This week we re-commence the story of how the Overseer of Briercliffe helped poorer members of the community in the middle years of the 18th Century.

Reference has already been made to the workhouse in Haggate, the aid given to children of the poor to find work and the provision of the necessities of life for both inmates at the workhouse and those who received relief in their own homes.

A reference in the accounts, which should be more widely known than they are, surprised me. It indicates a quart of ale had been bought for “Sharp, he being sick”. This was in May, 1754, and the trifling sum of 3d was spent. A similar sum was also allocated to “Sharp” very soon after. In June 1755 “Charles’s wife” was given 2d worth of “wine and spirit”.

For some reason, when I came across these records, I did not expect to find reference to the overseer using the poor rates on the health of less well-off members of the community. Logically, I should not have been surprised. If the overseer was prepared to help with food, rent, heating and furniture he would surely have provided for medical assistance when it was needed.

The provision of alcohol was one thing but the records had one more surprise: Briercliffe had its own doctor! Remember, we are in the middle of the 18th Century, before industrialisation reached our area. Briercliffe was an area of scattered farms and small cottages with only one small village, Haggate, which was the location of the tiny workhouse. There was no residential landed family in Briercliffe or Extwistle. In fact the Briercliffe family itself was bankrupt, the head of the family in Lancaster Castle for debt, and it was about this time they sold their small estate to the Robertshaws.

There were a few relatively prosperous families, the Halsteads, Smiths and Ecroyds and it was from the latter that the doctor came. He was Dr John Ecroyd (1679-1755) but little is known about him. One researcher says he practised “physic with good success and great reputation”.

He was son of another John Ecroyd, the first of his family to join the Society of Friends, otherwise known as the Quakers. The other son, Richard, who lived at Lane House, Briercliffe, for a time, was responsible for running the family woollen business at Edge End in what was then Little Marsden (now Brierfield). Some of the cottages associated with this business have survived, as has, from a later period, the great mill at Lomeshaye in what was then Great Marsden (now Nelson).

The Ecroyds had come to Briercliffe in the 16th Century from the Hebden Bridge area when they bought the small Foulds Estate. As with many small farmers, they became involved in the woollen industry which they ran, initially, from Foulds House. The present property, replacing an ancient timber dwelling, was built by the family on a substantial scale, at the end of the 16th Century, so they must have become successful in their commercial activities fairly quickly.

As the elder son, Dr John Ecroyd inherited Foulds House, and the land attached to it, but neither he nor his children could be described as farmers. John, his eldest son, became an apothecary in Kendal; Richard, the second son, was trained as a doctor and emigrated to the West Indies, and Stephen, the youngest, inherited Foulds House and could be described as a “gentleman farmer”. The portraitist Sir Godfrey Kneller (1643-1723) painted a likeness of Dr John.

What, then, did Dr Ecroyd undertake on behalf of the Overseer of the Poor in Briercliffe? The first reference we have occurs in May, 1754. It says, “Paid to Ecroyd for Doctoring Charles Greenwood’s wife, 2s 0d”. In March, 1755 another entry reads, “Paid to Ecroyd for Doctoring Henry Nuttall, six pence”.

It is likely Dr John was responsible for prescribing a man called Sharp, already mentioned in connection with being granted ale, a calves heart for “being sick”. It was generally held that a calves heart was full of strength-giving goodness and such treatment, at this time was pretty common. In fact I recall similar attitudes among some of my relations when I was a boy.

A purge was anther popular treatment – though not, perhaps, with the patient as it involved the administering of a purgative to cause the bowels to be evacuated. The wife of Charles Greenwood was given two purges!

It is not clear that Dr Ecroyd attended on women in confinement, but the Overseer had to foot the bill for Elizabeth Nutter’s “lying-in”. Altogether the confinement cost £1 9s 4d of which 20 shillings was for her “lying in”, and 9s 4d was for “fourteen weeks pay; that is from 26th September, 1754 to 2nd January, 1755”. It is possible this latter sum was to pay for the services of what we would now call a midwife.

Though they might be brief, the medical references in the Overseer of the Poor’s Accounts are very revealing. By the time they are made, Dr John Ecroyd was an elderly man. In fact he died in 1755, the year the records end, but they give us an insight into treatment of the poor.

Another point to make is that virtually the whole of the cost of the maintenance of the workhouse, and the other items of expenditure we have mentioned, not only today, but in the foregoing articles, was met by the rate payers of Briercliffe. The County authorities were hardly involved and there were no grants from the Government in London.

Though we have only got records for the years 1754-5, the system described over the past few articles continued until the 1830s. In those 80 years Burnley was transformed, by the Industrial Revolution, into something like the town we now know although there was a further 80 years of growth to follow.

The main change that took place was the growth of a wage-earning population divorced from the land. In bad economic times such people were very vulnerable and this can be seen particularly in the years that immediately followed the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and in the 1820s when reform of the Poor Law was raised again.

Those who demanded reform were not the poor but those who paid the poor rates. They argued that the poor rates were too much of a burden to bear and the poor ought to fend for themselves. They also indicated the poor would never escape poverty if society paid their bills; something you might think is pretty current at the present time.

The result was the 1834 Poor Law (Amendment) Act, one of the nastiest pieces of legislation Parliament has ever enacted. Surprisingly, it was made law in the middle of the so-called Reform Era, the time when the Great Reform Act of 1832, the Great Factory Act of 1833 and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, all pieces of progressive legislation, were passed.

I will describe the effects of the 1834 Act as they impacted on Burnley in a future article. It was not very pleasant but I should round off my comments about the pre-1834 system before I consider the Act.

