Wigan Album
rabbit rocks
12 CommentsPhoto: aitch
Item #: 23536
I have been passed what when I was growing up in Birkett Bank, we called The Rockies many times but never been to the top. When I was a little girl I was told not to go near there as there were goats there and they would 'get me'. I now believe my parents tried to frighten me from going there because it was to far for me to wander and dangerous because of the canal. I had no idea there was water up there or what it was made of. I will make sure I climb up there soon. Thanks for the photos.
Formed from the tipping of molten blast furnace slag. (Slag dumping - not to be confused with the termination of an unsatisfactory relationship;)
your right loz it came from top place , some of my relations worked there the iron works I have been on them rocks a thousand times as we lived a stones throw away I never knew what they were or how they got there but some of us incers called it lovers hill and I got my first kiss on lovers hill must have been 63 ish ha.
Josie - 63-ish? You were a bit old for a first kiss! Or was thtat the year?? Only joking! The molten slag was filled into cone shaped ladles which were shunted up to the top of the tip by a locomotive, then the contents were tipped down the side. On one occasion the train became unbalanced and the whole lot, including the loco, went down the side of the tip. If you go to Youtube and type 'slag dumping' you'll see some videos of the process.
we used to play on there as well as the slaggy, we were always told that the reason they were called the rabbit rocks was the the way of tipping the slag left quite a lot of empty spaces between the cones of slag, Ideal grounds for rabbit warrens, and I must say there were loads of them used to scatter when you went up there, especially if you had your dog with you, and which young lad didnt have a least one dog in their gang, but the slaggy was mostly our playground, its a pity there are no pictures of that both from the bottom and the top.
The big grass mound which goes from Seaman Way,to the old Tip entrance,was built with slag from the rabbit rocks.
I was always led to believe that Rabbit Rocks was the tip for the steel making side of things at Top Place and the Hemfield Road tip was from the iron process on the furnaces. My great uncle Evan Williams was trapped when a loco taking slag up the tip turned over. Got the newspaper cutting about ti
thanks loz I will take a look , and aich theres a couple of pics on bell green walking day and you can see the tops of the slag tip behind the houses .
There was a flag works close to the Hemfield Road tip, which made paving flags out of the slag.
Click the link (ok it's in China, but same principle).
http://www.youtube.com./watch?v=gLxTLZKHaVc
Ok, you'll have to copy and paste into your address bar, as the link isn't activated. Well worth it though.
Thanks for the youtube links, the China one is really good - I'm working with local people to do some information boards to go around the Kirkless site and on rabbit rocks so feel free to get in touch if you want to get invovled - Lancashire Wildlife Trust (01942 726214).