Pilgrims' Cross, Holcombe Moor: Difference between revisions
Created page with "right|thumb|300px|The Pilgrims' Cross {{county|Lancashire}} The '''Pilgrims' Cross''', also called '''Whowell's Cro..." |
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<blockquote>The stone was a block of sandstone, weighing perhaps a ton, and showing the cavity squared for the shaft almost as well cut as when it left the mason's hands 700 years ago. There was only just a little weathering of the angles. A simple block of sandstone ... now it lies in fragments ... scattered here and there ... The stone was not a quarried one. It belonged to that class found upon our hillsides here, among glacial drift and moraine matter. It was of rather a finer grain than the stone now being quarried on our moor ... Our Pilgrims' Cross stone had been dressed and squared by the mason's hand, though a little roughly so here and there.<ref name=mcn01 /></blockquote> | <blockquote>The stone was a block of sandstone, weighing perhaps a ton, and showing the cavity squared for the shaft almost as well cut as when it left the mason's hands 700 years ago. There was only just a little weathering of the angles. A simple block of sandstone ... now it lies in fragments ... scattered here and there ... The stone was not a quarried one. It belonged to that class found upon our hillsides here, among glacial drift and moraine matter. It was of rather a finer grain than the stone now being quarried on our moor ... Our Pilgrims' Cross stone had been dressed and squared by the mason's hand, though a little roughly so here and there.<ref name=mcn01 /></blockquote> | ||
On 30 August 1901, the ''Heywood Advertiser'' added more about the destruction, saying that the Pilgrims' Cross foundation stone had been "broken into fragments and pieces thrown into a boghole and covered with whinberry roots".<ref>{{cite news |title=A stupid piece of vandalism |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002441/19010830/100/0004 |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=Heywood Advertiser |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=30 August 1901 |page=4 col.4}}</ref> By 1903 the identity of the vandals was still unknown.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bolton Walkers: the third ramble |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000646/19030917/064/0003 |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=Bolton Evening News |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=17 September 1903 |page=3 col.3}}</ref> The ''Manchester City News'' said:<ref name=mcn01 | On 30 August 1901, the ''Heywood Advertiser'' added more about the destruction, saying that the Pilgrims' Cross foundation stone had been "broken into fragments and pieces thrown into a boghole and covered with whinberry roots".<ref>{{cite news |title=A stupid piece of vandalism |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002441/19010830/100/0004 |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=Heywood Advertiser |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=30 August 1901 |page=4 col.4}}</ref> By 1903 the identity of the vandals was still unknown.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bolton Walkers: the third ramble |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000646/19030917/064/0003 |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=Bolton Evening News |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=17 September 1903 |page=3 col.3}}</ref> The ''Manchester City News'' said:<ref name=mcn01 /> | ||
<blockquote>Its demolition is an act of pure vandalism, for which one can find no excuse, and for which it is difficult even to suggest a motive. It appears to have been carried out by clumsy depredators. Wedges had been inserted in the block.The wedge holes were badly made, and other marks show the unskilful use of heavy hammers. The destruction was evidently committed on the site, and the broken fragments were afterwards carried to the wet boghole, twenty yards distant, in which they were found. Unfortunately they are too numerous, there being at least fifty, for any hope to be entertained of the stone being pieced together again and replaced in its old site.<ref name=mcn01 /></blockquote> | <blockquote>Its demolition is an act of pure vandalism, for which one can find no excuse, and for which it is difficult even to suggest a motive. It appears to have been carried out by clumsy depredators. Wedges had been inserted in the block.The wedge holes were badly made, and other marks show the unskilful use of heavy hammers. The destruction was evidently committed on the site, and the broken fragments were afterwards carried to the wet boghole, twenty yards distant, in which they were found. Unfortunately they are too numerous, there being at least fifty, for any hope to be entertained of the stone being pieced together again and replaced in its old site.<ref name=mcn01 /></blockquote> | ||
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This memorial stone was placed here May 24th 1902 by the copyholders of the manor and others.</small><ref name=lp /></blockquote> | This memorial stone was placed here May 24th 1902 by the copyholders of the manor and others.</small><ref name=lp /></blockquote> | ||