The Townships that made up the Chapelry of Burnley continued with their workhouses and the activities of their individual Overseers. We know Burnley, Briercliffe, Simonstone and Padiham, and Habergham Eaves had workhouses and it is likely other larger Townships had similar facilities. For the smaller Townships, like Ightenhill, it is likely arrangements were made with neighbouring authorities to meet the demands of the Old Poor Law.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the work of the numerous local charities continued. We know quite a bit about these activities from the local newspapers, particularly the “Blackburn Mail”, founded in 1792.

Burnley did not have its own newspaper until the late 1840s but the “Blackburn Mail” contains an immense amount of news about our town and the area around. When, for example, there was great poverty and unemployment among the handloom weavers of the whole area in the mid 1820s, the “Mail” not only tells us about the extent of this poverty, it also outlines what was being done to alleviate it.

It is a story of public subscriptions, of soup kitchens, of pies without meat in them and of starving people digging up the carcasses of dead animals for food, an example of that happening in Burnley. But, despite the hardships, society did pull together and, though there were casualties, people got through the bad times.

“The female equivalent of a totally diamond geezer” was among many touching tributes made by musician Tony Thorpe in memory of his beloved wife Shirley.

Tony, a singer and guitarist with pop band The Rubettes in the 1970s, fought back tears at her funeral at Burnley Crematorium where the couple’s favourite songs were played.

The colourful, London-born musician had first met Burnley girl Shirley in 1966. They were married two years later and were together when she died at home in Burnley from cancer aged 63.

In a celebration of her life, Tony opened the service playing the banjolele singing “Spread a Little Happiness”.

Mourners fought back tears when the deeply personal song “Shirley” which Tony composed in 1978, was then played.

Addressing mourners, some of whom had travelled many miles to pay their last respects, Tony told how they first met at Cleopatra’s club, Cardiff, where Shirley was performing as Shirley Dee.

He said: “I adored Shirley from the moment I saw her and have worshipped her ever since.

“She was the female equivalent of a totally diamond geezer. The Marge to my Homer Simpson, the Margaret to my Victor Meldrew.

“May flights of angels take you to your rest kid. God bless you. I love you and I’ll see you later.”

Tony described how, in the early days, their relationship was “a National Express romance” as they lived at opposite ends of the country.

He added the Cole Porter-penned song “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”, which was played at the service, had become their song as it reminded them of those days.

Tony, who battled a drink problem for several years, said that during his life of ups and downs, Shirley was “a constant up”.

He described how she brought up their autistic son Clay while he was touring the world and said she coped with a smile and sense of humour.

Shirley’s brother Derek also spoke, recounting their childhood with sister Jean, and her fondness for bacon butties.

Musicians Ken Bradshaw and Nicky Fox also performed, before the service ended with “I’ll See You in my Dreams” from the George Harrison memorial concert, which Tony and Shirley watched together shortly before her death.

Members of Nelson, Brierfield and Reedley Rotary Club has donated more than £1,500 from its funds to Pendleside Hospice following its recent closure.

The presentation follows the decision by club members to melt down the president’s chain of office and donate the proceeds to a local charity.

The group chose to donate the funds to Pendleside Hospice, and the £1,572 raised will be used to purchase a vital signs monitor which will be used at the hospice by the medical team.

This will aid people in Burnley and Pendle who have life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, end-stage renal failure, end-stage heart failure and end-stage dementia.

Former club members Rod Marsden and Bert Humberstone attended the Reedley-based hospice to hand over the donation to Hospice Doctor Chris Ainsworth.

He said: “I’m sure your members would have been delighted that the proceeds of your reluctant sale will at least be used for such an important piece of equipment.”

Mr Marsden said: “It was a very sad day in June when the club had to close.

“However, it is comforting to note money from the memorabilia sale will benefit people within the local community.”

Christina Cope, fund raising manager at the hospice, thanked both men for the donation and added: “We wish you all well for the future.

“I am sure we will see many of you again as the Rotary spirit and ideals will stay with you all for ever!”

These days forty five quid won’t get you far - not least in the live music stakes.

But there’s one small corner of Yorkshire flying the flag for the frugal festival-goer.

Bingley Music Live 2013 gave 15,000 music fans real bang for their buck with an explosive and eclectic three-day extravaganza.

Headline acts The Human League, Primal Scream and Chic featuring Nile Rodgers were worth the entrance fee alone.

But a packed-out programme with upwards of 40 acts gave a vibrant and value-for-money experience for teenage pop fans, festival-first timers and music aficionados alike.

Stratospheric synth-pop stars The Human League took crowds back to the 80s with a hit-packed headline set.

The group performed a string of trademark tracks in their electric Friday night set. But it was inevitably “Don’t You Want Me Baby” reverberating around Myrtle Park that was an instant festival highlight.

Earlier, former Specials member Neville Staple and his eponymous band cranked up the festival vibe playing some of his old group’s ska classics including “A Message to You Rudy” and an unforgettable rendition of “Ghost Town”.

Young 18-year-old singer Nina Nesbitt put on a prodigious performance and hotly-tipped Indie outfit Frankie and the Heartstrings got the crowds going.

Saturday’s big draw was Primal Scream – and the fans flocked in their droves from all four corners of the country to relive the glory days of the Glaswegian rockers.

As the sun went down the volume went up as Bobby Gillespie pulled some crowd favourites out the bag from their Screamadelica album.

The jam-packed park throbbed to tunes like “Country Girl” and “Movin’ on Up” that were still ringing in the ears long after hangovers had subsided.

Another festival smash was lad anthem “Chelsea Dagger” rammed home by reformed indie outfit The Fratellis.

