Researching an area in nw uk

Hi all - im new here. But just spent days upon days reading various threads. So i thought i would join and post this.

A while ago i worked at a place in lancashire, called pollard moors works, now when working there, there was all kinds of rumours of how the site was built ontop of 'something else' leaving buildings flooded underneath the working site - This site has been there for over 30 years now, its a massive place like a mini town.

Now, the company was sold to a dutch company and naturally, the dutch company has moved its operations away from this site. They sold one site to a housing company (this was in the midlands somewhere) but they couldnt do anything with site near me, because the MoD wont allow it.

It is a strange site - I know a few years ago the site had to have a lodge filled in, due to health risks (even though the lodge is neary a mile away in the top right hand corner of the site)

Im not suggesting anything strange going on here at all, im just wondering how and where i would find out more information on this site, as its based in the place i have lived all my life.

AH

EDIT: I think this is in the wrong section - could someone move this to the general section plz?

[edit on 3-2-2007 by fatlip180]

[edit on 3-2-2007 by fatlip180]

uk, is the most secretive country in the world on these subjects. its impossible to find out any info on anything that may be secret.

anything to do with mod, you will be out of luck, this is not the usa.

Hey , welcome to ATS

Originally posted by fatlip180

A while ago i worked at a place in lancashire, called pollard moors works, now when working there, there was all kinds of rumours of how the site was built ontop of 'something else' leaving buildings flooded underneath the working site - This site has been there for over 30 years now, its a massive place like a mini town.

Pollard moor works ? – no “s” ??

I know it well – or rather did , If we are talking about the same site .

For current use : Googling the post code – there are now multiple companies occupying the site , though I recall only one FOB chemicals works – this was over 30 years ago

I used to run x-country for my school – and our course went right past the works

And I once attended a “ north east Lancashire riding clb “ event on the 2 meadows to the immediate NW of the works site

It’s a small world , innit ?

Now, the company was sold to a dutch company and naturally, the dutch company has moved its operations away from this site. They sold one site to a housing company (this was in the midlands somewhere) but they couldnt do anything with site near me, because the MoD wont allow it.

To aid research – can you supply any more definitive names and dates ?

Plus – the exact locations

It is a strange site - I know a few years ago the site had to have a lodge filled in, due to health risks (even though the lodge is neary a mile away in the top right hand corner of the site)

That would be lowerhouse “ top “ lodge ? It was filled in at the same time as the M65 was built IICR , I would suspect a conection .

The lodge was definitely there in 1980 / 1981 – it was part of my school cross country running circuit

With the motorway construction being 1980 – 1983 ???? < a wild guess > I know it was open in 1984 for certain – I got my first speeding ticket – testing how fast my new car would go

Im not suggesting anything strange going on here at all, im just wondering how and where i would find out more information on this site, as its based in the place i have lived all my life.

Hey , we are here to help

Plus your opening statement intrigues the heck out of me – though if there was an MOD notice on the site , them the planning applications etc should be on record .

Burnley main library , on red lion st – will have the 1930 OS map sheets , which will at least show a further snap shot of the past .

Hopefully it should be possible to find a sheet that has only the canal and pollard moor farm @ the site

Unless there was a mill built there , to be next to the canal , But I doubt it – there are no houses .

PS – I have just done a quick search for any WWII army / ministry of war use for the site – and – nothing : . it wasn’t an exhaustive search – so the issue is still open

PPS – how old were you , and who told you about the “ buried stuff “ – could work mates have being winding you up ???????

Pretty pictures :

Pollard moor area [ circa 20?? ] curtesy goggle earth




Hi res version :

hi res

Aprox the same area from the current OS sheet [ 1996 ]




Hi res version


hi res

Map scans :

OS sheet SD73 - 1958 printing




Hi res version :

hi res

OS sheet SD83 – 1965 printing



Hi res version :

hi res

In these map scans – apart from the obvious difference of the M-WAY the lowerhouse top lodge is clearly visible

Something missing from later maps

Also the size and shape of the factories has changed considerably

Hope this helps


PS - google earth co - ords :

53°47'8.07"N
2°17'55.94"W

and post code :

BB12 7JR

and OS grid ref :

Hey thanks for that - what a small world!!!

The company that was there was hepworths pluming, they also have a building division as well, but the padiham site was plumbing only, we made guttering and pressure pipes etc. If i can remember correctly it was bought buy wavin (a dutch rival to hepworths) back in Jun 2005, Only in august to october did they close the site down. I think they kept the GRP section going a little longer, but again, it was shut down.

The lodge you mention - is a different one to the lodge i mean, i have drawn on the fantastic picture you sent me, where the lodge was located.