A local newspaper reported that "The stone [is] of huge proportions, and required the strength of fourteen horses to drag it up the hill" on Empire Day, Saturday 24 May 1902.<ref>{{cite news |title=Local and district news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000646/19020528/048/0002 |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=Bolton Evening News |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=28 May 1902 |page=2 col.3}}</ref> The cart was pulled from Fletcher Bank Quarry at the other side of the Irwell Valley,<ref name=lep35 /><ref>{{cite web |title=Pilgrims cross (replacement) AR-p52a.jpg |url=https://www.ramsbottomheritage.org.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pid=1594#top_display_media |website=ramsbottomheritage.org.uk |publisher=Ramsbottom Heritage Society |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref> "with much laborious effort".<ref>{{cite news |title=The Herald: the Pilgrims' Cross |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001667/19020702/083/0004 |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=Preston Herald |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=2 July 1902 |page=4 col.1}}</ref> The monument is constructed of two Millstone Grit blocks, weighing in total roughly six tons.<ref name=hg02 /> Henry Dowsett was "instrumental in the erection of the monument now on the site",<ref>{{cite web |title=Holcombe Village Society (Lancashire) |url=https://www.holcombesociety.org.uk/misc/rev-henry-dowsett/ |website=holcombesociety.org.uk |publisher=Holcombe Village Society |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> and headed the fundraising committee.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Pilgrims' Cross, Holcombe Moor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001788/19020503/005/0002 |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=Manchester City News |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=3 May 1902 |page=2 col.2}}</ref> On 28 June 1902,<ref name=lep02 /> Dowsett presided over the erection ceremony, which was attended by hundreds, including "prominent local gentlemen".<ref name=lep02 /><ref name=hg02 >{{cite news |title=Replacing a landmark. Interesting ceremony on Holcombe Moor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003065/19020705/041/0003 |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=Haslingden Gazette |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=5 July 1902 |page=3 col.3}}</ref> The stone was funded by subscription.<ref name=lep02 | A local newspaper reported that "The stone [is] of huge proportions, and required the strength of fourteen horses to drag it up the hill" on Empire Day, Saturday 24 May 1902.<ref>{{cite news |title=Local and district news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000646/19020528/048/0002 |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=Bolton Evening News |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=28 May 1902 |page=2 col.3}}</ref> The cart was pulled from Fletcher Bank Quarry at the other side of the Irwell Valley,<ref name=lep35 /><ref>{{cite web |title=Pilgrims cross (replacement) AR-p52a.jpg |url=https://www.ramsbottomheritage.org.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pid=1594#top_display_media |website=ramsbottomheritage.org.uk |publisher=Ramsbottom Heritage Society |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref> "with much laborious effort".<ref>{{cite news |title=The Herald: the Pilgrims' Cross |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001667/19020702/083/0004 |access-date=3 January 2024 |work=Preston Herald |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=2 July 1902 |page=4 col.1}}</ref> The monument is constructed of two Millstone Grit blocks, weighing in total roughly six tons.<ref name=hg02 /> Henry Dowsett was "instrumental in the erection of the monument now on the site",<ref>{{cite web |title=Holcombe Village Society (Lancashire) |url=https://www.holcombesociety.org.uk/misc/rev-henry-dowsett/ |website=holcombesociety.org.uk |publisher=Holcombe Village Society |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> and headed the fundraising committee.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Pilgrims' Cross, Holcombe Moor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001788/19020503/005/0002 |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=Manchester City News |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=3 May 1902 |page=2 col.2}}</ref> On 28 June 1902,<ref name=lep02 /> Dowsett presided over the erection ceremony, which was attended by hundreds, including "prominent local gentlemen".<ref name=lep02 /><ref name=hg02 >{{cite news |title=Replacing a landmark. Interesting ceremony on Holcombe Moor |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003065/19020705/041/0003 |access-date=2 January 2024 |work=Haslingden Gazette |agency= |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |date=5 July 1902 |page=3 col.3}}</ref> The stone was funded by subscription.<ref name=lep02 /> The inscription states that "Pilgrims to Whalley Abbey prayed and rested here", but Whalley Abbey was not founded until the late 13th century when the monks relocated from nearby Stanlow Abbey in April 1296.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Whalley Abbey Gatehouse |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whalley-abbey-gatehouse/history/ |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=English Heritage}}</ref> In fact, Rev. Henry Dowsett, who ordered the inscription on the stone, confirmed the cross pre-dated the abbey, minutes after dedicating the memorial monument in 1902. He said that: | ||
<blockquote>The ancient cross was in existence long before Whalley Abbey was built. It would have been in existence probably 150 to two hundred years previously, at a time when Holcombe Moor was a forest and when people could hear the bark of the wolf and the scream of the falcon. Its purpose was to guide pilgrims to Whalley, and it had indicated the way to thousands of them.</blockquote> | <blockquote>The ancient cross was in existence long before Whalley Abbey was built. It would have been in existence probably 150 to two hundred years previously, at a time when Holcombe Moor was a forest and when people could hear the bark of the wolf and the scream of the falcon. Its purpose was to guide pilgrims to Whalley, and it had indicated the way to thousands of them.</blockquote> |
Latest revision as of 18:14, 1 December 2024
The Pilgrims' Cross, also called Whowell's Cross and Chatterton's Cross, stands on Holcombe Moor in southern Lancashire, near Ramsbottom and Holcombe, Lancashire. It marks the site of a 12th-century stone wayside cross, originally placed for the use of travellers, as a guide post and invitation to prayer.
