Helmshore
Helmshore maps (2 available)
Map of Lancashire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Lancashire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Helmshore books (6 available)
Helmshore memories
Read and share memories of Helmshore and Lancashire inspired by Frith photos
Helmshore 1950-1964
We lived at No 23 Broadway, Ronald my dad, Ruth my mum, Colin, me, Glenda and Kenneth. Next door was a working farm as the houses had only just been built. On Thursdats they used to run cows from the railway station to the auction market, fun and games they were in the gardens. There wasn't a lot to do but they were happy days. I went to Helmshore Primary School, headmaster Mr Jenkins, then to Haslingden Secondary School, headmaster Clem Hill. Helmshore is very built up now, but it has still got that village feel and I go back from time to time. I go walking down Ravenshore reliving those childhood days when myself and John Rothwell went rabbiting with ...read more here
Contributed by HARRY MADEN
#69 Broadway
I was only 11yrs old when we moved from Helmshore to America. Helmshore was a wonderful place to have your childhood.
Sometime between 1963 and 1965 we built a snowman that made the front page of the local paper, that year was a huge snow storm. There was a shop called Joyces on Broadway, where we bought the nice gifts. I remember attending Helmshore primary school till May of 1965. The headmaster was Mr Jenkins, and the top class teacher was Mr Smith. In those days the punishment was too extreame hard and cruel, but I survived. Apart from that I have fond memories,and I must say the
steam train rides were great.
Peter Chadderton
Contributed by Peter Chadderton
Lancashire memories
Helmshore 1950-1964
We lived at No 23 Broadway, Ronald my dad, Ruth my mum, Colin, me, Glenda and Kenneth. Next door was a working farm as the houses had only just been built. On Thursdats they used to run cows from the railway station to the auction market, fun and games they were in the gardens. There wasn't a lot to do but they were happy days. I went to Helmshore Primary School, headmaster Mr Jenkins, then to Haslingden Secondary School, headmaster Clem Hill. Helmshore is very built up now, but it has still got that village feel and I go back from time to time. I go walking down Ravenshore reliving those childhood days when myself and John Rothwell went rabbiting with ...read more here
A memory of Helmshore contributed by HARRY MADEN
#69 Broadway
I was only 11yrs old when we moved from Helmshore to America. Helmshore was a wonderful place to have your childhood.
Sometime between 1963 and 1965 we built a snowman that made the front page of the local paper, that year was a huge snow storm. There was a shop called Joyces on Broadway, where we bought the nice gifts. I remember attending Helmshore primary school till May of 1965. The headmaster was Mr Jenkins, and the top class teacher was Mr Smith. In those days the punishment was too extreame hard and cruel, but I survived. Apart from that I have fond memories,and I must say the
steam train rides were great.
Peter Chadderton
A memory of Helmshore contributed by Peter Chadderton
Extracts From Helmshore & Lancashire books
This is how local historian W A Abram described
the Town Hall: ‘The west front, 120 feet wide,
with an elevation of 63 feet, presents the main
entrance in the centre, by three massive arched
doorways. The front is emboldened by Corinthian
columns resting upon a rusticated basement
upholding a broad tablature surmounted by
a perforated parapet’ - an impressive piece of
architecture.
An extract from from"Blackburn Town and City Memories".
The Exchange looks here much as it did when Charles Dickens ascended
its steps to give his reading. The premises on the right advertising Whittle
Springs Ales was W H Gregson’s brewers’ agents, later to become an office
for Grant’s whisky, the only one they had outside Scotland - a tribute to
Blackburn’s fondness for strong liquor. On the left was the Exchange Hotel.
An extract from from"Blackburn Town and City Memories".
Note the change of illumination outside the Town Hall. On the right is
the Exchange Building in its incarnation as the Majestic Cinema. Davy
Crockett is showing, and you could have had a seat in the stalls for one shil-
ling (5p), or in the circle for one shilling and sixpence (7½p).
An extract from from"Blackburn Town and City Memories".
Towneley Hall has a very good collection. It includes the famous Zoffany portrait, ‘Charles Towneley and his Friends’, several Turners and an Epstein bust. Most of the pictures have been acquired by the Council, though the Hall has some pictures formerly in the Towneley Collection.
An extract from from"Burnley Town and City Memories".
The chapel is the work of Sir John Towneley (1473-1541), who also saved the magnificent vestments formerly used in Whalley Abbey. The vestments, very rare survivals of the pre-Reformation church, are usually on display near the chapel. The chapel itself is full of interest. On the extreme right, note the beautifully-carved wooden shield over the door of what was once a confessional room. On either side of it are the crests of the Towneleys of Towneley and the Asshetons of Lever, together with the initials RT and IT and the date 1601. The initials are those of Richard and Jane Towneley (formerly Assheton). High on the panelled ceiling are bosses on which are carved the initials of Sir John’s family.
An extract from from"Burnley Town and City Memories".