The Lodge at Four Acre

How about this for an archaeological profile? This must be an archaeologists dream with the full section exposed and not much digging to do!

This is an eroded section of the lodge bank at Four Acre Mill in the Cheesden Valley Heywood near Lancashire. It is adjacent to the outlet where the water would have driven the water wheel at the Mill situated a matter of yards lower down. The lodge was built before 1810 for the mill which started its life carding and spinning wool. Remains still exist of the mill amounting to a low rubble wall and much scattered debris. A hole which I think might come from the tail race in the bank below is taken up by a fox or badger.

In the photo above you can see the full outline of the lodge and the indentation where water would have collected to power the waterwheel.

The valley is full of the signs of mans endeavours to utilise the landscape to help him prosper. It was only recently that I noticed a whole range of ridge and furrow around the area known as Tom Hill.

I am currently carrying out a project to photograph the Cheesden Valley and it has its own separate blog.

There is a Google Earth map of the valley which I have created. You can download it at my archi-maps page here.

Building Archaeology

In my line of work I get to see many buildings in various states of undress and I really enjoy seeing a building partly built (or sad to say) partly demolished.

Secrets that have been encapsulated within the plaster walls are suddenly revealed. Things move on and so do construction techniques, so I believe that it is really important to try and record how a window frame was incorporated into a brick wall, or a voussoir was placed.

When a building is demolished, to me there seems to be a process of undoing, a releasing of inert energy, mass and knowledge; and more significantly a cultural uprooting.

Lumps and Bumps

A light dusting of snow over the North Pennine Moors (near Heywood Lancashire UK) revealed extensive marks which look like ridge and furrow. What date they are from is difficult to say and whether they have been ploughed or produced for drainage is also difficult to say. I have looked on Google Earth and several field systems of ridge and furrow are visible crashing into each other at various angles to the south of Tom Hill between Cheesden Pasture and Cheesden Fold. Some respect the current field boundaries and some do not. Below are some pics I took on Saturday.

Below is a picture of Tom Hill which is covered in ridge and furrow. Ridge and furrow to the west are cut into by Victorian ventilation shafts showing that they pre-date this period. There is an unusual irregularity as to their positioning and pattern.

All over the area there are derelict farms and barns - the footprints now only survive. It would be fascinating to find out about the history of this area and how the landscape has developed. I'm sure it would add to an area which is poorly documented.

Interestingly, on the Google Earth map there is just visible beneath the pattern of one furrowed field a series of rectangular marks (enclosure?) which possibly predate the ridge and furrows themselves. They lie on the south slope of Tom Hill. I have marked the area on my google earth archi-map (Cheesden Valley) and you can see them for yourself if you download the map here.

Tom Hill from the South West

Cheesden Pasture Ridge and Furrow

On Monday I talked about how our landscape has been changed by man over thousands of years; and noted that during a walk on Cheesden Pasture near Heywood Lancs UK that along the side of one of the ridges there magically appeared a series of ridge and furrow.

This was whilst the sun was setting and they disappeared after a few minutes. They're completely invisible to the eye most of the time. Anyway I took a hurried and shaky hip shot with the zoom lens and here they are - click the pic for larger view.

Cheesden Valley Project - Cheesden Pasture Mill

History

Built around 1810 for carding and spinning wool. The mill was powered by water from the large triangular lodge situated several feet above the mill. It converted to cotton spinning in the late 1830's whereafter the factory was enlarged to incorporate several thousand spindles. Sandiford and Asworth note 3 to 4000 spindles for spinning cotton waste yarns, 3 pairs of mules for spinning raw cotton and 5 reeling frames for winding the spun yarn into hanks in preparation for the dyer. In addition 30 looms made cloth from the spun yarn.

Here we can witness in one mill the transition from industrial unit focusing on producing wool for the outworker, to multi-faceted industrial unit focusing on producing cloth in a variety of forms and ranges - reeling in the majority of processes under one roof.