Tinchy Stryder had teenagers bouncing at the front with a bag full of chart hits that have made the rapper hot property.

But the most poignant moment of the whole festival was the swansong of legendary guitarist Wilko Johnson who was diagnosed with terminal cancer a year ago.

Touted as his last ever gig, the former Dr Feelgood member’s performance was swirling with emotion and defiance.

Tears flowed in the front row as he played out the final notes of his final song “Bye Bye Jonny”.

Despite the cold autumnal wind, Sunday was white-hot with music talent including Theme Park, The Wonderstuff and China Rats.

Katy B will have undoubtedly won over legions of new young fans with an energetic show of her dubstep-heavy pop sound.

Yorkshire three-piece rockers The Cribs brought verve to proceedings and had their home-county crowd bouncing. When “Men’s Needs” kicked in, 15,000 boisterous voices sang loudly along.

But it was Chic, led by the charismatic disco Demi-god Nile Rodgers, that brought the festival to a climax with a show-stopping, jaw-dropping blitz of Number 1 hits.

Ethereal in white, 60-year-old musical mastermind Rodgers and his pin-sharp eight-piece band showed why they have become the must-see festival act of the summer.

“Everybody Dance” ignited the crowd with disco fever straight from the off.

Arms aloft, thousands of fans from seven up to 70 danced, swayed and sang together to “Dance, Dance, Dance”, “We Are Family” and Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” in a five-decade-spanning, 24-carat gold homage to Rodgers’ genius.

The man even brought out the sun and a rainbow before the show, and the festival, culminated with a rapturous rendition of “Good Times” which will live long in the memory of the Myrtle Park masses.

Bingley Music Live’s cri-de-guerre is “Big Hearts. Big Sounds” and they will have undoubtedly won over a few more after yet another fantastic festival.

Leaving your child at the school gates for the first time is an emotional experience for any parent.

But for Emma Crosby, this rings particularly true as she prepares to take her son Jacob (4) to Park Primary School, Colne, on Monday.

Jacob was diagnosed with the rare chromosome disorder Trisomy 8 Syndrome (T8M), which affects only one in every 25,000 to 50,000 babies, last year.

While the youngster is as capable as any other child of living a happy and healthy life, he does face obstacles including extreme behaviour and speech difficulties.

However, as his learning capabilities are not yet fully clear, Jacob will be joining primary school as a mainstream pupil.

It will only be as he progresses that a decision will be taken as to whether or not he requires special educational needs.

Emma (25), of Granville Street, said: “My feelings are a bit mixed really. Jacob is really excited, and I am really nervous.

“We won’t know his difficulties until he starts learning. It is scary, but I am also really proud that he has come so far.

“He will be one of the oldest in his year, but developmentally he won’t necessarily be as far on as some children. I have to look past that, and let him do what he can.”

Since being diagnosed Jacob, a former Newtown Nursery School pupil, has been working hard to tackle his behavioural problems. This includes using a “Now and Then” board, to help him understand the concept of time.

To follow Jacob’s progress visit Emma’s Facebook page “Our T8M star! — Jacob’s story”.

Barnoldswick’s first open air market for over 40 years will be held in the town square next Saturday.

Pendle Valley Markets, a new business venture by Keith Mitchell, former owner of Cafe on the Square, , will run the events after clearance with Pendle Council’s financial services contractor Liberata was agreed.

In August, the council’s West Craven Committee gave its unanimous backing at its monthly meeting to the idea of a market selling quality, local products.

Hopes that the first market could have been held before the end of August proved logistically difficult with the town square already in use, but a new date of Saturday, September 14th has been agreed from 9am until 4pm.

Mr Mitchell is looking forward to getting started and is hoping to have up to 20 stalls occupied on the day.

Chairman of Barnoldswick Town Council, Coun. Ken Hartley, will open the event and James Wilson will be playing music.

He said: “I’m quite excited. We’ve had quite a few firm commitments so it should be good on the day.

“It all started with the Chamber of Trade about three or four years ago but nobody got round to do it.

“I’ve been working at a business plan which looked like it could work. That’s taken about six to eight months to come to fruition.

“Thanks must go to the Chamber of Trade and the council for supporting me with the idea. We are trying to attract more people into the town and promote Barlick. Whenever you go to a town with a market, it always seems busier.”

If you are interested in having a stall, contact Keith on 07791 051924 or email him at info@pendlevalleymarkets.co.uk.

Police have appealed for information after a spate of car damages across Pendle, but predominantly in Nelson, over the course of last week.

Two hundred pounds of damage was caused to the rear and side of a silver Citroen parked in Hibson Road, Nelson, overnight on Saturday while deep scratches amounting to £100 were caused to a green Volvo parked in the same street on the same night.

Overnight between Friday and Saturday, offensive words were scratched into the paintwork of a car in Southfield Street, Nelson, leading to £1,000 in damage.

At around 1-30am last Friday, August 30th, windscreens of a BMW and Toyota were damaged amounting to £150 respectively when the vehicles were parked in Chatham Street, Nelson.

Overnight between Tuesday, August 27th and Wednesday, August 28th, acid was poured over an Audi A4 causing £800 of damage and in Clough Lane, Nelson, £1,000 of damage was caused to a Ford Kuga when something poured on to the paintwork caused it to blister and melt.

In Barnoldswick, £1,000 damage was caused to the side panel and door paintwork of a silver Peugeot parked in King Street overnight between Monday, August 26th and Tuesday, August 27th.

Police say enquiries are ongoing in relation to the spate of damages. Anybody with information is asked to call police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Volunteers willing to donate their time to the daily running of a Colne charity shop are being urged to step forward.