Description
- Location map: 53°39’35"N, 2°20’49"W
- Streetmap:
Known locally as the Pilgrims' Cross,[1] the current monument dates from 1902, marking the site of an ancient cross that is recorded as standing in 1176, and possibly earlier.[2] It is located on Holcombe Moor above Bury,[2] not far from the Peel Monument and on the edge of a Ministry of Defence Danger Area. The stop is on "on the western side of the Irwell valley [where the land] rises to a height of over 1,200 feet above the sea. Anciently [the moor] formed part of the forest or chase of Tottington, belonging to the Earl of Lancaster and afterwards to the Lacies, Earls of Lincoln".[3] Monuments on high moorland such as Pilgrims' Cross served as guide posts for travellers, to tell them how far they had travelled and to aid orientation in bad weather.[2]
History
Thomas Whitaker (1801) says that the existence of the Pilgrims' Cross, as mentioned in 1225, indicated the route of pilgrims travelling from the northern shires to southern shrines. Land in Holcombe Forest was left in that year to Bretton Priory, including "three acres of meadow near Pilgrims' Cross Shaw ... a resting place of the pilgrims". He also mentions the Plantaganets and Lacys, who travelled by way of the monument's location to Lancaster, from their castles in Clitheroe and Pontefract. "What trains of sumpter horses must upon these occasions have been seen traversing these boggy wastes, impassable at that time for carriages. This was the line the Lacys were condemned to pursue".[4]
Before destruction, the ancient cross was called variously 'Whowell's Cross' and 'Chatterton's Cross'.[2] The Lancashire Evening Post suggested that, "The cross itself was believed to have been broken by drunken quarrymen generations before [the base stone was destroyed]".[5] What little is known of the history of the Pilgrims' Cross is inscribed on the stone monument itself which was erected on 24 May 1902 after the original socket was destroyed "by vandals" in 1901.[2][6] A letter from the Reverend Henry Dowsett to the Manchester Evening News was published on 24 August of the same year:[7]
The Rector of Holcombe ... writes that the massive foundation, all that remained of the ancient Pilgrims' cross stone on Holcombe Hill, has recently been destroyed. The stone was seen alright three weeks ago, but now it has been broken up.. The cross was close to the ancient moorland footpath, and is mentioned as far back as 1225. It was probably in position on Holcombe Hill at a much earlier date.
On 7 September 1901, Dowsett provided the Manchester City News with further information about the foundation stone.[4]
The stone was a block of sandstone, weighing perhaps a ton, and showing the cavity squared for the shaft almost as well cut as when it left the mason's hands 700 years ago. There was only just a little weathering of the angles. A simple block of sandstone ... now it lies in fragments ... scattered here and there ... The stone was not a quarried one. It belonged to that class found upon our hillsides here, among glacial drift and moraine matter. It was of rather a finer grain than the stone now being quarried on our moor ... Our Pilgrims' Cross stone had been dressed and squared by the mason's hand, though a little roughly so here and there.[4]
On 30 August 1901, the Heywood Advertiser added more about the destruction, saying that the Pilgrims' Cross foundation stone had been "broken into fragments and pieces thrown into a boghole and covered with whinberry roots".[8] By 1903 the identity of the vandals was still unknown.[9] The Manchester City News said:[4]
Its demolition is an act of pure vandalism, for which one can find no excuse, and for which it is difficult even to suggest a motive. It appears to have been carried out by clumsy depredators. Wedges had been inserted in the block.The wedge holes were badly made, and other marks show the unskilful use of heavy hammers. The destruction was evidently committed on the site, and the broken fragments were afterwards carried to the wet boghole, twenty yards distant, in which they were found. Unfortunately they are too numerous, there being at least fifty, for any hope to be entertained of the stone being pieced together again and replaced in its old site.[4]
Inscription
The modern monument carries an inscription:
On this site stood the ancient Pilgrims Cross. It was standing in A.D. 1176 and probably much earlier. Pilgrims to Whalley Abbey prayed and rested here.
