Priestley Clough
 

Hi, wonder how many of you went for "Sunday Walks" up Priestley Clough. Starting by going along Nuttall Street, around the corner onto Bath street, then "through the clough". A Mr John Priestley came to Accrington from Rawtenstall in 1849 and developed a cotton mill here. (His name is over one of the windows in the tower of St James Church in Accrington).
The Highams family succeeded the Priestley's at Woodnook.

I used to live up woodnook when i was a kid and spent plenty of time up there in the summer. Playing up the five arches was always great fun.

I used to live on Belfield Rd just a couple of doors away from Nuttall St. and we used to go up Priestley Clough frequently. That lodge was filthy. I remember seeing some older lads swimming in it one time. That wall on which the man with the wheel-barrow is standing was just above the water level normally. If my memory serves me right you could follow the path all the way up (alongside the Manchester railway line) and come out up Bash.

Re: Priestley Clough
 

Hi,

Just been looking on the web for Priestley Clough and came upon your message. Couldn't believe my eyes................I used to live on Belfield Road many,many moons ago but I used to love going to Priestley Clough as a child. No one used to worry about children going there on their own in those days and the photo brought it all back to me. Many happy memories of time spent there andI remember living in Belfield Road with its outside 'loo' and we had a tin bath fixed to the yard wall which came in and was put infront of the fire on bath nights. Is all this before your time??

Re: Priestley Clough
 

I still love walking through it .

Some photos .

Re: Priestley Clough
 

I lived on Riley's Hill, so Priestley Clough was my playground.
During school holidays we(my brothers and I) would be gone all day. We didn't own watches and would only go home when the pangs of hunger and rumbling bellies overcame our thirst for fun and adventure.
Rain, hail or snow we would find something to do...some game to play.

Re: Priestley Clough
 

One things for sure there were no fish in Priestly Clough in the 70's - as they used to put chemicals in it up at a factory up at Baxenden.

Re: Priestley Clough
 

Just curious Papermate.... Where and when did you live on Belfield Rd. I was born there in '44 at #37.

Re: Priestley Clough
 

Yep.. dirty so and so's.. but there must have been some small fish in there.. had talk of dippers nesting at the tunnel during the 70's when it went under Highams but never saw them myself .

Re: Priestley Clough
 

Highams was low down in town yeh? There may have been sticklebacks somewhere but we used to fish for trout and nothing in there. Though above a certain point at Broad Oak there were trout and that brook that went into Oswaldtwistle from off the moors - there were loads of trout in there. As for dippers, I never saw any in Priestly Clough but there was grey wagtails that used to nest under a bridge near that farm. Dippers used to breed every year without fail under a bridge up behind Broad Oak.