In 1899 John Rushtons and Sons Slater's of Lee Mill won a slating contract for a new tea facdtry in New Cross London.  The firm had their offices at the top of Rushton Street, Lee Mill. Rushtons were responsible for slating some very large well known buildings of their time. Such as, a contract in Broadheath, Cheshire for the Linotype Company Ltd. The slating of the Pilkington Bros glass works in St Helens in total the Rushtons did work for the Pilkington Bros spanning a  period of eight to ten years. Over a period from 1879 to 1889 Rushtons and Sons carried out various contracts all over the country some of these included. For the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company station buildimgs at  Pendleton, Pendlebury, Swinton, Darcy Lever and Littleborough, goods wharehouses at Kirkham, Accrington, and Radcliffe, grain wharehouses at Halifax, enginesheds at Lowmoor. 75 cottages at Smedley Road Manchester. Wharehouses and loading sheds at Halifax for the Great Northern Railway Company.British Insulated Wire Works at Prescott. Lancashire Watch Compnays Works Prescott. The Atlas Bobbin Works, Garston, Liverpool for Wilson Bros Ltd. Holy Trinity Mission House, Blackfriars, Salford. St John the Baptist Church, New Springs Wigan. Cottage Homes, Middlewood, For Rochdale Guardians.

Villas Prestatyn North Wales, and South Shore Blackpool. Primitive Methodist Chapel, Oldham. A mill at Failsworth, for Mr G Schofield. Various buildings in Heywood Park. Large addiditon to Kays Hospital Summerseat. Todmorden Parish Church. St Pauls Church Macclesfield. River Wyre Hotel Poulton along with many others.

 

 

 

Workers pictured above from the firm of James Henry Brearley pictured working in Gisburn one of the biggest builders in Bacup and Stacksteads one familiar street built by this firm is of course Brearley street in Stacksteads. Born in the Goose Hill area of Bacup he began his working life in a cotton mill. He then began his building trade by working for Messrs Butterworth and Sutcliffe, and worked on most of the big buildings and mills in Bacup such as India, Plantation, Farholme, Kilnholme Mills, also most of the chapels in the area. James died in 1919 at his home in Blackpool.

 

 

Men workers  employed by the Greave Size works are pictured labove the size works stood at the junction of Tong lane and South street .During the cotton famine of 1862-1865 the size works operated one of the largest soup kitchens in Bacup.

 

 

 

David Smith ad his sons Albert and Hudson Coachmen of Rockliffe House. A coachman's duties would vary depending on the amount of footmen employed. The head coachman would drive a pair of horses whilst the second coachman would drive just one horse. The head coachman in this case David Smith would of course be in charge of everyone working in the stables of Rockliffe House pictured right. David Smith died in September 1919.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately there are no details about this group of servants other than they worked for a Bacup family. There can be little doubt the family they worked for was one of the wealthiest in Bacup. The likelihood is the lady in the middle of the picture would have been the housekeeper. She would have been responsible for all the female servants, hiring and firing of them, the linen and china  cupboards, housekeeping money and making arrangements for guests. Also pictured it would seem are the cook,  a ladies made and nursemaid, housemaid and kitchen maid along with the butler who would in some households also act as he male valet. The young man pictured was probably the footman.

 

 

Rockliffe Vale Corn mill workers pictured about 1911 the mill was situated directly across from Ross Mill but was burnt down.

 

Ingham Taylor 1908 Barber of Stacksteads having a sit down in between customers. Ingham was one of many barbers in the area who advertised his trade by the traditional red and white stripped pole displayed outside the shop. At one time Barbers were also dentists and surgeons performing enemas, bloodletting and wound surgery. The history of the barber pole is intertwined with the history of barbers and their bloodletting practices. Patients would grasp a rod so tightly that their veins would show, at which point the barber would cut open their arms and bleed them until they fainted. After the procedure, washed bandages were hung outside on a pole to dry and to advertise the ghastly therapeutic specialities offered in the barbershop. Flapping in the wind, the long strips of bandages would twist around the pole in the spiral pattern we now associate with barbers. The practice of bloodletting had long since been abandoned by barbers at the time Ingham  and  Fred Smith pictured right plied their trade.

