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Bacup - Back of Beyond

August 2021

We stood at one of the most important medieval cross roads in Lancashire, now a large and imposing roundabout. In medieval times, as the River Irwell separated the ancient parishes of Whalley and Rochdale, church emissaries and the Kings’ Officers were obliged to cross the divide in Bacup.  Traders selling the woollen cloth produced by local handloom weavers, heading for the market at Halifax, crossed the bridge and the volume of traffic picked up during the Industrial Revolution when Bacup became a mill town.

As Malcolm had previously remarked, “you need a reason to come to Bacup” - that may be so but the volume of traffic still passing through the town centre in all directions emphasises its enduring strategic location.

Blessed with a warm, sunny afternoon, we began out visit with a slide slow presented by Kathy Fishwick, Chair of the Rossendale Civic Trust, giving a brief introduction to the original small settlement which became Bacup.

During our walk around the town, Kathy led us to a number of hidden courts where the original weavers cottages survive, still offering desirable living accommodation.  Converted mills and other civic buildings about to be re-purposed or transformed were evident along with the obligatory “white elephant”, in this case a magnificent Market Hall, sadly minus its roof!

Bacup, along with other similar towns, is faced with how to combine conservation with modernisation.

Kathy brought to life the challenges of the past and present and made our visit informative and very thought provoking.,

Thanks to our Chairman, Rita Walsh, for this report.