My Lancashire - My accounts of the local area

My Uncles (The Easter Egg) I was going to post this on Easter Monday, when I discovered it.  However, I refrained from doing that, as I thought people might take it for an 'April Fools' post. I have always liked looking at maps from planning bike rides, walks, road trips, holidays, etc. to just looking at them out of sheer curiosity. More recently the Internet opened up even more opportunities with things like freely available satellite images and street views.  It is only a few years ago when someone made me aware of old maps that had been digitised and published online. It's been a real 'virtual' adventure looking at them. Particularly the early Ordnance Survey Maps from 1848 and (around) 1910. The ability to view them and compare them to modern maps and satellite image really helps bring the history to life. So far, I have tended to focus around Lancashire and Preston specifically, being a local and all that.  I thought I had spotted most things of interest alrea

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

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

THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS 1862 When writing a previous post, about the history of horse racing around the Preston area, I had been looking for pictorial evidence.  This was always likely to be in the form of illustrations.  Whilst photography had been invented, as I understand it, as far back as 1822.  However, photographs would be used in publications, such as newspapers, until the 1890s.  When researching Penwortham Holme, I was led to a picture of an agricultural show that took place as part of the Preston Guild in 1862.  This in turn led me to a full piece about the occasion in the 'Illustrated London News' from that era.   The Illustrated London News was founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14th May 1842.  It was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine.  It was published weekly for most of its existence.  However, it switched to a less frequent publication schedule in 1971, and eventually ceased publication in 2003.  The company contin

Abandoned Houses in Ulnes Walton near Leyland in Lancashire - Low House Strictly speaking, I suppose the word in the title should be 'Buildings' as opposed to 'Houses', however, the main place of interest is 'Low House'.  From a historical point of view, that location seems to have been in existence for an number of centuries.  At this stage, it seems unlikely that the abandoned buildings represent the original property.  Web searches are not revealing any great detail at this point. The journey starts when I began watching urban and historical exploration videos on YouTube.  In the past, I had always been interested in exploring, and finding out more information about the places I had visited.  Watching the videos opened up a number of opportunities to find out about new places.  On this occasion, it was more about the tools and methods of finding 'stuff', as opposed to somebody suggesting a location on a video. I had learned about some old maps hosted