2009 PROJECT SELECTION

WITTON OLD HALL, WHALLEY BRIDGE, NEWSHOLME OLD HALL, CASTLE HILL, AND DARWEN TRAMWAY REVERSING TRIANGLE: DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT AND ONSITE SURVEY OF 5 SCHEDULED MONUMENTS IN LANCASHIRE

A request was made by Lancashire County Council for a rapid survey to be carried out of five scheduled monuments across Lancashire: Witton Old Hall, Whalley Bridge, Newsholme Old Hall, Castle Hill, Dolphinholme, and Darwen Tramway Reversing Triangle.

The site of Witton Old Hall is situated in Witton Hall country Park, Blackburn. The earliest records of the manor are from the time of Edward I, after which it passed through various families until it was acquired by the convent at Whalley. After the Dissolution the estate was sold to Richard Crombiholme who promptly sold it to the Astleys. The Astleys held the estate until the reign of George III. Witton Hall was acquired by Joseph Feilden of Blackburn, who in 1800 built Witton House, and it is probable that the Old Hall was in a state of decay by this time. The site itself has the remains of two buildings, that of the hall, which is no longer visible and is now occupied by allotments, and the ruins of a farm building and courtyard which probably date back to the 18th or early 19th century. The survey recorded the extant ruins of the farm building and courtyard, and surrounding ditches and walls.

Whalley Bridge straddles the river Calder on the south side of Whalley. The bridge is first mentioned in 1317 when Aden de Huddleston granted a quarry to the monks of the Abbey which was ‘beyond the bridge at Whalley’. In 1634 an order for taxation to rebuild the bridge was made; probably in response to a letter from Sir Raph Assheton about its poor condition. Further repairs were apparently also made in 1656 and 1682. The bridge was subsequently re-pointed in 1908 and had major alterations made in 1917, at which time it was widened on both sides, the wedge shaped cutwaters were replaced with rounded ones, and the south-west retaining wall was also rebuilt.

Whalley Bridge

The site of Newsholme Old Hall is situated on the south side of the river Ribble, adjacent to Demesne farm on the west side of Newsholme. There is a paucity of documentary evidence regarding Newsholme, although it is mentioned in the Domesday Book as belonging to Roger de Poitou. The next mention found is from the Feet of Fines of 1311 where it is stated that Thomas de le Grene was gifted by Robert Pedefere six messuages, a toft, two mills, eight bovates and 55 acres of land, 17 acres of meadow, five acres of wood and a rent of 3d in the manor of Newesom in Craven and Westpathenal. By 1573 the manor was held by Gabriel Green, possibly a descendant of Thomas de la Grene, who, in 1573, conveyed the lordship and capital messuage of Newsholme which also included lands in Paythnall and Ellynthorpe to Thomas Lister and his heir. There are few records relating to the site after the 16th century; two estate surveys from the early 19th century refer to a field named ‘Hall Croft’ but make no reference to the hall itself which might suggest it had long since been demolished by that point. The site now consists of a low platform surrounded by shallow ditches, with the foundations of the hall sited at the east end. The linear feature on the west side, running from the toll house to the site, was probably an access road connecting to the present A682.

Newsholme Old Hall

The Tramway Reversing Triangle was the terminus of the Blackburn to Over Darwen Tramway which opened in 1881 and was the first to be authorized to run solely on steam power. It was initially run by Busby Carson and Co under the Blackburn and Over Darwen Tramways Co Ltd. In 1900 the trams went electric, but by the 1920s the trams were being superseded by buses, only surviving into the 1940’s due to the war. The last tram to Darwen ran in 1946. The ash pit and hatch are still extant, as is a control box; originally there was a shed at the terminus of the triangle but this was no longer extant. The reversing triangle is now in a state of preservation and accessible to the public.

Tramway reversing triangle, Darwen

Castle Hill, Dolphinholme, was the site of a possible medieval motte and bailey. Very little documentary evidence was found regarding Castle Hill to suggest how or when it was constructed, but it is clear that these earthworks were well positioned within the landscape to defend the river crossing. Unfortunately, the nearby 19th century quarry has destroyed much of the monument.