Where time has taken its toll

IN my column on October 17 I mentioned some of our local toll houses which operated from about 1760 to the late 19th Century.

This brought a crop of fascinating letters, including one from Mrs G Walmsley of Sabden.

She wrote: "I was most interested reading about the toll roads and toll houses in Friday's Telegraph.

"My grandparents farmed at Stansfield's Farm, Nappa, for 17 years.

"The Toll House at Paythorne was a school and my father spent all his schooldays there, as did his two brothers and three sisters.

"My father used to tell us about his schooldays.

"They had to walk about two-and-a-half miles to school and on Sundays my grandfather played the organ at Horton-in-Craven Chapel, so the children went there on Sundays.

"I have prizes that my father received for regular attendance at Sunday School.

"Lord Ribblesdale presented them.

"That would be before 1900 as the family moved from Nappa in 1900 when my father was 17 and they took the Whins Farm, in Sabden.

"My grandparents retired from farming in 1910 and none of their children were interested in farming and got other jobs.

"When the family moved from Nappa to Sabden they walked to Newsholme with their animals, put them on the train there to Chatburn and walked them over Pendle. I don't know how they got their household goods to Sabden.

"I thought you might be interested to know about the original Toll House at Paythorne." Mrs Walmsley's letter inspired me to take a stroll from the Toll House at Paythorne and down to the bridge which spans the River Ribble.

Outside the door to the old Toll House, the present owner John Rice confirmed that the building was once a school and had two classrooms, one upstairs and one down.

He knew that in 1911 a new school was built in the village and the pupils moved during one day by carrying their books from the old school to the new.

John also told me that when he was renovating the building he found old slate pencils which had been left behind by the children.

Following the closure of the school the toll house became a tea, toffee and coffee shop which was very popular not only with motorists but also with cyclists. Water was not laid on until the 1950s and water was drawn from a stream but also from a storage tank which collected the rain water off the roof.

By the mid 1960s the house was not used and when John bought it in the 1980s it was almost derelict.

He showed me round and I was delighted to see how he had retained the character of the original toll house.

To create more space for his family John has built a mirror image of the toll house and connected the two together.

Those people who object when people renovate old buildings should remember that most of the toll houses in England have either fallen down or been knocked down.

I for one am grateful to people like John Rice who have preserved a little bit of our history.

Paythorne is also a wonderful area for walking and from John I strolled down to the river, over the bridge and across fields into the village.

Once again, thanks to a reader I have enjoyed finding out more of Lancashire's history.

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