 

 

 

Bacup had a number of Blacksmiths the forges were more commonly known as " Smithies" the one at Change Sharneyford was run by the Lord family. Mr Richard Lord began the smithy and ran it with his son  John Robert Lord, who in turn ran it with his son Herbert who died in 1944. One of the oldest blacksmiths shop was situated at Lee Mill built about 1842 the smithy was run by the Graham family for over four generations. The first blacksmith being Mr James Graham who then passed the business onto his son Mr John Frederick Graham and then to his son James Frederick Graham. In August 1942 the business was sold when the then owner Fred Lord Graham was called up to do work of " National Importance " .

The Princess Street blacksmith run by the Halsteads was put up for sale in 1881 due to a lack of trade. Pictured above are brothers Tom and Dick Halstead  Mr James Taylor was a master blacksmith who ran a business in Manor Street Bacup for 45 years the business closing at the time of his death in 1956.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A chimney sweep stands on looking in Market Street, Bacup in 1911. Small boys aged between 5 and 10 were often sought out to become apprentices to chimney sweeps. Quite often they were orphans and had no one to care about the kind of treatment they received at the hands of unscrupulous employers. If the young lad was scared  to climb the narrow high chimneys the sweep would give him some encouragement by holding a lighted taper under one of his bare feet. One of the first known industrial disease was chimney sweeps cancer which appeared in the testicles and was caused by the effect of the soot on the naked body. The agreement shown below was drawn up between local chimney sweep James Swain and his apprentice Lawrence Slattery. Bacup's last full time chimney sweep Mr Roland Hurrell was given 15 years notice to quite in June 1972. This was the amount of time it was thought it would take to make Bacup a smokeless zone.

 

 The knocker upper shown below taps on the bedroom window with his long pole. Quite often the knocker upper would be a chap who was no longer able to work in the mills, quarry or colliery. Paid a few pennies a week he would be told by the customers what time they wanted rousing, he wouldn't leave until he had a sign that the customer was awake.

 

The Bacup Labourer change was situated at number 16 Market Street  next to the Lancashire and Yorkshire bank and first opened in February 1911 after the first world war it moved to the Mechanics Institute and was once housed in a wooden building South Street the present building on Gladstone Street opening in 1930 the same year as the staff pictured below.

 

 

 The Beeby brothers are pictured below they were Reed and Heald makers who had their factory off Tong Lane opposite the streets of Brick and Clay street. A reed and heald were both used in a loom for the process of weaving. A reed was like a comb the teeth being secured at the top and bottom. The heald is a series of threads into which an eye has been 'knitted'. The series of threads are held firm on wooden staves. Each single thread of the heald has an eye to separate the thread as it leaves the back beam (warp beam).The warp thread will go through healds on alternate staves. The staves alternately move up and down to form a 'shed' for the shuttle whilst simultaneously making pattern in the weave. A 'shed' (as the space is named) allows the shuttle to cross through the space formed between the reed and open heald.Warp thread then passes through the reed (usually made of metal) which keeps the warp thread separate. The reed, with its to and fro movement, 'beats' the weft thread into place (like a comb) as it is placed by the shuttle passing across the full width of the loom.

 

 

Barnes cloggers of Stacksteads, the most common form of footwear in Bacup and Stacksteads were of course clogs. Cheap to buy and repair they kept the foot warm and dry.In 1881 the Boot. Shoe & Clogging departments were added to the Union street store in 1881. In 1865 the prices of clogs were: Mens Clogs 2/10 per pair, Womans 2/3 per pair Boys 1/10 per pair. Clogging Costs Mens 1/- Boys 10d Women's 11d. A pair of Mens shoes 4/6 per pair Ladies 3/6 per pair.
 

 

 

The home of the first Post office in Bacup was situated at the bottom of Burnley Road  known at the time has Harris Printers. It was then moved to Market Street. In 1905 there were four deliveries  per day by postmen starting at 7.15 am, 1.30 pm, 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm. However there was no 6.30 delivery on any Tuesday. In September 1910  the site was laid out for a new Post Office which would stand on the opposite side of the road to the original and on a site where once stood the house of Dr Snell and others. The first stone being laid in October. The Post Office opened in January 1911.

 

 

 

 

Slipper Works

Samuel McClerie began slipper production in Bacup at Grove Mill,  in 1899 this was the first of it's kind in Bacup.