Deep in the heart of the Forest of Bowland, standing in the corner of a tidy and well-kept village green that is reckoned to be the closest to the centre of the United Kingdom, stands an unassuming steel-and-glass telephone kiosk that holds a very special and unique place in British history.
Category Archives: #History
Unnatural Histories: T’ hole in t’ Castle Keep
Up on top o’ yon rocky hill stands Clitheroe Castle, which I telt ye all about afore, it’s one o’ t’ smallest keeps in all England, an as’ stood theer for more nor eight hundred year, lookin’ out ower Ribble Valley. But on t’ side o’ that keep, just above t’ door, there’s a gurt big hole. Not a neat winder, mind thee, a proper jagged hole, big enough for a man to lean through, an’ it’s allus been theer as long as folk can remember.
Plecotus auritus, the Halloween Bat
Brown Long-eared bats emerge late, after full darkness, to hunt and their echolocation calls are very quiet to avoid being detected by prey (they are simetimes called “whispering bats”), so bat detectors only pick them up at close range (typically under 5m). They are very skilled at gleaning insects from foliage while hovering or flying slowly, as well as catching prey in flight.
Born in Preston to Design the World, the History of BDP
The Building Design Partnership, known simply as BDP, is one of Britain’s most significant design practices, and its long history is closely interwoven with that of my family’s.
Today it operates as an international firm of architects, engineers, urban designers, landscape architects, interior designers and related specialists, with its headquarters in Manchester and studios across Britain and overseas.
The Vikings still Speak
In Lancashire’s west where the salt winds roar, the Vikings left names on the sand and the shore. Formby the farmland that Forni did claim, Ainsdale the valley that carries Einulf’s name.
The Black Seam: Mine Machines
(Excerpt) Lancashire’s coalfield was one of Britain’s most productive and innovative, its deep, gassy and heavily faulted seams drove continuous advances in mining technology from the medieval period through to the late twentieth century.
A Condensed History of Clitheroe Castle
(Excerpt) Clitheroe Castle served as the caput (administrative centre) of the Honour of Clitheroe, a large estate stretching along the western side of the Pennines. The de Lacy family, whose principal seat was at Pontefract, used it as a base for local governance and it functioned as a court, small prison, and centre for the administration of the surrounding forests and manors. A small garrison was maintained through the 13th century.
Ring O’ Clogs
What ses Lancasheer to thee,
is it Blackpoo’ by the sea?
Is it wet ond muggy days,
ships on t’Mersey through the aze,
blackpuddings on a plate in’t shops,
is it shawls or whippet dogs,
or is it just the ring o’ clogs.
