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Ribble Valley

Ribble Valley photos (3 available)

Old photo of Ribble Valley

Ribble Valley maps (2 available)

Old map of Ribble Valley

Ribble Valley books (21 available)

Ribble Valley memories

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You can also read memories of nearby places in Lancashire below.

Lancashire memories

Happy Memories of Slaidburn

My first introduction to Slaidburn was in the middle of the very cold and snowy winter of 1949-50. I had just driven down from Inverness to this charming Lancashire village with my Dad. It had been a long, cold drive in a 1938 Morris roadster car, loaded with luggage and a big tool box. I was to begin a new job working for Cementation Ltd where my father also worked. The contract was to drill a tunnel from Ellerbeck to supply water to Manchester. I was to continue my apprenticeship as a heavy duty mechanic. We arrived at 23 Church Street Slaidburn late in the day, tired and hungry. Our landlady, Mrs. Waterworth welcomed us with open arms and a nourishing ...read more here
A memory of Slaidburn contributed by Denman Lalonde

My Mum's hairdressing salon

Bolton By Bowland, the Village c1955

Right on the end of this barn, hidden from view was a small irregular building with it's own door. It had been a small butchers shop some time before my Mum and Dad bought it as a hairdressing salon for my mum to use as a little business.

It had no heating, just two yellow sinks and chairs, a couple of work stations and a telephone table where the phone, appointment book and till sat.

Surprisingly the business did really well. My Dad was the local 'bobby' and so knew everyone in the area. I remember helping out in the school holidays and hearing an old tractor pull up outside - a farmer, hair full of hay, ...read more here
A memory of Bolton By Bowland contributed by gail armstrong

Seedhill Cottage

The house in the foreground is known as Seedhill Cottage.  My family lived there from the mid sixties to late seventies. My father was the gamekeeper for the local shoot and water baliff for Whitewell area. My mother was the school cook at Dunsop Bridge. My sister and brother attended school in Dunsop. The family moved to Hellifield when the shoot closed in 1979. I've been back a number of times and it is still a beautiful place.
A memory of Whitewell contributed by Ian Idiens

Summer Holidays

I remember in the 1950s my sister Annette and I used to spend some time on a farm owned by Mr Thomas Holgate who was a friend of the family and really enjoyed those times. The farm was called Townley House and my dad used to help with the hay making. I also used to go there occasionally to do jobs when I worked for Roland Ford plasterers and slaters in the 1960s. I now live in Australia.
A memory of Grindleton contributed by Christopher Rung

Extracts From Ribble Valley & Lancashire books

Ribble Valley, from Edisford Bridge 1921

This spot, where the road west from Clitheroe crosses the Ribble, was once known as Eadsford, the bridge from which the photograph was taken being built over an ancient ford. The view looks upstream to Low Moor Mill, which produced cotton cloth until it closed in the 1950s. Its site is now occupied by a housing development.
An extract from from"Lancashire - A Second Selection Photographic Memories".

Clitheroe, Market Place 1921

More rooftops, a passing steam train (they were being replaced by diesel- powered locomotives at this time) and the sweep of the park express progress. The bandstand has arrived. From the bandstand in 1948 sweets were handed out to the children after sports. They were provided by former residents who had gone to live abroad but still craved news of the town.
An extract from from"Clitheroe Photographic Memories".

Clitheroe, Castle Grounds 1927

The castle grounds were purchased from Lord Montagu and passed to the people of Clitheroe in 1920. Essential work on the grounds cost £15,000, which was found by fund raising. Pride of place goes to the war memorial in the Garden of Remembrance; Clitheroe men who died in the Boer War are not forgotten. The keep and the grounds are impressive, especially when they are floodlit on special occasions.
An extract from from"Clitheroe Photographic Memories".

Clitheroe, Church Street c1960

Over 150 years ago, Church Street was the main way out of the town to Chatburn. Dates can be seen on house frontages - one drainpipe bears the date 1757. The old road wound through Pimlico, but the 1826 turnpike road was straight, passing Clitheroe Hospital, once the workhouse. Spring water in cans at 5 old pence was hawked about the streets by one enterprising native before piped water came. Thirsty navvies would appreciate that, and perhaps even John Macadam himself. He was an advisor in the construction of the road.
An extract from from"Clitheroe Photographic Memories".

Whalley, the Viaduct from the Nab 1901

The parish of Whalley was at one time extensive, stretching beyond Burnley. A Roman road marks one boundary. The parish church of St Mary (in the distance, centre) is famous for its 15th- century choir stalls transferred from Whalley Abbey. This popular tourist area now has shops, cafés, inns and a modern library, and is a favoured commuter town.
An extract from from"Clitheroe Photographic Memories".