My Lancashire - My accounts of the local area

MONUMENT TO THE LATE JOHN HORROCKS, ESQ., M.P.  Sometimes, perhaps often, things are not quite what they seem. I had been on an intermittent 'wild goose chase' looking for this monument.  I visited St. Mary's Church in Penwortham on several occasions, and whilst it wasn't the sole purpose of my visits, I was always keeping an eye out for it.  The fatal flaw was that I had made an assumption that it was outside.  I can't remember how I came to realise otherwise, but the item is safe inside the church protected from the elements.  By the time I had come to this conclusion, I had completed several dozen laps of the church graveyard.  This information is taken from the Preston Chronicle of Saturday 15th August 1863 (Issue 2692)   MONUMENT TO THE LATE JOHN HORROCKS, ESQ., M.P. Within the last few weeks, a very handsome monumental tablet has been placed in Penwortham Church, to the memory of this remarkable man, by his nephew, Mr. Walter Horrocks Whitehead, ...

Fire at The Singleton Row Windmill on Harrison Hill in Preston ALARMING FIRE . About a quarter to twelve o'clock on Monday night, an alarm was given at the fire-brigade station that the wind corn mill in Singleton-row, Harrison-hill, in the occupation of Mr. Henry Walker, was on fire. A full complement of men were soon got together, and hastened to the mill with one engine, and on their arrival found the flames issuing from the doors and windows of the two lower storeys, and also from the door communicating with the stage that surrounds the mill at the third storey. It was at once seen that one engine would not be sufficient to subdue the fire, and another was immediately sent for. The lower part of the mill had the appearance of an immense furnace, and the heat and smoke utterly forbade any attempt to extinguish the fire from below. The men accordingly spliced some ladders together, and laid them from the roof of an adjacent low building to stage of the mill, and by crossing the b...

The following article is a long contemporary report of the Preston Guild Merchant of 1862, one of the most significant civic festivals in Victorian Lancashire. It frames the Guild as a historic institution dating back several centuries, originally formed to protect the rights and privileges of Preston’s freemen and burgesses. Held roughly every twenty years, the “Guild Merchant” was both a ceremonial renewal of civic rights and a major public celebration, combining civic governance, tradition, and large-scale festivity. The piece sets the 1862 Guild against a backdrop of economic hardship and social distress, noting contemporary debate about whether such expensive celebrations were appropriate. Despite this, the Corporation proceeds, partly justifying the event on the basis that it would bring economic benefit through visitors and trade, and potentially contribute to charitable relief funds. The article also reflects on the historical origins of guilds more broadly, tracing them back t...

Extensive and Interesting Discovery of Ancient Royal Treasure The Cuerdale Hoard Most Interesting Discovery of Anglo-Saxon Coins at Cuerdale Friday this week is the anniversary of the discovery of the Cuerdale Hoard, which is now 186 years ago. Between now and then, I am going to post about it on a regular basis. MOST INTERESTING DISCOVERY OF ANGLO-SAXON COINS. On Friday last a large collection of most valuable and interesting Anglo-Saxon coins, and other reliques of olden time, was discovered close to the river Ribble, at Cuerdale, near Preston. We understand that some workmen were employed in removing some ground on the banks of the river, which had become undermined by the action of the water, when they turned up an old leaden chest, containing about ten thousand of the coins alluded to, several silver bracelets, and a quantity of ingots or bars of silver. The coins are of silver, and weigh about twenty grains each. Mr. Assheton, of Downham Hall, near Clitheroe, is the owner of ...