ANGLEZARKE

'Anglezarke' is a civil parish in the district of Chorley, Lancashire. It is dominated by a series of reservoirs that supply water primarily to Wigan, and a large expanse of moorland with much evidence of Bronze Age settlements.
Anglezarke derives its name from the Old English name 'Anlaf' & '-es' & the Old Norse word 'erg' meaning 'Hill pasture belonging to Anlaf'. The first use of the name was in 1202 when it was recorded as 'Andelevesarewe'. By 1224 this had become 'Anlauesargh' and by 1240 'Anleshargh'.^[1] It lies in the West Pennine Moors in Lancashire, sandwiched between the moors of Withnell and Rivington, and is close to the towns of Chorley and Darwen.
The area of Anglezarke and Rivington was also the location of the 2002 Commonwealth Games Mountain Biking competition. In the early 1800s, both areas were within the Bolton Parish, itself part of the Hundred of Salford. Census information from the time gives population figures for Anglezarke of 162 in 1801, 181 in 1811 and 215 in 1821. Peaking in 1871 at 531, the current population is less than 50.
Anglezarke itself is most well known as a popular rock climbing destination for local climbers and is included in the guidebook 'Lancashire Rock' published by the British Mountaineering Council.

Contents

History

Mining

Plane crash

Hill Summits

Buildings and ruins

Simms

Old Rachel's

Hempshaw's

Waterman's Cottage

Moses Cocker's

Jepson's Farm

Manor House

Notes and References

See also

External links

History

Human activity around Anglezarke can be traced back to pre-historic man. Dotted across Anglezarke Moor are two pre-historic sites which are still clearly visible - Pikestones and Round Loaf, a landmark clearly visible from the route across Great Hill from White Coppice.

Mining

Most of Anglezarke's history, however, revolves around mineral mining. As early as 1690, lead was discovered in Stronstrey Bank, near White Coppice. The landowner, Sir Richard Standish formed a partnership with two farmers and a mining engineer, John Knowle. After several failures, a good quantity of lead was mined, but following her husband's death, Sir Standish's wife claimed all the profits. After losing the resultant court case she flooded the mines by diverting a stream. Despite this, the mines were expanded in the 1790s and not only lead was extracted, but also copper and galena.
A substance known as witherite (barium carbonate) was also discovered as early as 1700, and although there were some ill-fated attempts to use it for medicinal purposes its main use is as a coloured glaze for porcelain.^[2]
Shortly after the discovery at White Coppice was the effective formation of the vast Leicester Mill Quarries. The quarries were merely named after Leicester Mill, which was in the locale. The Leicester family - sometimes referred to as Lester or Lister) operated a corn mill, evidence of which is visible with abandoned millstones at the base of Anglezarke Reservoir, and exposed relics in the moorland west of Grain Pole Hill.
Demand for stone increased hugely with the building of the reservoir system in the area. The construction of Yarrow Reservoir was described in Wm. Fergusson Irvine's book "A Short History Of The Township Of Rivington" :
Lead production finally ended around 1830 but the remains of mining activity can still be seen at Lead Mines Clough.

Plane crash

On 16 November, 1943, a Wellington Bomber named Zulu 8799 crashed into Hurst Hill, killing all onboard. The aircraft was flying from Wymeswold in Leicestershire on a Bullseye exercise. The pilot of the plane was a Joseph B Timperon from Alice Springs, Australia. Each year on Remembrance Sunday, a service is held at the Wellington Bomber Memorial at Lead Mines Clough, next to Limestone Brook.^[3]

Hill Summits

Notable peaks.^[4]
'Spitler's Edge
★ ' 392 m / 1286' SD653174
'Great Hill
★ ' 381 m / 1250' SD646190
'Redmond's Edge' 375 m / 1230' SD650178
'Will Narr' 358 m / 1175' SD657164
'Black Hill Upper' 347 m / 1138' SD642182
'Old Adam's Hill' 345 m / 1132' SD661174
'Black Hill Lower' 330 m / 1083' SD641180
'Standing Stones Hill' 330 m / 1083' SD646174
'Round Loaf
★ ' 328 m / 1076' SD638182
'Counting Hill' 325 m / 1066' SD645179
'Hurst Hill
★ ' 317 m / 1040' SD630179
'Brown Hill' 317 m / 1040' SD635194
'Brown Hill (2)' 314 m / 1030' SD644198
'White Ledge Hill' 314 m / 1030' SD642173
'Grain Pole Hill
★ ' 285 m / 935' SD624180
'Cold Within Hill' 280 m / 919' SD652201
'Green Hill' 265 m / 869' SD656203
''
★ Denotes walker's cairn or similar.''

Buildings and ruins

Echoing the declining population of the area, there are a large number of ruins in the area.^[5] Mainly farms, some of the properties were large, and extremely remote. Nowadays, they form familiar sites for local walkers and, more recently, geocachers. The following sites are all marked on the current Ordnance Survey range of maps.

Simms

Located on a private track and popular footpath, the property received fresh water from Green Withins Brook (a tributary of the Yarrow), and was occupied by the Chairman of Horwich Urban District Council in 1928-29.

Old Rachel's

Considered a 'bogeywoman', many local people were afraid of Rachel and her family. The last occupant was the Evans family in the 1880s. Aerial view

Hempshaw's

Lower and Higher Hempshaw's are clearly visible from the Rivington to Belmont road. Little is known of their previous history, although the buildings were farm dwellings.
The ruins are located on the fledgling River Yarrow, approximately half a mile from source at ''Will Narr''. Aerial view

Waterman's Cottage

A prominent house on the Heapey end of Anglezarke Reservoir.

Moses Cocker's

A working farm on the Rivington to Belmont road.

Jepson's Farm

Jepson's Farm and Jepson's Gate are common walking waypoints en-route to Pikestones. The Jepson name is recorded in Rivington in 1595 as tenants of Ward's Farm.

Manor House

Near to High Bullough Reservoir, the property was one of several given up by a GM Dixon in 1922. Also vacated were the Foggs Buildings (location unknown), and the landmark farm near Great Hill; Drinkwaters. Mr. Dixon wrote to the Lord Mayer Alderman and Citizens of the City of Liverpool, stating ''"I give notice to quit all lands I hold under Liverpool Corporation on February End, 1923..... owing to the high rates and the heavy slump in prices especially wool the chief thing on a hill farm."''

Notes and References

1. 'Web :' Chorley District Towns & Villages at 'www.lancslinks.org.uk' ''Accessed 07 September 2006'' Link
2. 'Book :' Robert Philips Greg, William G. (William Garrow) Lettsom. ''Manual of the Mineralogy of Great Britain & Ireland'', J. Van Voorst. No ISBN 'p47-48' Read it
3. 'Book :' Kenneth Fields. ''Secret Lancashire'', Sigma Press. ISBN 1-85058-606-3 'p133' Read it
4. 'Book :' Kenneth Fields. ''Lancashire Country Walks (2) : Five Short Circular Walks From Anglezarke And White Coppice'', Unmarked, available from Rivington Lower Barn 'p2'
5. 'Book :' Kenneth Fields. ''Secret Lancashire'', Sigma Press. ISBN 1-85058-606-3 'p21' Read it

See also

★ Anglezarke Reservoir

External links

★ Anglezarke chorley.gov.uk

★ The Modern Antiquarian

★ Rockclimbing by Rockfax

★ Wayback: Lancashire