The Pleck?
 

As i mentioned before in another thread - the lane which ran down from Whalley rd to Bull Bridge, which is Kenyon St into Weir St, was always called the "Pleck" i never knew it as owt else, would anyone know where n how that name originated? cos its set me wondering n sure got me beat.:confused:

Re: The Pleck?
 

I found this
pleck - definition and meaning
...a plot of ground
...which makes sense when you think of Pleckgate in Blackburn being the gate to a plot of ground

Re: The Pleck?
 

That could be the answer Margaret,cos was much land/ground on the right going down from whalley rd.

Re: The Pleck?
 

Which poses another question, the sheep n cattle were always herded down Maudsley St n then down the Pleck to the slaughterhouse, wonder which farm/farms they came from?

Re: The Pleck?
 

I can remember once seeing sheep being herded through Accy came down Sandy Lane cashy can remember just when that was though

Re: The Pleck?
 

I have a book of old Accy photos one of which shows Pleck Brook 1937. Looks like a culvert is being built. It says the stream follows the line of Water Street to which it gives a name, crossing under Whalley Road to join the Hyndburn under Broadway.

I found this
pleck - definition and meaning
...a plot of ground
...which makes sense when you think of Pleckgate in Blackburn being the gate to a plot of ground

Sorry to be pedantic Margaret but the term 'gate' used in street names derives from the Viking word 'gata' meaning street. Still seen today in the Danish word gade.

Which poses another question, the sheep n cattle were always herded down Maudsley St n then down the Pleck to the sla ughterhouse, wonder which farm/farms they came from?

Cashy the Ashman book I mentioned yesterday when we started this discussion on another thread says that the road went up Maudsley Street to Pennyhouse Lane then across what is now the cemetery to Lower Brownbirks and into Huncoat so I guess the animals came from farms in Huncoat. The old building on onthe corner of Bolton Avenus and Burnley Road was once Brownbirks Farm before it was engulfed by a council estate. I know this because my family used to own it.

I do remember sheep being herded along Hyndburn Road and into the old burial ground next to the corn mill while waiting their turn at the abbatoir opposite. Again the Ashman book has a picture.

Cheers

Sue

Re: The Pleck?
 

Ah now i remember Huncoyt is right susie, tis a long time since i was a kid, but can remember the guy wi the stick n the dog tellin me when i asked, cheers fer that.:)

Re: The Pleck?
 

do remember sheep being herded along Hyndburn Road and into the old burial ground next to the corn mill while waiting their turn at the abbatoir opposite. Again the Ashman book has a picture

The book is by Brian ASHTON

Re: The Pleck?
 

You are quite right Atarah, don't know where I got the name Ashman from, as I had the book in front of me. Possibly because I was talking to Cashman at the time. Put it down to a senior moment.http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/i...cons/icon8.gif

Re: The Pleck?
 

I remember that now, you mention it jogging memories

Re: The Pleck?
 

Think that owd graveyard was the "Macphela"?

Re: The Pleck?
 

Absolutely correct Cashman. It was indeed a very old Baptist Chapel known as Machpelah. It was on Hyndburn Rd, near to where we once had the old gasworks (Electricity St area of town). Hyndburn Road used to be Hagg Lane in past times. I dont remember the chapel, just the grounds full of lovely old "table top" graves. The graveyard was known as "God's Acre". Many old inhabitants apparently referred to it as "The Baptists in Gas House Lane" (being the area where the gas works also was). And yes, there's where the poor sheep and cattle had their last nibble of grass before "being taken across the road".

Homebase on Hyndburn Road now built on the same site.

Re: The Pleck?
 

Remember that area pretty well, next to the graveyard was "Hitchens" grocery supplier,had a couple of mates used to "Second Man" on the wagons.:)

Re: The Pleck?
 

Nearly right Cashy it was Machpelah Baptist graveyard. I guess the chapel was long gone by the twentieth century as the www says about its records: Accrington- Machpelah Baptist Baptisms-1785-1837- Burials -1816-1844.

Machpelah is the Hebrew name for the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron reputedly the burial place of three biblical couples: (1) Abraham and Sarah; (2) Isaac and Rebecca; (3) Jacob and Leah.

