When it opened to traffic in 1788, Skerton was the first flat-topped bridge in England. Up to this point, larger stone bridges had been hump-backed. These could make it hard work for people and animals to haul themselves and their goods over the top. Skerton’s …
Shortly before the First World War Borwick Hall in North Lancashire acquired a wealthy and controversial new tenant — a man who had publicly compared the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan to a circus elephant and who, in turn, was accused by Sir Edward Elgar of …
Nearly 20 years ago I built a simple, slab-sided wooden canoe from a kit supplied by a company called Fyne Boat Kits. Since I’m pretty rubbish with tools I opted for a “supervised build” which meant that I went along to the company’s modest workshop …
A little while back I spent three nights on a narrowboat. This was to be my introduction to the art of narrow boating: a master class conducted by my old friend and colleague, Gerry Northam. He’s been messing about in boats — and plenty of …
I’m thinking about buying a narrow boat. Just thinking about it. But the process is taking up quite a bit of time. My wife is charting what she calls “his new obsession”. The symptoms include long hours reviewing the latest boats for sale on …
I’ve finally made my first visit to the Storey Tasting Gardens in Lancaster — something I’ve meant to do for ages. And I’m very pleased I did. The gardens are to the side of the Storey Institute, sandwiched between the busy main road to the …
Worries about church attendance are not new. In the Lancashire village of Warton more than 300 years ago the new vicar quickly learned that many parishioners had better things to do on Sunday than attend St Oswald’s. Others showed a level of disrespect for church …
Eighteenth century North Lancashire farmers clearly knew a thing or two about productivity. Schoolmaster John Lucas explains in this extract from his ‘History of Warton Parish’ how they invested in a mobile ‘Music while you Work’ system to get the most from workers at harvest time. …
