Old George Lord Opposite Bankside Lane once stood a low lying house demolished at the beginning of 1880.The house was lived in by Old George Lord and his wife. They were owners of some dozen ponies otherwise known as " Galloway's". George and his wife used the ponies to convey coal and lime to districts far away. The common name given to them and people like them was " Lime Gals". It was nothing out of the ordinary for George and his wife to make a trip to Clitheroe carrying coal and returning with lime. The journey usually undertaken at night time with a man and boy in charge. On the death of old George the business was then carried on by William Clarkson.   Joseph Laycock. At one time almost everyone knew Joseph Laycock, Brass and Iron Founder who's place was at Waterside. Laycock came to Bacup from Hunslet in Yorkshire about 1830 and after a time commenced the first foundry in Bacup. Joseph was well known for making " Bobbers". A game that lads used to play back in the old days and whilst Joseph never apparently played the game himself he did play with iron rings known as "Quoits" at which he was at one time considered the champion of the world. Joseph was at one time a great traveller in the South. In 1859 whilst planning a return trip home from Australia something occurred which Delayed Joseph and saved his life. For had he not been delayed he would have met a watery grave aboard the Royal Charter Steam Ship which was wrecked off the coats of Anglesey in April 1859. He was a very prominent member of the order of Oddfellows, Freemasons and a Orangeman. He died rather suddenly at Lower Rockliffe in June 1883 aged 72 years. Was a well known Bacup figure, born in Todmorden about 1823 he had several jobs one of which was selling oatcakes, and going from door to door selling milk. His real name was Abraham Dewhurst. Originally he started work as a weaver and was by all accounts a good and conscientious worker. At some point Abraham became rather inattentive and lost his job, it is said that his eccentricity was due to unrequited love. He was usually seen chewing on the collar of his coat or on a piece of sacking and. Abraham however was very thrifty with his money and bought very little food, instead he would wait until the end of various parties held at the Mechanics Institute or school and then go in and make a bid for the left over crusts of bread, sometime taking away two wicker baskets full of food. In his latter days Abraham would pick up anything out of the streets that he thought useful such as pins, nails bits of iron or wood and take them home. He quite often sported a old sack which he wore slung across his shoulders, his cap tilted on one side of his head  and his trousers tied up under his knees. Tied around his waist would be his walking stick which can still be seen today in the Bacup Nat. Abraham had relatives living away from Bacup and when Abraham became ill in 1892 they were eventually contacted. Two well to do ladies arrived with fresh line and food for Abraham and though he eventually agreed for them to care for him with the lined and food he refused to leave his home and go with them to theirs to be looked after. Abraham died in the Union Workhouse in Haslingden in October 1892 and was buried in Todmorden on undressing him at the workhouse it was found that he had a old hearth rug wrapped around his waist and his shoes were stuffed with feathers. Mr James Hargreaves. Familiarly known as " Old Whitehat" cotton waste dealer James of Newchurch Road  died in 1883. In his younger days he had been the proprietor of a marine store, building up the business until he had three good going concerns, Marine Stores, Smallwares and Cotton Waste. Remarkably Mr Hargreaves could neither read nor write. Yet had a wonderful memory and was very adept at mental arithmetic. It is said he could reckon the money value of a large transaction to the fraction of a penny in his head. James had two sons George and William who also helped out in the various businesses. After the death of James  William took over the Cotton Waste Trade whilst  George ran the other  wholesale and retail smallware business and that of the marine store. Betty Cockroft and Family  Betty Cockroft ran a shop in Yorkshire Street right across the road from the Green Man Hotel she was also owner of that block of property. The shop had then a very small front window with a rounded top as also had the door. Betty was a neat and tidy looking woman and was known to be wealthy. One of her daughters married Mr Richard smith cotton manufacturer of tong mill. Some of Betty's neighbours were  John Pollard, Barber whose shop was part of the Beer House known as the White Horse. The shop being taken over at a later date by Betty's son " Old James Cockcroft".  James ran the barbers business for a few years but eventually turned to drinking and loafing about. His children worked in the mill owned by his sisters husband which meant he had a small income from their earnings. However it was said that whatever money Cockroft had it all went in one direction. When he left home in the morning he would be clean washed and shaved, wearing a old black cravat and his clogs shined to perfection. Towards the end of his life he was known to stand in the street and lecture to himself  (if he could not get passers by to listen to him) the scriptures, Shakespeare or poetry. He was also known to make noises something between an Indian Wo-op and a shout, thrown up his arms and perform a miniature war dance.   Johnny Ratter Was a rat catcher along with his mongrel dog “Lady". His real name was John Pilling and he was  known to bet for a pint. On a ratting expedition, he’d say to his dog “Lady, doan’t kill” and take the live rat from the dog and push it between his belts and his breeches. When he had enough rats, he would go into the beerhouses and bite off a rat’s head for a pint of beer.  