At the Weir Terrace end of the building where the lane leads to Dykes house Farm, there was once a company called  Tattersall's or Wreckers as they were called who kept two lorries, both of which could have their flats taken off and replaced when the occasion required by a body full of fixed seats and so they became charabancs for carrying passengers. One of these lorries had a different body which was entered from the back and had glass windows and adorned at the front with a sign " Irwell Springs Bacup Band", and was used to carry the members of this famous brass band to their engagements. Behind Broadclough Mill there are the  remains of an entrenchment, called the "Dykes," respecting the antiquity of which no tradition exists. It is cut out from the gentle slope of an eminence, and in one direction is nearly parallel to the horizon for more than 600 yards: a part of the line, for about 100 yards, appears to have been levelled; and more than 400 yards present a trench 54 feet in breadth at the bottom, and of proportionate depth. So gigantic and singular a work could only have been intended for some military purpose: it was probably one side of a vast British camp, designed to have been carried round the eminence, but left unfinished. On the other side of the road was Carr Bridge a wooden bridge over the river led up to Top of the bank farm.

 

 On the other side of the road  was Thowd Engine Mill, here there was a water wheel up to about 1939. The houses of Step Row shown  stood opposite  the Roebuck Inn Lord's Court and a row of back to back houses facing the top half or York Street. The houses and the Roebuck where demolished about 1970. In 1754 the Rochdale and Burnley Turnpike trust was created resulting in a highway ascending from higher Broadclough up Step row and Bacup Old road as far as Deerplay. Behind the Roebuck there had been a excellent bowling green on which challenge matches took place between national champions accompanied by the bookies shouting the odds. Part way up today's main road is a road leading off to Dog Pits where a mill once stood along with two rows of houses. Dog pits mill was originally loaned by the Hargreaves family who when it became too small moved to Parrock Mill at Sharneyford. The mill lodge was to the north about 100 yards away and a further lodge, a circular one, was in a field to the east.

 

 

The name of  Weir is said  by James L Maxim to mean " a fence for the catching of fish". A less known name for Weir was Jamland derived from a time when many families survived on jam butties consuming  a thousand pots of jam per week. Behind the Weir hotel was at one time the playing field for the Irwell Springs football team who would go on to become Bacup Borough. About 1867 1868 the local board   had passed plans for four cottages, two dwelling house, a shop and hotel to be built. In total seventeen houses had plans passed for building between 1870 and 1878 previous o this in 1865 the Co-op opened its no1 store in Weir.

 

 

 

Prior to the erection of the war memorial the Weir war committee erected a roll of honour for the men of Weir who had died in the first world war. The recess can still be seen today in the wall of the house that was the
Co-op.
 

 
 

If you could have stood on the site of the Old school house at Heald, in the year 1832 and looked out towards the direction of Weir you would have seen a very different view from today's. No road or highway running through the village in fact there was no village. All traffic was carried by pack horse and mules. Many of the farms supplemented their incomes by hand loom weaving in a evening after the days work on the land had been completed

 

 

Weir was  home to one of the areas largest employers. Irwell Springs printing company also having been known as The Corner dye works.  The effluent from their dyeing plant coloured the river Irwell, black, blue, yellow or whatever colour was being  used at the time. Heald town was the centre of village life having a population in 1841 of 107 and in 1851 167  centred on the slate stone quarrying industry. In 1832 there was no mill Weir bottom just a farmstead and a few cottages with the river Irwell flowing close by. New Row ( Treacle Row ) changed its name in 1878 to Clough Terrace.

From the rough bent grasses which grew down from the moor to the  entrances of the cottages came the name of  the Bent estate and cottages.  The large houses of Bent being built in 1925 for the  directors of Irwell Springs print works. The following directors were housed on the Bent estate, M Hughes managing director, James Hargreaves, sales director, James Buckley office manager.
 

 

The Deerplay Inn which stands 1338 feet above sea level was the home for many years of the  Rossendale Hunt. It is thought that the present Deerplay Inn is the second with that name the first one being on the opposite side of the road. It may also have had another name as a directory of 1818 gives the name James Simpson " The Stag And Hounds ". The old well on the right which it is said is the start of the River Irwell.and on top of the hill behind Irwell Farm and the well stands the war memorial  erected in memory of the lads who fell from Weir village during the first world war. The ground was given by Mr Edmondson who was at the time the owner of the Irwell Springs Dyeing company.

 

 

 

The Toll or Bar house once stood at the junction of the road to Water- Burnley and Bacup. Note the sign below which is taken from the above picture " 4 miles to Newchurch". Newchurch being the name Bacup was known by. In 1894 a article appeared in the Bacup Times dated 25th July 1894 titled

" The Owd Woman at Derplay Bar"

I approached the old Toll Bar at Derplay ad was informed by a small painted sign  which peeps from under the eaves " to Newchurch it is 4 miles". The window underneath was well stocked with cakes and sweets and pipes and parkin and moulded  in different forms they appeared  entering the ark.

The East windows informs that James Collinge deals in tobacco. While on a bank below are situated for further use many stone strong ginger beer bottles. Another tiny sign said 3 and half miles to Bacup. The house is built in one flat and stands at the junction of three roads. What makes those old people happy and content to dwell at such a place. I was just about to enter when a son of the submerged tenth hailed me, and said "Lord love thee governor have you got a bit of bacca and a match"?. He had approached me from towards the waterworks but didn't looked to have filled too many barrows, as he had emptied pints of ale. He looked as if he had slept in one of the many pipes which lay alongside the road. I obliged him when he informed me he was clearing out because of the smallpox. Could I find him a penny for a gill, he had just eaten a raw onion to keep himself disinfected, he could then land in Burnley. At the moment the old woman appeared in the doorway. She had one eye covered in a bandage and I asked her what was the matter. At which she advised me to speak up as she was deaf.

The old creature then told me I was just going around the corner one day fetching coal when a horse and trap ran into me and knocked me down. Since then my sight has been going fast. This house was built here 90 years ago and we have lived here for 27 we finished the road trust here about 14 years ago and they wanted us to go to Preston but we didn't want flit. b