In A.D. 1176 and in A.D. 1225 the Pilgrims Cross is named in charters of gifts of land in Holcombe forest. In A.D. 1662 King Charles II gave this manor to General Monk, Duke of Abermarle through whom it has descended to the present lord of the manor.
Nothing is known of the removal of the ancient cross, but its massive socketed foundation remained here until August 1901.
This memorial stone was placed here May 24th 1902 by the copyholders of the manor and others.[2]
A local newspaper reported that "The stone [is] of huge proportions, and required the strength of fourteen horses to drag it up the hill" on Empire Day, Saturday 24 May 1902.[10] The cart was pulled from Fletcher Bank Quarry at the other side of the Irwell Valley,[5][11] "with much laborious effort".[12] The monument is constructed of two Millstone Grit blocks, weighing in total roughly six tons.[13] Henry Dowsett was "instrumental in the erection of the monument now on the site",[14] and headed the fundraising committee.[15] On 28 June 1902,[6] Dowsett presided over the erection ceremony, which was attended by hundreds, including "prominent local gentlemen".[6][13] The stone was funded by subscription.[6] The inscription states that "Pilgrims to Whalley Abbey prayed and rested here", but Whalley Abbey was not founded until the late 13th century when the monks relocated from nearby Stanlow Abbey in April 1296.[16] In fact, Rev. Henry Dowsett, who ordered the inscription on the stone, confirmed the cross pre-dated the abbey, minutes after dedicating the memorial monument in 1902. He said that:
The ancient cross was in existence long before Whalley Abbey was built. It would have been in existence probably 150 to two hundred years previously, at a time when Holcombe Moor was a forest and when people could hear the bark of the wolf and the scream of the falcon. Its purpose was to guide pilgrims to Whalley, and it had indicated the way to thousands of them.
Later history
In 1909 and 1910, the moorland which included the Pilgrims' Cross was at risk of enclosure, when the Territorial Army attempted to requisition it for a rifle range, and possibly "artillery work", in anticipation of imminent war in Europe. Local walkers and farmers were united in their objections to the scheme.[17][18][19] The shooting range at Hawkshaw was initiated in 1916. By 1948, the land around the cross was being used by the army, and in 1987 the army and hikers were still jostling for use of the land. There is still a firing range on Holcombe Moor.[20]
On 6 February 1914, the body of cotton worker Reginald Geldard of Holcombe, aged around 36, was found lying in a pool of water 200 yards from the Pilgrims' Cross, with a bullet wound in his head and a pistol in his hand. It was speculated that he may have been intimidated by the idea of a hospital operation.[21]
In 1935 the monument collapsed, "apparently because of the mortar in the foundations perishing". The monument was restored by public subscription.[5] In more recent times, the monument has been used as a landmark for hikers. For example, in 1991, a seven-mile dog-walk for charity was organised between Holcombe Brook and the Pilgrims' Cross.[22] In 1975 a group of Girl Guides used the landmark as an expeditionary focus for map-reading and the use of a compass.[23] Local residents were put out when Ordnance Survey (OS) omitted the Pilgrims' Cross from its new Pathfinder map in 1992. However, the OS admitted its mistake and promised to "put it back in future publications".[24] Pilgrims' Cross Fell Race is held annually.[25] In 1993 there was a Pilgrims' Cross Fell Race for sixty competitors on a figure-of-eight route by way of Helmshore, Holcombe Moor and the monument.[26]
Outside links
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Pilgrims' Cross, Holcombe Moor) |
References
- ↑ "A walk through the history of Holcombe Moor". https://www.holcombemoorheritagegroup.org/documents/a819384390b44c006645.pdf.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Pilgrims Cross, Holcombe Moor, Bury" (in en). 2013-10-05. https://lancashirepast.com/2013/10/05/pilgrims-cross-holcombe-moor-bury/.