Due to a number of recent retirements, Pendleside Hospice’s store, in Dockray Street, is in need of some extra hands.

Help is especially needed on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, as well as Saturday afternoons, but any offer will be welcomed with open arms.

The site is currently managed and staffed by a team of 40 volunteers. It regularly achieves yearly takings of over £100,000 to help provide specialist care to local people with life-limiting illnesses.

For Cath Dent, who has worked at the charity shop since it opened over 20 years ago, being a volunteer is an ideal way that she can use some of her retirement time.

She said: “I enjoy the friendship of my fellow volunteers and many local people, who have become regular customers over many years.”

For more information ring Brian Hartup on 440111 or email brian.hartup@pendleside.org.uk

I miss Walter’s piece of string, I really do, and the older I get the more I look back fondly on it.

Actually, what I really miss is what Walter’s piece of string represents in my mind, a different time when life seemed somehow simpler, less stressful and, well ... happier I suppose.

“What’s the old fool on about?” you’re no doubt wondering. Well let me explain:

When I started out in this business, 25 years ago, big changes were already coming in thick and fast.

Once-independent local newspapers had been swallowed up by the big newspaper groups, which, quite naturally, wanted things doing their way. Yet some of the old ways lingered on.

The paper I joined as an eager cub reporter was one such, and although we worked on snazzy new “green screen” word processors, the typewriters were still there for when the tech went twang, which it often did.

One crucial part of the week was getting “the measure” of the newspaper... in layman’s terms, measuring the column inches of advertising in that week’s paper to determine the overall number of pages (the pagination). There has to be a ratio between the two to make the product commercially viable.

Getting “the measure” was the job of one Walter Shuttleworth, who had worked in the typesetting, layout and printing department for as long as anyone could remember.

He did it using a piece of string, because providing you knew how long it was – say 10in – just running it along the adverts on each page and adding the 10s together would give you the overall measure. In those days, by the way, the pages were laid out on paper, not computer screens.

Walter’s piece of string then, was a crucial bit of kit, but eventually we were told there was a new computerised system which would make it redundant.

We protested that we didn’t need it – our system worked, but it was “progress”. So for six weeks we ran both systems side by side, and guess what? – every week Walter’s piece of string gave us the measure on time and accurate, while the computer, which relied on several people inputting the correct information, was late and wildy inaccurate.

For me, Walter’s piece of string is an analogy for a fast-changing world. I remember the promises that new technology would make all our lives easier and less stressful – I’m still waiting for that brave new world, but I think, on balance, I preferred the string.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson has welcomed moves by Pendle Council and the police to tackle anti-social behaviour at the games area in Taylor Street, Brierfield.

This follows Mr Stephenson calling for action after being contacted by worried residents.

An agreement has been reached for the area’s Police Community Support Officers to close the barrier to the car park after 9pm for a month on a trial basis.

The car park had been identified by residents, who are being asked to open the barrier during the day, as the main trouble spot.

Mr Stephenson said: “I congratulate local police and the council for coming up with a sensible way forward but also those who have come forward to express their views. Some residents have really suffered from the noise and other problems. They will be relieved that the issue is finally getting the attention they have been calling for.

“I have asked people to let me know whether closing the car park at night works. I will continue to work with the council and the police to find ways of improving the situation for those affected.”

The family of a Colne meningitis survivor will soon be swinging back into action to raise as much money as possible for their growing little boy.

In a couple of months, the Jenkins family aim to be back on the fund-raising bandwagon to ensure their battler Louie (2) can continue being given the best quality of life.

Louie contracted meningococcal septicaemia last year, and has since received an overwhelming response from the local community.

Events and donations have all contributed to his fund, the “Little Lamb Appeal”, and now it is hoped enough cash can be made to buy Louie a downstairs wet room and bedroom for the new family home, in Chatham Street.

Although official quotes are yet to be made, it is estimated that £30,000 will be what it takes to buy the life-changing extension.

Louie’s mum Julie had initially said the family would be taking a step back from fund-raising in 2013 due to the demands of moving house and organising Louie’s second birthday party in July.

However, with Louie getting too big for his baby bath, it has been decided now is the right time to get the ball rolling again.

Julie (30) said: “It’s definitely time to get back out there now. We need to change things for Louie.”

The mum-of-two added that fund-raising ideas are already in the pipeline, including a sponsored walk in Alkincoats Park.

A suggestion has also been made to host a sponsored swim – to celebrate Louie’s recent achievement of swimming independently.

Once again, the Jenkins would be delighted to hear from anybody who can help in raising money, and have said they will try and attend any event that is set up for Louie.

Julie added: “The community support has been fantastic.

“To think that they could be there for us again, and to see what improvements could be made to Louie’s life would be wonderful.

“We do try to support everybody that is supporting us, and show them how Louie is developing.”

Louie had both of his legs amputated below the knee and also lost all the fingers on his left hand and the tips of his fingers on his right hand after he was rushed to hospital in January 2012.

He has since been going from strength to strength, taking his first steps on prosthetic legs in February this year.

Julie added: “He is doing really well, and has got very mobile with his legs on.

“He is at that stage where he needs something to hold onto.

“He is just a typical little boy who likes bricks and cars, and socialising.”

To make a donation on PayPal follow the link on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LittleLAMBAppeal

l On Sunday Julie will be at Keighley Agricultural Show with two representatives from the Meningitis Trust.

She will be there handing out leaflets, raising awareness, and talking to the public.

I’ve never been a huge fan of social media, but I am starting to feel really unsettled by the thought of young people accessing such sites.

Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, Tumblr (to name a few) pride themselves on being platforms for freedom of speech and expression.

