Leyland Historical Society

The last talk of the year on 2nd December was given by Frank Pleszak on that famous Second World War bombing mission, the Dambusters, which has a local connection with the bouncing bombs being made at ROF Euxton.

Frank went through the raid from the planning, training, execution and what happened to each of the planes and their crews. A mammoth understanding of research and presentation very well presented.  

After a visit to Ambleside by coach for lunch, we then headed over to Coniston by a narrow A road which resulted in some interesting bus to coach meetings.

We eventually arrived for a look around the village and visit the Ruskin Museum which is now home to Duncan Campbell’s Bluebird and told the full story of both the man and his machine.

Leaving Coniston we then headed to the coast at Kents Bank for an additional attraction, the Kents Bank Library and Art Gallery. Here Dr Paul Salvesen has established a railway book library in his basement. The books are available to study and any duplicates are for sale, Your Chairman was like a pig in....

The group was divided into four, as one group looked at the library, one the adjoining art gallery, one the platform of the station with the gardens and the fourth wandered the foreshore where the Morecambe Bay walkers come ashore from Arnside. The groups would change guides by the blow of Paul's whistle.

Intending to hit Grange over Sands for an evening meal before returning home we discovered that Grange seems to shut down at 5 pm, but your resourceful Chairman found a very welcoming public house on the outskirts of Grange, the Pheasant Inn, whose Wigan born landlady looked after our food intake before we headed off home ( I have already established that the evening meal is sorted for 2026).

By popular demand, on 7th April we saw the return of Dr Chloe Duckworth who this time gave us a talk called Lost Voices – postcards as a historical resource.

With a twist besides what was on the front of a postcard, who had sent them and why figured in the talk. The term rabbit holes in relation to research could be an apt description so i would like to read the forthcoming book when she has finished her research if ever - i know that feeling.   

On 5th May there was the 18th Annual Historical Society Trip which this season went to the Lakes. Following the plan we coached over to Haverthwaite to catch the 9.50 am steam train to Lakeside. We then took the steamer up Windermere, calling at Bowness and finishing up at Waterhead near Ambleside.

When the group got to Carr Lane / Mill Street, we looked towards Wheelton Lane and could see the slight rise in the road where the siding went into the factory. but being lifted in the early 1960s.

We looked over the wall where the old footpath carries on between the site of the Farington Works and the railway to where it used to come out onto Northgate next to the former site of Leyland Paints, all this now covered by housing. The site of the power tunnel from Spurrier Works to the Farington Works now being lost under someone's house or garden. ​

Going through the bollards we crossed Mill Lane railway bridge and onto Mill Street. Here the remains of the Farington Mill was fenced off and the long rows of cotton workers cottages were on both sides of the street until it met Stanifield Lane. Here we paused at the large cotton shuttle display and Spring Gardens terrace on the opposite side of the road.

This year’s Mikron on 7th October was a hill-arious ramble through the history of land access in England. From the Norman Conquest to loitering in lockdown, via The Mass Trespass at Kinder Scout.

The Pendale and District Ramblers are looking forward to celebrating ‘in stile’ on their 50th anniversary walk, but the path has been blocked by the landowner. How will they find their way through?

Their quest for freedom and fresh air won’t be easy, as they navigate bulls, beavers, and wandering sheep. Grab your boots and waterproof for a meander with Mikron on a hike through history.

On 3rd March we welcomed back Brian Groom who talked about Made in Manchester, the story of the city that shaped the Modern World. The talk ranged between the various histories, industries and people that forged the city to the place it is today. 

The 3rd February meeting saw the welcome return of Sid Calderbank who this year went into his own past for A Life in Dialect Hunting. He described his decent into the world of folk clubs especially in the back room of the Roebuck.

Here on a Friday night despite being a shy retiring soul he found a new voice as he saw the light and introduced Lancashire poets such as Edwin Waugh to a new audience, whether they liked it or not.   

With a group of similar ner do wells they formed the Old Peculiar Band and frightened fellow folk dancers at Rivington Barn, but that's another story. Hopefully for 2026.

For our first talk of 2025 on Monday 6th January we were again be entertained by Chris Wild giving us the yearly update of all things that have happened in the world of archaeology in the past year especially as he has now become fairly freelance.

Although it is very unusual for archaeological sites to become topical though that is what happened to the old mill in June this year that Chris discovered was probably one of the oldest in Manchester, adjacent to the Oxford Road Station. 

Next January we hope to get a further update on the state of the building and whether the fire has enabled more archaeology to be done on the site.  

Walking down Stanifield Lane, we passed the Works Managers House, now the Farington Conserative Club, followed by St Catherine's Church, the recreation ground and the Farington Lodge Lodge which leads to the Farington Lodge. The new properties from there to Centurion Way replace the farm and barn that was attached to the Lodge.  

At the Centurion Way traffic lights, we crossed over and surveyed the site of the houses pictured above. The former BTR cricket and football pitches are now overgrown with Farington House, the former BTR Club being in the nearby trees. After a walk passed the former BTR Farington factory, now the Leyland Business Park we retraced our steps to the top of the railway bridge.

The first meeting on the 2nd September featured a road trip around Leyland guided by Peter Houghton using a dash cam, this is the tour that bus passengers get when the Commercial Vehicle Museum use one of Mark Heyes "Fishwick" buses to take visitors to Leyland on a guided tour around Leyland's town and Industrial sites

On Monday 9th June we welcomed back an old friend of the Society, John Fletcher who gave a talk on the couple that brought history to many millions over the years, namely LTC and Sonia Rolt. With their many books and organisational skills, the pair started the canal and railway restoration back in the 1940s and 1950s ensuring the survival of everything we see today.

John when he was National Chairman of the Inland Waterways Association, an organisation that Tom Rolt inspired and was a co founder, introduced me to Sonia  Rolt and i could thank her for the work her and her late husband had done for the canals and railways of Britain. 

Peter Houghton, Chairman                 

57th Season 

                To start the new season on Monday 8th July we had a historical walk along the border between Farington and Leyland looking at the various houses and industries that make up the area. The group met on the Centurion Way railway bridge at 7 pm. We then headed along Centurion Way looking at the latest state of the former Spurrier Works of Leyland Motors.

Crossing the road we then took the path alongside the West Coast Main Line towards Leyland passing the site of the Leve Crossing that used to leave the main line and head into the Farington Works and the Foundry. 

The meeting on 4th November featured Dr Callum Watson giving a graphic description of the Battle of Bannockburn back in 1314 when the Scots gave the English a sound beating.

Callum is one of the guides of the battle museum which is just south of Stirling. I recommend staying at the King Robert Hotel next door to the museum as I did if you go for a visit.