- ↑ "Antiquarians at Holcombe Moor". Manchester Courier: p. 7 col.6. 15 May 1905. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000206/19050515/117/0007.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Answers. The Pilgrim's Cross on Holcombe Moor". Manchester City News: p. 2 col.1. 14 September 1901. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001788/19010914/009/0002.
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Pilgrims' Cross". Lancashire Evening Post: p. 6 col.7. 26 September 1935. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000711/19350926/142/0006.
- ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Ramsbottom". Lancashire Evening Post: p. 4 col.4. 24 June 1902. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000711/19020624/111/0004.
- ↑ "The Pilgrims' Cross at Holcombe Hill". Manchester Evening News: p. 3 col.1. 24 August 1901. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000272/19010824/036/0003.
- ↑ "A stupid piece of vandalism". Heywood Advertiser: p. 4 col.4. 30 August 1901. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002441/19010830/100/0004.
- ↑ "Bolton Walkers: the third ramble". Bolton Evening News: p. 3 col.3. 17 September 1903. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000646/19030917/064/0003.
- ↑ "Local and district news". Bolton Evening News: p. 2 col.3. 28 May 1902. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000646/19020528/048/0002.
- ↑ "Pilgrims cross (replacement) AR-p52a.jpg". Ramsbottom Heritage Society. https://www.ramsbottomheritage.org.uk/cpg/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pid=1594#top_display_media.
- ↑ "The Herald: the Pilgrims' Cross". Preston Herald: p. 4 col.1. 2 July 1902. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001667/19020702/083/0004.
- ↑ Jump up to: 13.0 13.1 "Replacing a landmark. Interesting ceremony on Holcombe Moor". Haslingden Gazette: p. 3 col.3. 5 July 1902. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003065/19020705/041/0003.
- ↑ "Holcombe Village Society (Lancashire)". Holcombe Village Society. https://www.holcombesociety.org.uk/misc/rev-henry-dowsett/.
- ↑ "The Pilgrims' Cross, Holcombe Moor". Manchester City News: p. 2 col.2. 3 May 1902. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001788/19020503/005/0002.
- ↑ "History of Whalley Abbey Gatehouse". https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whalley-abbey-gatehouse/history/.
- ↑ "A local moorland scheme. Public paths and shooting range. Keen struggle at Holcombe". Bolton Journal & Guardian: p. 16 col.1,2. 6 May 1910. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004791/19100506/239/0016.
- ↑ "East Lancashire Territorials". Manchester Evening News: p. 4 col.3. 7 May 1909. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000272/19090507/084/0004.
- ↑ "Holcombe Hill: the proposed range and the objections". Haslingden Gazette: p. 5 col.8. 21 May 1910. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003065/19100521/104/0005.
- ↑ "Guidance Holcombe Moor firing times". H.M. Government. 6 December 2023. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/holcombe-moor-firing-times.
- ↑ "Holcombe Moor tragedy". Lancashire Evening Post: p. 6 col.3. 7 February 1914. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000711/19140207/172/0006.
- ↑ "Dog-walk cash for sanctuary". Rossendale Free Press: p. 27 col.7. 19 April 1991. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003816/19910419/027/0027.
- ↑ "Guides' outing". Middleton Guardian: p. 41 col.4. 18 April 1975. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003626/19750418/041/0041.
- ↑ "PS. Villagers at Holcombe". Manchester Evening News: p. 5 col.4. 23 October 1992. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004985/19921023/006/0006.
- ↑ "Our races". Rossendale Harriers and Athletic Club. 2023. https://rossendaleharriers.co.uk/our-races/.
- ↑ "Record turn-out?". Rossendale Free Press: p. 61, cols 5,6. 27 August 1993. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003816/19930827/061/0061.
- Whitaker, Thomas Dunham: 'History of the Original Parish of Whalley and Honour of Clitheroe, in the Counties of Lancaster and York' (1801)
- Dowsett, Henry:
- 'Notes on Holcombe' (John Heywood, 1902)
- 'Holcombe Long Ago' (John Heywood, 1902)