Drive and Stroll with Ron Freethy

AS I drive along our local roads and stroll around our footpaths I often pass by unusual buildings and objects and think about their uses in times gone by.

How useful it would be for future generations if we could compile a list of these objects, photograph them and give a brief account of their one time function.

In previous columns I have written about toll houses, milestones, packhorse, canal, road and railway bridges, old picture houses, historic pubs and ancient buildings whose history has not been properly recorded.

We at the Evening Telegraph would like to build up a collection of Lancashire landmarks.

These days it is easy to gather this information using a computer. Computers, however, only deliver material which is fed into them and this is where our readers come in.

Do you know of objects or buildings whose history needs to be remembered. This applies even if the object has been lost. What happened for example to the grand old toll house at Mellor? And what happened to the Second World War pill box? These were situated on what is now the main road between Blackburn and Preston.

There are, however, other fascinating structures situated along ancient trade routes which are now relegated to footpaths which we can stroll along at our leisure.

One of the most historic bridges situated on these old routes is at Catlow Bottoms between Nelson and Burnley.

This route is not used these days and the bridge remains in splendid isolation.

Cromwell's Bridge, on the other hand, is splendid but not isolated.

Some say this span over the Hodder was used by Cromwell's army on his way to the battle of Preston.

This is probably half true. Cromwell certainly passed over this bridge but it is far too narrow to allow horses and cannon to pass over.

The heavy brigade obviously used the ford which is close to Cromwell's Bridge.

These days the bridge is not used and has been replaced by Lower Hodder Road Bridge.

Cromwell's Bridge at the moment is having a much needed facelift and another piece of Lancashire's wonderful history has been preserved.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.