, a largecentrally located co-operativewas built in 1908 most likely,in part by the wealthylandowners. As the buildingis still standing, you canclearly see the family crestand initials of the Heskethsas well as the completiondate of 1908.

It was sold on when a newpurpose built single floorbuilding was completedopposite. The original stonebuilt construction is home toseveral families who rentluxury modern flats on thefirst floor and businesses onthe ground floor including aBar, Restaurant and HairSalon.

The Co-operative moved onto a new constructiondeveloped on the old Librarysite which was demolished tomake way. A new library wasconstructed close by next toMercer Hall on Queen Street.

Co-Op building on thecorner of Orchard Streetand Meadow Street(1899)

Westbys (1858)Entering Clayton Street from StHuberts Road, on the left (oppositethe Merry England Pub) is a smallside street where WestbysEngineering Works was built in1858 most likely using AccringtonNori Brick.

The workshop made Healds andReeds for the many weavers inGreat Harwood.

.The heald is part of theloom used to move thethreads up and down.The threads passthrough eyelets on theheald. For a plainweave, alternate eyeletsare moved up to raisehalf the threads and the other halfare moved down. When the shuttletravels back their positions arereversed.

The reed is likea comb andcontrols theseparation ofthe threads.The reeds havea short life.

A shuttle was thrown between theup and down threads two or threetimes a second which made a lot ofnoise.

In the late 50s, the engineering firmclosed down but is still used today..

For many years it was a shoemanufacturers owned by Ashworthand Young - known to residents as‘the slipper factory’.

The expert footwear manufacturingindustry in the North West ofEngland was well renowned forquality shoes but in the 1980s,fierce competition from ‘foreign’imports saw the business close in1988.

The building was taken over by‘The Bedding box’ who previouslyran their business from a smallgarage on Queen Street and madebedding, curtains and towels.

Westbys from the back

The business thrived for severalyears and sold products from thefactory showroom.

They also sold their product in theCo-operative building on LomaxStreet.

The original brick-built Engineeringcompany, built by Westbys over150 years ago is now home toseveral smaller businessesincluding a printers.

Public Houses in Great Harwood Over 100 years oldThe Cross Axes pub on Church Streetwas the first venue in Great Harwood tosell raw meat. Over time, public houseshave even been used for many thingsincluding to worship in. The Dog & Otter isjust ‘down the road’ from the Trapps-Lomax family home and was built in 1805

They have stood the test of time for over

those working in the bar industries but isthis because these people don’t have ajob any more?

It matters not, the end of an era is clearlyin sight. Let’s hope the buildings are notdemolished and they find another use isfound for them instead.

100 years including wars, recessions,religious and cultural changes.

However, Summer 2007 saw theintroduction of the smoking ban in pubichouses to protect bar staff.

It was reported in 2009 there was a 12%reduction in smoking related illnesses by