But there is a fast-evolving dark side which chills me to the bone. Like the “nothingness” which destroys good in “The Neverending Story”, this sinister side to social networking is threatening all of us.

No longer is it a case of just using these sites to catch up with family and friends in far-flung parts of the world. Now it is a minefield of the darkest aspects of the human psyche; trolls, flamers, narcissists, paedophiles, fantascists and even murderers.

So, is it wise to let children use these sites? The family of Hannah Smith would still have their vivacious 14-year-old if she hadn’t been on social networks. She hanged herself after being taunted and riddiculed on the site Ask.fm.

But, if that wasn’t enough pain to bear, the family were then targeted by trolls (individuals who delight in posting offensive comments) who left abusive and vitriolic messages on a Facebook tribute page set up in Hannah’s memory in the days following her death.

Hannah’s suicide is not an isolated case. Lorraine Gallagher has lost both her daughters. Erin (13) and Shannon (16) hanged themselves within weeks of each other last year. They had both suffered abuse online.

Surely these needless deaths give weight to the argument there should be tougher regulation, including report abuse buttons and even age limits for such sites.

Teenagers can be extremely vulnerable and are acutely aware and sensitive to what their peers think of them. So, should they be put in a position where their insecurities can be exploited by the emotionally bankrupt? These parasites are often depressed and socially inadequate people who thrive on the genuine human reactions they provoke. Would they say such despicable things to the face of those heartbroken parents? No. Would they continue taunting a young girl with a noose around her neck? No. So why should they be allowed to skulk in the shadows of anonimity and purvey this evil?

It’s time social media stopped hiding behind their fallacy of free speech and started to make these forums safer and less open to abuse. And, if they won’t, we should start clicking off these pages...it might be the only way to get them to pay attention.

A Nelson woman nearly four times the legal alcohol limit has pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Cheryl Smalley (44) was found driving a Mercedes Vito van along Selby Street where she lived.

She was breathalysed and found to have 132 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath following the incident on May 28th.

She admitted driving while over the drink driving limit and also driving without insurance at Pennine Magistrates’ Court.

The case was adjourned until September 30th pending a probation report.

The defendant was released on unconditional bail and was instructed not to drive a vehicle until the hearing date.

Strictly Come Dancing star Natalie Gumede has expressed her excitement at being paired with former winner Artem Chigvintsev.

The former Park High School student, who was born in Burnley, appeared on the BBC One hit television show on Saturday, alongside 14 other celebrities.

The actress, who this year scooped three gongs at the British Soap Awards, was left delighted with her partnership, and is now hotly tipped to walk away with the coveted glitterball trophy.

Natalie, who in 1996 won the Howard Rigg Leader Times Stage Young Performer award, wrote on Twitter: “I was SO nervous at the point of pairing, I think it shows!!! I literally don’t remember any of that happening! #scd #scd2013.

“As if he needs any introduction...my partner @artemchigvintse!!!!! I CANNOT WAIT to get in that rehearsal studio!!!”

An equally ecstatic Artem also used his social networking account to express his joy, writing: “Very happy and excited to be partner up with @NatalieGumede can’t wait to start!!!”

For full coverage of Saturday night’s show see this week’s Burnley Express, Nelson Leader and Colne Times.

A Kelbrook man involved in a mortgage fraud of “breathtaking proportions” has been jailed for four years.

Frank Edward Philip Darlington (62), of Vicarage Road, was one of four defendants sentenced to a total of 21 years by Mold Crown Court.

Darlington, a surveyor, and his fellow defendants, former policeman Anthony Lowri-Huws, developer Sheila Whalley and solicitor Nicholas Jones all denied conspiracy to defraud but were convicted following a four-month trial.

The prosecution said the value of the fraud was between £15 and £24m. but Judge Rhys Rowlands said, for sentencing purposes only, he would deal with them on the £6m. figure put forward by the defence – the difference between what lenders paid out and what they would have paid out if the applications were genuine.

The court heard how Darlington provided false valuations and rental income figures and Jonesdid the conveyancing work for the purchases and mortgage applications.

The jury heard mortgage lenders were duped into lending thousands of pounds in mortgages on properties across North Wales, Cheshire and the North West in a fraud conspiracy.

The case involved 189 mortgage applications.

The prosecution said the deceit was achieved by inflating the actual value of the property used as security, hiding the fact that, in some cases, no deposit was put down or inflating the rental income potential to make the mortgage rate more acceptable. In some cases the apartments on which mortgages were advanced simply did not exist.

Mr Simon Killeen (defending) said his client was not part of the enterprise, and had received no great profits or money.

He obtained work and was paid £60 or £80 for his valuations. The close relationship he had meant he had been able to obtain a £38,000 mortgage for a property in Scotland but that was not part payment for his involvement.

The defendant had been a surveyor for a long time but that had now all gone. He had lost his good name, his character and reputation and he knew he had to go into custody.

The trial had been a difficult experience, he had been staying with a friend in Chester and suffered ill-health. It was accepted it was a breach of trust against the lenders.

Sentencing, Judge Rhys Rowlands told the defendants: “The jury was quite satisfied this was dishonesty on a fairly breath-taking scale in which each of your took part. Each of you set to brazen it out hoping the jury would acquit you.

“None of you were prepared to give evidence. You had no confidence at all with being able to deal with the obvious questions that would have been asked of you by the prosecution.

“I have heard it saidthere is a fine line between making a profit legitimately and deceiving people to make money dishonestly.

“In this case the evidence is plain. Each of you crossed that line by a country mile.”

Under the banking system in place at the time, the financial institutions relied on surveyors and solicitors to protect their interests. Without the involvement of Jones and Darlington, the conspiracy could not have succeeded.

