Historic Furness Vale in pictures

A selection of photographs of the village from the collection of Tony Beswick. He will be adding to this album in the coming days.

 A group photograph of Bugsworth School from Tony Beswick. The picture is undated but the style of dress suggests the Edwardian period.

Carr Farm and the view across to New Mills. The spire of St. George's Church is prominent on the horizon. The white cottage between the railway line and Marsh Lane was known as Nob Hall.

A pre-war view of Bridgemont showing the War Memorial on the left. In the distance can be seen the hanging sign of the Dog and Partridge, opposite the Post Office.

 An early photograph showing three shops. The space between the two blocks was later occupied by a small house which was eventually incorporated into the Post Office. The shop in the centre was at the time of the photograph, Lowe's Confectioners. The nearest shop appears to be selling clothes or drapery. It later became a fish and chip shop and finally, a newsagents. 

 A procession passes the Corn Store. Members of the Foundation of Truth Lodge of the Oddfellows are on parade. The Oddfellows was a benevolent society, a forerunner of the Welfare State. The Lodge, which met at the Soldier Dick, included avery large number of the village's population in its membership.

 "Burnside" at the corner of Yeardsley Lane and Diglee Road. This was the home of one of the Saxby family, owners of Furness Vale Printworks. In the garden is the grave of "Spider", the dog which accompanied Mr Saxby to the Soldier Dick each evening, and guided him home.

 One of the outbuildings at Longhurst Farm.

Bridgemont in 1905, looking very much the same as today but without the traffic

 A procession passes Birch Wood. This may be part of the 1911 Coronation celebration in Furness Vale.

 The Post Office, Hills grocers, Smalley's newsagents and the Wool Shop. Posters advertise Double Diamond on the wall of Williamson's greengrocers shop.

 The bridge over the River Goyt at the foot of Station Road. Just to the right was the location of a toll cottage.

 The "Australian Bungalows" on Diglee Road and "Brookside" at the corner of Yeardlsey Lane. The field in the foreground is now the dite of several houses.

The village is decorated with flags and bunting,
 perhaps for the 1936 Coronation. A single car approaches

 Birch Wood. Although all of these houses remain, the scene today looks quite different.

 The 1911 Coronationof King GeorgeV and Queen Mary. A band leads the procession through the village.

 An early 20th century view, looking down Yeardsley Lane. A row of four houses was built in 1914 where we see the stone wall of the right. We can see the back of the building that wasto become the Garage but this is before extensions were added to the side and rear.

 A view of the Printworks from the canal towing path. The woman is Mrs Swindells

 Digging for victory. Furness Vale School Garden in wartime was given over to growing vegetables

 The teacher on the left is Walter Mason. In the background are two of the small bungalows which once stood on Yeardsley Lane

 Miss Hobson. A popular teacher still well remembered in the village. She was an enthusiastic historian and recorded much of our village's heritage

 The 1911 Coronation of King George V saw great celebrations in the village. It seems that most of the population took part in the procession along Buxton Road.

 Ladies in Edwardian dress parade past the Post Office and Lowe's confectionery shop. We don't know the occasion; it is not a celebratory event for there are no street decorations.

 The Soldier Dick and Buxton Road. The village is festooned with bunting, probably for the 1936 Coronation of King George VI. Note the telephone box on the right hand side. This is an example of the K1 style installed between 1927 and 1929. These were constructed from pre-cast concrete with metal doors and window frames. The two storey extension to the pub was, at this time, Ford's Ironmonger shop.

 Broadhey Farm above Furness Vale. The large stone barn on the left of the picture was converted a few years ago into four homes. The farmhouse on the left is a 19th century replacement of the original home, abandoned when the water supply failed. Its location can be seen at the top of the hill where a remaining barn still stands.

 Three photographs this morning from Tony Beswick. The first picture shows a group of children gathered at the gate of 59 Buxton Road.. On the left is the Wool Shop, then a haberdashers. 
 

Alongside the canal at Bridgemont was Mr Fox's boatbuilding workshop. The top floor was used by the Bridgemont Mission for several years after it was founded in 1893 by Mrs Fox. The business later moved to Furness Vale where Mr Fox continued to build and paint narrowboats and where he became a leading member of the Methodist Chapel. The building was demolished to make way for the by-pass.

More Edwardian children meet at the village bench. Note the wooden projection on the front of the Corn Store. This was a St John's Ambulance box and housed a stretcher and other first aid equipment.

 Yeardsley Lane in a severe winter. The poplar tree on the right still grows in the garden of Matlock House.

A rare visitor to Yeardsley Lane

 Cottages at 30 to 34 Yeardsley Lane. The date is 1960, the time when the street lighting changed from gas to electric. Built in 1822, they served as the first Methodist Chapel and school in the village

 Construction of the water Treatment Works. It opened in 1924

For many years I worked for Edward Hall's Botany bleach works. One of my main jobs was to protect the river from pollution. At one time e everything went into the river without question. But times changed and effluent was diverted into the sewer system.

The raw cotton had to be boiled for hours in Caustic to remove the linseed oil.

The caustic then had to be neutralised using an acid. There were two acids on site Sulphuric and Hydrochloric. One was used as the main agent and the other as a backup just in case somebody forgot to repeat the order, which was quite often.

When mixed with the backup acid it made the foul smelling hydrogen sulphide and they went in thousands of gallons daily down a 12 inch pipe from Whaley and emerged at the Sewage treatment plant. There was absolutely no problem apart from the dreadful smell. I remember a chap calling on me when I lived on Yeardsley Lane and asked me to sign a petition demanding improvements to the Sewage works. I told him the truth of the matter and that I couldn't sign something that was wrong.. He looked at me as though I had just come from outer space, used a bit of choice language and went off shaking his head.

Tony Beswick

                Buxton Road with the School in the background.

     The entrance to Knowles Brickyard. Behind the wall on the left   was the entrance to the tunnel under Buxton Road.