Can't you tell I just love digging out useless information?

Re: The Pleck?
 

Retlaw tells a great story about the coffins being taken out of Macpelah. I will let him tell us.,

Re: The Pleck?
 

Quote:

I remember that graveyard being sold. Macpelah - means ''God's Acre' I was told, by a baptist, that the baptists used to baptise people in the river down there.

That quote was from Willow the Whisp in a 2007 thread about Hyndburn Road.

I have just been reading a book called The Baptist Churches of Accrington & District by Robert J V Wylie which was written in 1923. It was my dad's though I have no idea where it came from as our family have no Baptist associations.

The book has several chapters on Machpelah and says:

Next the river Hyndburn was an open baptistry -as near the river as it could be got. If the Hyndburn had not been characterised by two things - its shallowness and its filth, the baptistry would never have been erected. It was impossible to baptise in the river, so they built a baptistry as near the river as they possibly could, and for years the open baptistry remained, but when they ceased to use it the stones were removed.

The book also says that the chapel was taken down soon after the new chapel was built in Blackburn Road (opened in April 1836) but the schoolhouse remained for some years and continued to be used for funerals. Blackburn Road was superseded by Cannnon Street in 1872.

Re: The Pleck?
 

I can remember once seeing sheep being herded through Accy came down Sandy Lane cashy can remember just when that was though
__________________

Those sheep which came down Sandy Lane, had gone up Sandy Lane a few days earlier, they came by cattle trucks, and were herded from the station to a field next to Field House farm off Leemings Pad, think it was rented by Slingers Butchers.
Retlaw

Re: The Pleck?
 

Jack Broderick and I took a lot of photos of that area whilst they were pretening to excavate all the grave, even when they put fencing round, we stil found a spot, two silly owd buggers up a tree next to the owd gas works, festooned with cameras.
Retlaw,

Re: The Pleck?
 

[quote=susie123;944576]Nearly right Cashy it was Machpelah Baptist graveyard. I guess the chapel was long gone by the twentieth century as the www says about its records: Accrington- Machpelah Baptist Baptisms-1785-1837- Burials -1816-1844.
Tried that link but couldn't find a list of names either for Baptisms or Burials, I indexed those for Accy Library years ago.
Retlaw.

Re: The Pleck?
 

And now the Cannon St one is on its way out.
The parishioners now attend Christ Church.
There used to be a stone plaque in the Machpelah church yard, telling the history of the grave yard, the contractors promised it would be saved, and built into the new wall, stupid sods ran over it with a caterpiller digger, and smashed it.
Retlaw.

Re: The Pleck?
 

You were there then were you Walter?;)

I'll grant you that as the building was occupied first in 1765 the river would have been clean-ish as there wouldn't have been much industry. The shallowness might still have been a problem for a good dunking.

Re: The Pleck?
 

Clever devil, :tongueout that church was in use before the river got polluted by the local printing works. Read your history's of Accrington, and its development.
Retlaw

Re: The Pleck?
 

A lot of the cattle and sheep taken down Sandy Lane came from farms up Sandy Lane, I used to help my uncle and farmer Philip Flanagan drive the animals down to the abbatoir I can`t remember the name of the street location. It was usually done at weekends but may have been done midweek when I was at school.

Re: The Pleck?
 

I remember in the late 1950s one of the vaults in the graveyard was broken open and contents scattered .
I went down to look at the damage , it was quite a large vault , basically 2 rooms one containing the stairs down into it and a second room with shelves on the walls to place the coffins all the bones had been cleared but there were still broken pieces of coffins there .
Sheep were kept in the graveyard to keep the grass short in Summertime .

Re: The Pleck?
 

I remember Mr Flanagan the shepard who drove the flocks of sheep through the town centre to the slaughterhose , just him and two dogs .
He ended his working life at Mullards Simonstone glass factory .

Re: The Pleck?
 

I remember the graveyard, my uncle Raymond used to work at the abattoirs, he once chased a bull up King Street that had escaped. Also there were holding pens on Paxton Street at the railway station.