Happy Jack John Whitehead  a rag and bone dealer of Lane Head Lane, not being able to shout due to a damaged voice box he used a football fans rattle to announce his arrival.In return for rags and bottles, Happy Jack offered a variety of rewards ranging from “spice” and balloons to donkey stones.  Mad Ab Mickey Luke A tiny harmless old man with a swilling brush moustache who always wore a old raincoat two sizes too big for him come rain or shine that reached down to his ankles. He spent his days in the centre of Bacup mumbling to himself and twitching his shoulders ceaselessly and so earning himself the nickname of Itchy Mick.  No one ever knew his real name until he died  when the Bacup Times identified him as Michael O'Mahoney. James Ashworth James Ashworth was more fondly known as " Jimmy Din"a hawker of cockles and mussels, which he packed in bags on a wheelbarrow. Later he was successful enough to buy a horse and cart and was said to own several shared in cotton millsHe added a Greengrocers shop in South Street to his successes. One day while carrying out his business, crying out his usual " fresh cockles fresh muscles", a lady  coming down Todmorden Road asked him to leave a measure of the molluscs at her house.  The lady just happened to be the wife of  one of the cotton manufacturers; and either through qualms of conscience or for some other reason Jimmy put up his hands to each side of his mouth, and in whispered accents sent forth the muffled sound " they're no good today"  John Greenoff John was more commonly known as "John Duos".He was employed at the Gasworks as a meter inspector but lit up the lamps for the Old Lighting Committee before the formation of the Rossendale Union Gas Company. He lived close to the works in Lee Street almost from the very first of his employment. John died in May 1883 aged 62. John Pickup Known as " Old Baromy" father of Lord Pickup cashier at the Co-Op, was of a cheery , genial and pleasant countenance. John was a Weaver at Forest Mill. He was a keen entomologist and was well known for the dexterity he wielded with a penknife. Mr Pickup was a patron of the Walking Stick Club which had about 30 members. Each member had to have a walking stick that was a totally different shape to that of any other member, with some peculiar and awkward looking shapes coming out of this. ( Some of which can still be seen today in the Bacup Natural History Museum). Some of the stick had heads carved into he shapes of wild animals, reptiles and other beasts carved into he handles or down the stocks of the walking sticks. John Pickup died in 1868. James Ashworth James Ashworth was more fondly known as " Jimmy Din"a hawker of cockles and mussels, which he packed in bags on a wheelbarrow. Later he was successful enough to buy a horse and cart and was said to own several shared in cotton mills. He added a Greengrocers shop in South Street to his successes. One day while carrying out his business, crying out his usual " fresh cockles fresh muscles", a lady  coming down Todmorden Road asked him to leave a measure of the molluscs at her house.  The lady just happened to be the wife of  one of the cotton manufacturers; and either through qualms of conscience or for some other reason Jimmy put up his hands to each side of his mouth, and in whispered accents sent forth the muffled sound " they're no good today" In Newchurch Road there lived old James Rothwell, grocer and grandfather to Mr J.B.Taylor, dentist a very old member of Irwell Terrace Baptist church. He was a heavily built man, very calm and collected, deliberate in all his actions. Further down the road was Richard Hargreaves spar and clay pipe maker of Back King Street, he was grandfather to Levi Bolton wholesale Potatoe merchant. Further down still was Mr Anthony Ayrton " Old Ayrton" as he was nearly always called. In his younger days he had been a architect and had built the cottage properties known as Ayrtons Buildings. He was a scotch man and the terror of all doffers and youngsters in that neighbourhood, when he was near them. On his death his property was left to a niece who had resided with her uncle and aunt from childhood. When the niece died the property was sold. John Hardman Or " John O' Dolly's to give him is more familiar name  who died while on a trip to Blackpool in September 1876, was a descendant of a long line of Hardmans, of North East Lancashire and the South West Riding of Yorkshire. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker at Todmorden, but afterwards returned to his parents house in St James Street. Where his parents kept a grocery and shoe store, and on the death of his father " Sam O' Rodgers"  and his mother "Dolly" Hardman, whose real name was Dorothy, he and his brother Amos continued for a time the business. Afterwards he became of the partners in the Old Clough  Mill as well as being a shareholder in several other limited concerns, and an owner of cottage property.He was a keen politician and often walked in his younger days to distant towns to listen to orations by Fergus O'Connor, Frost, Ernest Jones, and Chartists. He was fond of company and a good tale. He left £50 to the Mechanics Institute and the same sum to Waterside which he attended.  James Rothwell Henry  Kerr For many years Mr Kerr was editor of the Bacup and Rossendale News, and during his lifetime in Bacup contributed many articles on bird life to the Newcastle Chronicle, The Manchester Guardian, and other newspapers. Mr Kerr was a native of Dumfries, Scotland. At one time he had a fine collection of bird eggs, on which subject and bird life generally he was a acknowledged expert.  Several years before his death the whole of his time was devoted to writing and stud of this kind of subject.