Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 7th September, 2018)

In years to come people will be saying do you remember when we had 4 different coloured wheelie bins.

Built 1754 by the Crawford Estates for employees who worked on the estate. Local stone was hewn from a local quarry Highfield delph - I would imagine. Originally being known as Fothershaw Row, having just one entry/exit with an outside toilet. The Dukes head effigy being placed on the main road end of the building and thought to be "Duke of Montrose" same family as Lord Crawford. Back in 1969 anyone of these cottages could have been purchased from the estate for the sum of £600. Now over 250 years old and still look brilliant.

The cottages become more and more 'prettified' over the years -I have always admired them. I imagine the 'deeds' would be interesting to read as well.

I think there is a stone face on the wall of one of these cottages, at the far end of the row.

Doesn't the stonework look lovely.

I used to live in Manor Grove, previously known as Holly Road. A bit further along from Dukes Row there was a detached stone house, where Mary Collier and her father lived, she was a sewer and made clothes for local residents, her father had a wonderful garden/allotment, as a child my mother sent me to get fresh vegetables and tomatoes, and beautiful Chrysanthemums I can still smell the wonderful aroma of the garden. Does anyone remember them.

Yes Mick, in years to come you will probably have six or eight different coloured bins. This is a great photo. Always look at them when going past on my visits to Aspull

Dorothy, I remember the things you mention. As a young boy in 1950 I also went to Mary's with my mam, I even remember having torn my short trousers as boys wore in those days, she put me over her knee whilst she repaired them with needle and thread, I would be about 4 years old at the time. Mary's house was I think the old winding house for the pit shaft that was very close by, you may remember that the shaft collapsed back in the 1970s and had to be made safe with concrete pumped into it, a continuous stream of Ready Mix lorries came and went all over that weekend. Thanks for the memory.

Just a personal thing , but the windows and shed (looks plastic to me , could be wrong ) could be better , I love restored buildings ,
indeed , all the buildings , no matter how old ,
would give us greater joy and contentment if we just allow them to be . Maintenance is all that matters . Nowadays, we just say something is old , knock it down . The best gardens , the best buildings, are ones that have been nurtured and cared for , over many many years . Preserved and tended .
From that effort , comes our reward.
Progress is fine , but for me it reaches far beyond common sense and logic . In the name of progress do we disregard our history. Isn’t history who we are and where we came from? Why would we not wish to preserve our history unless it doesn’t matter any more . We will grow with progress , but
if we throw away our history, buildings etc we will become superficial and hold no depth .
We are now planting roots that will not last .
Just my view . Thanks Ron

JJP and Dorothy, thanks for jogging my memory on Mary Collier. I too led by my mum Ethel went for many sewing and other crafty type things ( am I right on that). The inside of the house was a real hunting ground for kids.

Sorry missed a bit, my best mate (Eric Fielding) lived in this house (I think) or next door. He loved going pub singing on Saturday nights and when he had finished a song he would always come over to me and say (hey wus that, wus it a reet.) I would always have the same reply (ay Eric it was grand).

Very interesting and well said Mac.

Fothershaw Pit at the end of Duke's Row was one of the Pits connected to the Great Haigh Sough. From here the Sough ran across the moor and under Bolton Road to Aspull Pumping Pit. This is where the water was pumped up to the level of the Sough and from there it ran, by gravity via Fothershaw Pit and a series other Pits through the Plantations to the outlet at the Yellow Brook and from there to the River Douglas.

My mum was born at number 10 Dukes Row in 1920 Her grandparents were Charles & Elizabeth Gorry her great grandparents were living in Dukes Row on the 1861 Census--- at times during the following years members of the family occupied numbers 6,10,11 & 12 Every time my mum passed Dukes Row she would say "that's where I was born we didn't have a back door" I would love to go inside one of those cottages