A talented teenage actor from Burnley wil have audiences on the edge of their seat when he appears in top soap “Coronation Street” tonight.

Bailey Pearson (13) plays a bully called Connor who torments teenager Craig Tinker, played by Colson Smith, who believes he was responsible for burning down the pub, the Rovers Return.

And Corrie viewers could be seeing a lot more of Bailey as the show’s producers were so impressed with him they have asked him to audition again for a future role.

Bailey’s mum, Mrs Clare Harrison, said: “There are a couple of new families being introduced into the show and they would like Bailey to try out for one of the roles.”

In the gripping storyline that has been running for months, Craig wrongly believes he was responsible for setting fire to the Rovers Return and killing Sunita. But, in fact, it was landlord Karl, played by John Michie.

Bailey beat off competition from 150 other boys who auditoned for the role and he spent three days filming at Granada in Manchester in June. A talented dancer, Bailey, of Stainton Drive, Burnley, started attending the Carol Godby Theatre School, Bury, a year ago and it was Carol who spotted his potential as an actor. Since then Bailey has appeared in a string of children’s televsion shows and also a film soon to be released in cinemas called 71.

Among those watching Bailey’s debut in Corrie were his great grandma Olga Doe (80) who has watched the soap since it started.

Renewed calls have been made by a Colne councillor for action to be taken on a potholed Foulridge ford.

Coun. Graham Waugh said he has been raising concerns with Lancashire County Council about the Cockhill Lane ford for the past two years.

The route was recently used as an alternative by frustrated drivers, when United Utilities repair works were taking place on the A56 at the start of the month.

Coun. Waugh said that drivers “were forced to try and find other ways out of the traffic jam”.

And due to the increase of traffic in the area, he is now arguing that the road “should be maintained” and is calling for LCC to “pull its finger out”. He added that work has not been previously carried out due to costs.

He said: “It is a real problem for any vehicle wanting to bypass Foulridge. Lorries have gone down, which never should have done. During the dry weather it could have been fixed very easily.”

But Alan Capstick, highways manager for Pendle, said that the ford is “unsuitable for large volumes of traffic”, and went on to state that LCC “would never direct traffic to use it as a part of a signed diversion”.

He added: “We would only make a diversion via A and B roads suitable for all traffic.

“People who know an area often choose to use smaller roads which are more direct if there’s a lengthier signed diversion, although this may cause some temporary problems depending on the volumes of local traffic.

“While it is not reasonably possible for us to change the fundamental nature of unclassified roads to carry more traffic we do our best to maintain them to a suitable standard and would encourage people to report potholes which may pose a risk so that we can prioritise repairs.”

We recently started a mini-series on the story of poverty and the role of local charities in the Burnley area.

It was mentioned that, in the late 16th Century, partly because of the decline in the local monastic system, it was recognised things had to change.

What was introduced was the Elizabethan Poor Law which was not the result of a single piece of legislation but the accumulation of a number of Acts of Parliament, the common features of which were the establishment of Poor (or Work) Houses with the additional provision of outdoor relief, or relief in the homes of the recipients. Another aspect of the new system was that the relief of the poor was to be funded, not through taxation, but locally by means of a poor rate imposed on landowners and tenant farmers.

This does not mean to say charitable giving ceased. In all probability this became more important and a wide variety of charities were established in all parts of the country. Unfortunately, we can quote few examples for Burnley but the Grammar School was one of them.

Burnley was little more than a village for approaching 200 years after the introduction of the 1597 and 1601 Acts for the Relief of the Poor. These Acts provided for the apprenticeship of poor children, the provision of work for unemployed adults, the erection of hospitals (to be built on waste land) for the impotent, the financing of the system locally and that all beggars (except for those begging in the parishes of their birth) to be classed as “rogues”.

Each parish had to appoint an officer responsible for the collection of the poor rates and maintenance of the poor. He was also responsible for the settlement of paupers. For Burnley paupers, who had become chargeable on some other parish, there were two alternatives. The first was that Burnley would pay for their maintenance and funds sent to the place of their residence. The second was for Burnley to pay for the cost of the paupers to be returned to Burnley where they would be placed in the workhouse or given relief in some other property.

We know Burnley had its own poor house. However, it did not acquire one until 1730 when the village was on the verge of developing into the town we now know. On June 13th, 1730, the Town Vestry, the local government of the day, agreed “to take a convenient House for placing and settling the poor to work in”. What seems to have happened was that the Townships of Burnley, Habergham Eaves and Briercliffe (which included Worsthorne) decided to rent a building in what is now the Brennand Street area of Burnley to be converted into a workhouse.

Unfortunately, we know very little about this property but it may have been a substantial building, probably with a garden, and with rooms in which work could be carried out. The Townships agreed they would jointly finance the project in proportion to their individual needs, buying materials for those who were able to work and providing for those who, for whatever reason, were not.

In the case of Burnley and Habergham Eaves, this system lasted until 1796 but, with regard to Briercliffe, it is not known when the agreement came to an end, or even if it had even been implemented. However, by the 1750s, Briercliffe had its own workhouse which was situated in Haggate. A single Poor Book has survived for 1754-5 and, from it, we find out how the system operated. It is not possible to do the same for Burnley because, apart from a few disconnected references, nothing of a similar nature has survived.

The workhouse at Haggate was initially a pair of cottages with workrooms. Later a third dwelling was added and it appears this property had a garden. In addition, it is known Monk Hall, Extwistle, served as something like a poor house but this was in the 1820s when there was considerable unemployment among the handloom weavers of the area.

