My Lancashire - My accounts of the local area

What Will Preston look like in 1992? A slideshow from 1972 Preston Guild predicting what Preston would be like in 1992 No, it's not the first of the 'Forward to the Past' trilogy. This is a bit like watching an old Sci-Fi film predicting the future 50 years after it has been made. No, we're still not buzzing around in flying cars, thankfully. View West from Ladywell, towards the Docks and Penwortham Power Station This short film, which is  is effectively a forerunner of a PowerPoint presentation before personal computers had been conceived, let alone Microsoft software (...am I allowed to advertise on here? Other reputable software providers are also available, etc.), didn't quite make it to 3 minutes before they were getting it wrong.  Do you think that we will get a University? The car: It's a good servant, but the more concessions we make to its use, the more it becomes our master. Hmmm. we still haven't cracked that nut. The proposal for the River Rib

Who was Todd of Todd Hall? No, I am not mistyping or misspelling a reference to a Kenneth Grahame character.  'Who was Todd of Todd Hall?' is a question about the origins of the name that an old house that is local to me in an area south of Preston in Lancashire, which is currently known as South Ribble.  My previous post called ' Todd Hall a Listed Building Dating Back to 1630 ' is about the same topic, although it only briefly mentions my curiosity about the origins of the name.   I had been speculating the the name Todd doesn't really have anything to do with the origins of the house, and perhaps refers to a later owner.  The name has left a mark though, as the road that runs nearby (we'll come back to this point) had been called 'Todd Lane' since at least the mid eighteenth century.  It is shown as this on the first Ordnance Survey maps of the area dating back to 1848.  Another road that joins it, to the south, at a junction of 'Four-Lane-Ends

The Delph in the River Ribble by Avenham Park Over the years, I have always been slightly confused when people mention the the necessity of 'divers' when investigating things in the River Ribble by Avenham Park, adjacent to the Old Tram Road bridge.  However, after being momentarily perplexed by it, my train of thought often moved onto something else.  More recently, when researching the history of the Lancaster Canal, I was led to an account of divers (again) fishing something out of the River Ribble in the same location.  This time, I decided to figure out why they would be needed. The answer is that there is a significantly deep 'Delph' in the River Ribble.  Strangely, whilst I thought that word was generally part of everyone's vocabulary, it turn out not to be.  I didn't pop up in online dictionaries when I did a web search.  Relatively locally, I have had conversations with people about 'Eccy Delph' (Eccleston Delph).  It turns out that Delph  comes

Todd Hall a Listed Building Dating Back to 1630  Todd Hall is a Grade II Listed Building that dates back to 1630. This makes it the oldest building in the South Ribble area, and generally around Preston. It was restored in 1938 by A. C. M. Lillie, a local architect, after lying derelict for ten years. The Bamber Bridge Architect A.C.M. Lillie's work included the New Patients Wing at Preston Royal Infirmary and the tower on St Paul's Church, Longridge. Todd Hall a Listed Building Dating Back to 1630 The moulded stone doorcase, with Tudor-arched lintel, is lettered in relief: 1630 W(?) IC. Moulded Stone Doorcase Lettered in Relief 1630 W(H)IC. I think that could be WHIC.  An early Ordnance Survey map makes reference to Todd Hall and also Todd Lane, the road on which sits.  However, an earlier maps that I have been studying does not.  This make reference to the name 'Hanshaws' in that area.  I am wondering whether my my interpretation of the letter 'H' (aitch) has

The History of Brockholes - Before and After the Preston Bypass The area of Brockholes, to the east of Preston along the Ribble Valley, is relatively well-known these days for its now well-established Nature reserve.  It is somewhere I visit relatively often these days.  Strangely, it tends to be more frequent during the winter months.  There are generally more things demanding my attention when the weather is warmer, hopefully drier and the days are longer.  The main attraction for me during the late autumn and winter for me are the Starling Murmurations .    Brockholes in December 2018 During the winter months, large numbers of starlings visit Britain from the continent, seeking out the relative warmth of our island climate.  As dusk arrives, the starlings set off for their communal roost in one of the most staggering natural spectacles of all.  Flocks arrive from all directions, gathering in the skies above their roost sites.  As the numbers reach into the tens and hundreds of thou