Waterfoot, Rossendale - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Waterfoot is a small Rossendale

Rossendale

Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...

mill-town at between Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...

and Bacup

Bacup

Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...

in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

where the B6238 from Burnley

Burnley

Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....

meets the A681. It is where the River Whitwell meets the River Irwell

River Irwell

The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...

History

Like the majority of the industrial communities in East Lancashire, Waterfoot expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century with the growth of industrialisation; it became a centre for felt-making, a process related to the predominant textile industry of the region. Before that, the main centre was Newchurch-in-Rossendale, that sits above Waterfoot to the north. The township of Newchurch

Newchurch, Lancashire

Newchurch is a village in the Borough of Rossendale, Lancashire.It is around one mile away from Rawtenstall and half a mile from Waterfoot.It is also the home of Rossendale United F.C...

stretched from Bacup to Rawtenstall, and in 1511 it was recorded as having a population of 1000 people, served by the monks of Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified and it is now the Retreat and Conference House of the...

.

Waterfoot was on the railway line between Bury

Bury

Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...

and Bacup, created by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...

Company in 1848 (completed 1852). This was dismantled in 1972 and the route is now hard to trace, although the tunnels can be seen in Thrutch Gorge or 'The Glen', a picturesque cutting to the east of the village.

Industry

Woollen manufacture was formerly the chief industry, and there was some silk weaving, but since the 1770s cotton manufacture superseded wool as the principal business, with associated minor trades—size works, slipper works, dye works, foundries, reed and heald manufactories, roperies, saw-mills and cornmills. Stone was also extensively quarried in the vicinity, as well as there being small collieries.

Cotton became focused on the industrial manufacture of felt

Felt

Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....

, which then developed into a footwear

Footwear

Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....

, specifically slipper

Slipper

A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...

, industry. Nowadays the remnants of this industry imports most of the footwear and act as distribution centres, which still line the roads approaching the village centre.

Charles Parsons set up a bicycle shop in Waterfoot, Lancashire, in 1931 but eight years later he had an accident that eventually led to his blindness. At the end of the Second World War he could not buy bicycle bags for the shop, although cotton cloth was still available. His wife and her sister began to make up bags for him. This business expanded rapidly and eventually became Karrimor

Karrimor

Karrimor is a brand of outdoor and sports equipment and clothing. It was founded in 1946 by Charles and Mary Parsons with Grace Davies who hand-sewed cotton-duck cycle pannier bags from the upstairs of their Lancashire cycle shop....

, an international brand no longer associated with Waterfoot.

Chadwicks Original Bury Black Pudding Company, one of the county's original Black Pudding companies, manufactures its puddings in Waterfoot and is famous all over the world. RS Ireland's award-winning black puddings have also long been associated with Waterfoot, although they are now made in Haslingden

Haslingden

Haslingden is a small town in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. It is north of Manchester. The name means 'valley of the hazels', though the town is in fact set on a high and windy hill. In the early 20th century Haslingden had the status of a municipal borough, but following local government...

Features

The centre of Waterfoot has a distinctive canopied walkway in decorative iron and glass that is in need of restoration, forming the frontage of Victoria or Trickett's Arcade

Arcade (architecture)

An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....

, started in 1897 and completed in March, 1899. The arcade was built by Sir Henry Whittaker Trickett - a local businessman who was five times major of Rawtenstall. In 1914 a clock was added to the front of the arcade in his memory. Hidden inside are eight other shop spaces and a decorative central iron and glass feature that have been closed to the public for 50 years. Yet on its opening 15,000 people turned up for the ceremony.

Waterfoot has a number of independent, specialist shops including Fletcher's Hardware, a hardware supplier.

Also located in Waterfoot is Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School

Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School

Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is a selective co-educational foundation school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.-History:...

, one of the few state funded selective entry schools left in England. Founded in 1701 as Newchurch Grammar School and only moved to the present site and took its current name in 1912. The village is served by two primary schools, Waterfoot Primary and St Anne's C of E Primary, both of which have rising pupil numbers in 2007.

On the moorland above the village is a memorial to the dialect poet, Edwin Waugh

Edwin Waugh

Edwin Waugh , poet, son of a shoemaker, was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, and, after a little schooling, apprenticed to a printer, Thomas Holden, at the age of 12...

, known as Waugh's Well. Since 1993 fell runners

Fell running

Fell running, also known as mountain running and hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty...

from the surrounding communities have gathered annually to run a four mile circuit of the hills above the village, passing the well.

For horseriders, The Pennine Bridleway

Pennine Bridleway

The Pennine Bridleway is a new National Trail under designation in Northern England.It runs roughly parallel with the Pennine Way but provides access for horseback riders and cyclists as well as walkers. The trail is around long; through Derbyshire to the South Pennines, the Mary Towneley Loop...

passes through Waterfoot on the Mary Towneley Loop

Mary Towneley Loop

The Mary Towneley Loop is a circular route that forms part of the Pennine Bridleway National Trail, along the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire....

giving access to the unspoilt hill scenery overlooking the village, and it is also on the Irwell Sculpture Trail

Irwell Sculpture Trail

The Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established footpath stretching from Salford Quays through Bury into Rossendale and up to the Pennines above...

Arts

Waterfoot is the home of the international touring theatre, Horse and Bamboo Theatre

Horse and Bamboo Theatre

Horse and Bamboo Theatre or Horse + Bamboo Theatre is a British theatre company founded in 1978 by Bob Frith. The company works with a commitment to strong narratives but using visual, physical, and music-based forms rather than text. In particular it uses distinctive full-head masks...

, a company that uses distinctive masks and puppetry

Puppetry

Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...

. Their base is known as 'The Boo' and puts on a regular programme of theatre and other arts events. Another long-standing theatre group, The Rossendale Players, have their base at The New Millennium Theatre in Waterfoot, and have been giving performances for over 70 years. The area also has several artist's studios and is the base for Arthouse, a wallpaper design company. In 2000 the cartoonist Ray Lowry moved to Waterfoot from Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall

.

To the west, the Slipper Studio is the base for Liverpool artist, Don McKinlay, who is also a member of Manchester Academy of Fine Arts

Manchester Academy of Fine Arts

The Manchester Academy of Fine Arts is a society established in 1859 for the purpose of organising Annual Open Exhibitions in Manchester City Art Gallery, formerly the Manchester Institution...

. McKinlay has undertaken several sculpture commissions, including a Christ Child for Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and the memorial to Christopher Gray, the vicar of St Margaret's Church in Anfield, Liverpool, who was murdered in 1996. Fellow Manchester Academician Janina Cebertowicz, is a painter and artist at the Royal Northern College of Music

Royal Northern College of Music

The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...

in Manchester. North, on Burnley Road, Liam Spencer

Liam Spencer

Liam Spencer is a British artist.-Early life:Spencer was born in Burnley, Lancashire. He attended St Theodore's RC High School in the town. He went on to study at Burnley College and Manchester Polytechnic...

is among a group of notable painters, sculptors, and print-makers at Prospect Studios, and further along are the Valley Artists studios. To the east, at Tollbar in the direction of Bacup, is Globe Arts, the oldest of the local artists studio groups.

External links

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