We know little about how Monk Hall was used but, until recently, there was, inscribed into the gable end the legend “Hard Times, 1827”, the time when the building played an unspecified role in the relief of the poor. If asked to guess what its use might have been, I would suggest it had something to do with the construction of Jerusalem Farm (also known as “Th’ Enclosure”) on Extwistle Moor and which, like nearby Sweet Well, formerly Little London Farm, dates from this time. Both of these farms, including drainage work and their field walls, were constructed out of funds intended for the relief of the poor.

The activities of the Briercliffe Overseer of the Poor, and his assistants, can be traced not only through the Poor Book, which I will refer to below, but also through apprenticeship and settlement records.

The workings of the first of these can be seen in an example of 1736 where the Overseer helped to arrange an apprenticeship with Lawrence Hitchen of Great Marsden (Nelson) for Richard, son of John Hayhurst of Briercliffe.

In 1796, the Churchwarden and Overseer for Briercliffe and Extwistle, William Hitchen and John Barker respectively, arranged an apprenticeship for James Thornton who was described as “a poor child”.

The master, who agreed to take James, until he reached the age of majority, was Stephen Smith of Hill, a woollen manufacturer who attended the Halifax market, so the apprenticeship was probably for weaving.

A number of settlement documents relating to Briercliffe have survived and some are held by the Briercliffe Society. One refers to a case in 1717 when the Briercliffe Churchwarden and the Overseer wrote to their opposite numbers in Stansfield (Todmorden) asking if they would remain responsible for Susan Wade if she, or any of her children, were to appeal for assistance. In their reply the officers of Stansfield agreed Susan Wade was legally settled in Stansfield and said they would not fail to carry out their responsibilities to her and her family.

Another is more local and refers to a case in 1774-5. In this instance it was stated John Todd, Ann, his wife, and Jane, Catherine and Ann, their children, were poor persons likely to become chargeable and are lately come out of Great Marsden, which was the place of their last Legal Settlement. They had arrived in Briercliffe and were likely to become chargeable there. The Overseer of Briercliffe had sought advice from a magistrate who ruled the Township of Briercliffe was within its rights to convey the Todds back to Great Marsden.

Briercliffe families were also returned to their own Township. No date is given for this example but it must have been in the later 18th Century. The Overseer of Burnley-cum-Habergham Eaves wanted to remove Henry Catlow, Susan, his wife, Mary, Ann, Margaret and Martha, their children, to the place of their Legal Settlement. The Briercliffe Overseer agreed and accepted the cost of “transporting” the family back the few miles from neighbouring Burnley.

We should now turn to the Briercliffe Poor Book of 1754-5.

This week I am only going to give one example of the information that can be gleaned from the book. The book itself describes activities at the workhouse in detail, describes conditions there and tells us what work was provided for the inmates and how it was organised. The book even names a local doctor, whom otherwise we would know little about, and few of the paupers themselves.

The Briercliffe Poor Book also confirms that both indoor and outdoor relief were available. Indoor relief is that which was provided in the workhouse, outdoor relief was provided in the homes of individual paupers. It is most likely the following information refers to both. At some point between 1754 and 1755 the Overseers for Briercliffe were Henry Halsted and Joshua Nuttal (sic) and Stephen Smith was the Churchwarden. They signed an agreement with John Spencer, probably of Blackhouse, for the supply of furniture.

The goods included, “1pr bed stocks, chest, blankets etc”, valued at twelve shillings (60p); a “little bed and bedding”, at 8s.3d: “a long table, one board, two chairs and a cradle”, 2s.10d; a “chest and desk”, 5s.4d; a “little table”, 3s.8d; and assorted articles such as tongs, brigs, backstone, chaffing dish and pan, a glass case, pewter dishes and pewter plates.

These could have been for use in the workhouse but it is just as likely some of them could have been supplied to pauper families living in their own, but rented, homes.

Concerns over “dangerous” parking on a residential road in Colne have been raised with Lancashire County Council.

Residents and Leader of Pendle Council Coun. Joe Cooney this week shared their fears about Alkincoats Road with the Colne Times.

They believe that a review of parking is needed on the 20mph zone due to poor visibility when turning onto Barrowford Road. A suggestion of double yellow lines in the area has also been made.

Colne resident Rob Bayley (26) said: “You can only see when in the middle of the road and then it’s too late. It won’t be long before there is an accident.”

And Coun. Cooney added: “I have raised this with the county council.

“The real problem is when you come out of Alkincoats Road and try and turn left.

“It can be dangerous.”

Responding Alan Capstick, highways manager for Pendle, said that nobody had been injured at the junction in the last five years.

However he went on to say that the issue will be brought up at the next meeting “to see if there’s a case to make any changes.”

He said: “We regularly meet with the police and district council to discuss traffic issues and have recently consulted on changes to regulations on a number of roads in Pendle to improve safety and sightlines.”

Colne roads that have recently been discussed by LCC include Keighley Road and Lowther Street.

Have your say! Have you experienced any problems turning onto Barrowford Road from Alkincoats Road?

The generosity of its citizens is one of the hallmarks of a civilised society and Burnley is no exception.

We might not regard our town as historic in the same way as, for example, Warwick and Arundel with their ancient charities, the consequence of medieval power and wealth, but the better-off residents of Burnley have long since attempted to provide for their poorer neighbours.

Since the coming of the Welfare State, after the last war, we have forgotten just how important charity was for many people. In the two generations that have passed since then, we have got used to not paying for the services of a doctor, a hospital appointment or even a stay on hospital. Similarly, we have forgotten about the once very necessary Benefit Burial Societies, the Grammar School Scholarships and Exhibitions that were once available for students from Burnley at university and a host of other charitable organisations that once existed and provided much needed funding in our town.