During the peak of its production a row of cottages were built to house workers. Later a steam engine was incorporated into the factory which helped produce gas to light the mill. A school room was also incorporated indicating the important role of the mill in the northern outback, in social matters during this time.

Remaining Archaeology

Little remains of the mill (although more than I expected). The plan form can still be made out (if one consults Sandiford and Ashworths drawings) against the hillside. The biggest remaining impact of the mill is on the landscape, with the huge earth banks of the lodge rising high above a rubble stone revetement. It remains empty, and was filled by the numerous springs in the area, and not the brook itelf. An opening in the south west corner indicates where the waterwheel must have been. Also, a large oval indentation is present to the north which may have housed a boiler or gas tank of some description. Whilst I was up there I found the remains of a china tea-cup (surely not from the mill or outworkers buildings?). Iron pipes protrude from behind a stone revetment or wall tucked up against the lodge. Beyond the great oval indentation the stone remains of a square building survive. To the east of the lodge, humps and bumps and some slight standing walls indicate the location of the row of houses. Of interest to me are the remains of a Shippon which looks suspiciously like a ww2 air raid shelter.

Project Links

Touched by the hand of God
Shippon at Cheesden Pasture Mill

Lightbox (updated regularly)

Images of Cheesden Pasture Mill

Location

You can view all of the Cheesden Valley mills on my Google Earth archi-map.
Access is from my archi-map page on my website.

Satellite Image of Cheesden Pasture courtesy of Google Earth

Do you have more information?

Please post a comment if you have more information or any corrections are required

References

There are a number of references which require acknowledgement. Firstly the pioneer book by A.V. Sandiford and T.E. Ashworth called The Forgotton Valley is an important source of information and is available from the libraries at Heywood or Rochdale. For a general background Owen Ashmore's Industrial Archaeology of Lancashire is a must. There is also a good archive at Heywood Library.

Photo Archaeology

Sometimes I know that when looking at a building I focus too much on the visual drama, or the open vistas or the quality of light. Very important factors, but it is easy to forget the details when you are high on cloud nine gesticulating over that Le Corbusier stairway. I often have to remind myself to slow down and take in the details. They have a lot to say. Let's take the humble door knob for example. That completely utilitarian and functional piece of door furniture can have as much to say about a building, its architect, and its patrons as the more high grade fixtures and fittings. There is a simple beauty about the latch in my photo above which marries form with function. It looks elegant and yet informs as to the possible status of the door.

Door furniture can also dilineate spaces in terms of hierarchy. In my local church the porch interior doors have simple clasp fixtures whereas the chancel has the fixture in the photo above (Arts and Crafts by Edgar Wood 1901). As one progresses through the various spaces of the church the door furniture responds to the spiritual hierarchy of the building and is an inherent indicator as to what people thought of the different spaces when the building was built. This is important because a historic buildings original function might be blurred over time. Small details such as door furniture or a particular type of moulding can reveal a lot about the originators. It is particularly useful as an architectural photographer to have this background knowledge because it informs my photography with added understanding and value. One of my greatest pleasures is to photograph a building that has been subject to much re-use over time and with the aid of the lens - strip back the different layers of understanding. I suppose this is a sort of Photo Archaeology!

The door handles above are on the public entrance to the Millenium Building in Cardiff. They have probably been commissioned by an artist? What does it say about the status of the building? Would it be suitable to use such door handles on the toilet doors? Hierarchy plays such an important role. Sometimes the hierarchy or status of a room changes over time and the door fixtures tell you this.

The door above used to have a rounded brass knob with a classical styling. Now a utilitarian latch type fixture has been added. It has been cut into the existing door moulding. The respect has gone for the overall appearance of the stylistic detailing. Somehow over time the function of this room has changed to something more utilitarian.

The above image was taken at Kilpeck, Herefordshire UK and is the entrance to the Church. So the next time you open a door take your time and take a considered look into the minds of the people that placed it there.

My Door Photo Lightbox