Of course the role of charitable giving has not come to an end. I have the honour to be chairman of the Acorn Fund, a charity which still undertakes very important work in Burnley. Until recently, the greater part of the present charity was known as the Sick Poor Fund, its original intentions encapsulated in those few words. In addition, the town still benefits from the Stocks Massey Bequest which was founded in 1909 although it did not become active until a few years later.

Mention of the Grammar School Scholarships puts me in mind of the days when these were a necessary feature of education in Burnley. I have, in front of me, the “Abstract of the Treasurer’s Accounts of the County Borough of Burnley for 1930”.

It contains details of the four main awards, the Master-Whitaker Exhibition, the Livesey Scholarship, the Milner-Grant Scholarship and the Phillip’s Scholarship. There were others, the Wilshaw Scholarship and the TC Skipper Scholarship to name but two but the Grammar School itself was financed, at least in part, by a charitable gift, a tithe rent on Cockeridge Farm, Briercliffe. In 1930 the rent produced only 15 shillings and two pence but, for many years, the charity had contributed to the salary of the headmaster.

Though there had doubtless been examples in Burnley of common Christian charity going back to earliest times, we know little of the subject until the early modern period, the 16th and 17th Centuries. Records, such as the Church Registers, which in Burnley date from the second half of the 16th Century, make reference to “a poor woman found dead at Horelaw”, “a poor man found dead in Habergham Eaves” and to “two poor children”.

These, however, merely confirm the existence of poverty, something which is never far from the reality of human life. That relief for the poverty of the kind indicated was necessary was recognised by the Elizabethan Poor Law, an early attempt at locally administered intervention which was effectively managed by the Church. It replaced the role of monastic houses which had been suppressed in the reign of Henry VIII. They had provided relief for the sick and elderly and even ran schools, though these were often for the sons of the wealthy.

The abbey at Whalley had a role in this. It ran a leper hospital at Edisford Bridge, on the site of the present inn, and there was a small hospital and school in the abbey precinct. The former Whalley Grammar School, now part of Clitheroe Grammar School, could have claimed to have been founded by the monks of the abbey.

No details of similar foundations survive in Burnley, as early as this, but we do know about numerous private gifts, usually small, made by the better off members of local society to their less well off contemporaries. One of the former was Dean Nowell of Read who, in 1567, gave alms “to a poor man of Burnley Parish”, to “a poor maiden at Mr Towneley’s gate” and to “seven poor at Towneley”.

Richard Shuttleworth, of Gawthorpe, is another example. His account books for the early 17th Century have survived. In 1600, he gave 15 shillings for the relief of the poor of Ightenhill and in 1618 he gave seven shillings and six pence for the relief of Burnley paupers. There are numerous examples of Richard’s charitable works in his accounts.

Others regularly gave money to the poor. In 1629 Barnard Bancroft gave the more substantial sum of £8 “for the poor” and, in 1636, Richard Couthest gave £2 for a similar reason.

At about this time a number of long-lived local charities were established. One of these was the Rochester Dole of 1649. It was set up by Robert Halstead of Rochester though he had local connections. His intention was to provide for the relief of the poor in Burnley and Worsthorne. I noticed, only the other day, the Trustees of this charity were due to have a meeting.

In 1672 a John Halstead of Broadbank, Briercliffe, bequeathed £3 a year from a rental of his Moseley Hill estate, near Burnley, to be distributed annually on St Thomas’s Day in five shilling doles to the poor of Briercliffe and Entwistle. This charity is still extant, presented annual doles to the late 1950s and, though the funds are not now collected, the charity is in the hands of Briercliffe Parish Council. However, other charities were established with more funding. One of these was the 1693 Sherburne Bequest of £190 which has since been lost.

Perhaps the best known of these charities was the Elizabeth Peel of Bridge End Charity which is memorialised on a tablet on the walls of St Peter’s Church, Burnley. Miss Peel was a member of the family that produced Sir Robert Peel the Victorian Prime Minister. In 1800, she left £1,244. 15s. 0d in her will to be invested to produce an income to be distributed, in four shilling doles, to the poor of Burnley and Habergham Eaves.

Similar charities were established in the early years of the 19th Century when Burnley was beginning to expand into the industrial town it later became. These included the Hindle Charity of 1804, the Stevenson Charity of 1805, the Hargreaves Charity of 1814 and the Burnley Ladies Charity of 1820. The provisions of this latter charity were to make available food and warm clothes for poor women during confinement. Rather than there being a single benefactor this charity was run by the wives of some of Burnley’s leading citizens. From their friends they collected annual subscriptions which were then distributed to those in need of very specific support.

As the 19th Century progressed and Burnley continued to grow, the work of meeting the needs of the local poor changed as it did elsewhere in the country. Attitudes to the services needed by the poor, and how they were to be provided, also changed. We have already mentioned the Elizabethan Poor Law which, by this time, had been applied, with a number of changes, for over 200 years. In this system every parish was responsible for its own poor but, in our part of the world, that was very difficult to implement as Burnley was but a Township in the vast Parish of Whalley.

Here, each Township had its own poor house, often known as the workhouse, though sometimes groups of Townships joined together to resolve what they should do with the poor. The choice was between two kinds of relief – in door relief and out door relief. The first was relief in the poorhouse, usually reserved for the sick, elderly and very young. The second was relief, through money, food and heating etc but in the home of the pauper.

Burnley’s first workhouse was in the Brennand Street area and we know it was operating in the 1730s. There was another early workhouse in Padiham/Simonstone and a third in Briercliffe. The latter was situated in Haggate but what makes this remarkable is that an account book from this workhouse for the 1750s has survived.