The site itself is massive as you can see, and towards the end of Hepworths, was derelict to say the least. At one time the site you see had a huge office building in the centre of the site, for years before they closed, the offices were moved into tiny port-a-cabins near the pipe factory.

As far as workers at the site go winding me up. I didnt go round asking for this information about the site if you know what i mean. A while before the place closed a few of the longer servicing employees would tell me about the site, you know the kind 'i worked here since i was xx age and helped build this section Zzzzz' a few guys told me on seperate occasions that the site was built on top of something. This made me think there was something into it. One guy mentioned a hospital once, although i cant remeber exactly.

With the planning permission thing, i was told buy the main boss of the site, that Wavin had tried to get rid of the site, but couldnt do due to MoD not allowing the site to be built on, he treated this as a ray of hope that maybe Wavin would be forced to keep it going.

Thanks again for your post - I found it ver very helpful, thankyou

BTW Im 26, but i went to Ivy Bank High School and also under took the dreadful x-country run you mentioned.

[edit on 3-2-2007 by fatlip180]

[edit on 3-2-2007 by fatlip180]

It is a small world i drive past this place on the motorway almost every day. Would be intersted to see how this goes.

Hi There,

It sounds to me that you are talking about the area around the village of Hapton, near Padiham. I used to go to school at Ivy Bank back in the seventies and Lowerhouse had two reservoirs then. Hepworths in Hapton was also a large plastics manufacturer in which as an electrician's apprentice I helped install large industrial electric cables for a large hoist (crane) within the building.

The area is known to be riddled with underground mined passageways as there used to be a colliery, around which the houses of Hapton, and indeed, Hapton itself was built.

There is also another area some two/three miles further East in Burnley close to Rosegrove. If you follow the railway track of the East-Lanchashire line, the area between the Rosegrove Station and Burnley Barracks is also a filled in mining area. I used to cross it every morning on my way to School, dipping under the railwaytrack and through a bridge that brought me out onto the streets around Rosegrove. As far as I know, the area around Lowerhouse was never associated with mining. However, the whole Burnley and Pendle area is renowned for its occult folklore and more than its fair share of UFOs.

P.S. Blyths Chemical works at Church near Accrington and Oswaldtwistle had a division in Hapton during the late seventies, did some electrical work there, too. Now and again, a strange fog would be present around the Chemical works at Church...nowhere else, mind, and usually during the early evening.

Best wishes

[edit on 3/2/07 by elysiumfire]

Originally posted by thesaint
It is a small world i drive past this place on the motorway almost every day. Would be intersted to see how this goes.

I'm often on the M65 too ,I'm not to far away between Bolton/Manchester.

Where about are you im in Bury myself and use this route about 5 times a week

U2U in the post to you lol

yikes ............. i am surrounded

i thought that i was safe here in the middle of nowhere , now ATSers are coming out of the wood work

the annotations the OP made [ the location of the lodge which has now been filled in ] and his age

make me even more curious

more research is needed .

we will get to the bottom of this , or kill someone trying

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
yikes ............. i am surrounded

i thought that i was safe here in the middle of nowhere , now ATSers are coming out of the wood work

the annotations the OP made [ the location of the lodge which has now been filled in ] and his age

make me even more curious

more research is needed .

we will get to the bottom of this , or kill someone trying

People as intelligent as us are only found round here IA you know that :p

Out of interest, why does my age intrigue you?

Im not trying to annoy, im new so i just wondered thats all.

I thought these forums were full of people from the good ol U.S of A. Not Blighty, never mind NW blighty!!!

A bit short sighted i know, but we are backwards up here!

I live close to Manchester an Bury, and have been near that site only a few times,
But it really intrests me that theres lots of these places around these areas

Living around hear, you always hear rummors of Underground bases and even "mini underground towns" on or near the moors.

where else mate?

I also hear things like that round here, but you can never get a definitive answer from the locals in padiham,

Ade

I propose the BURY ATS club damn 50% of ATS is from Bury lol

[edit on 3/2/2007 by kuhl]

... but we are backwards up here!

Of course, you are speaking only for yourself! I live 5 miles from Hapton, and I can assure you that I am neither backward nor short-sighted.

I, too, have heard the stories of underground bunkers, food storages, MoD areas, but it really is just fiction, a romance simply played out over the dis-used mines that riddle the area.

Best wishes

Agreed,

When i was at school (Padiham Green) we found an entrance to one of the mines at the base of the school field, it was dug over, and a huge stone slab cemented over the top. Over time the grass had worn away as had the stone slab (in one corner) and you could see down inside the entrance. I felt like i was Indiana Jones at the time. Only for it to be promtly cordened off and sealed back up again

I'm in Staffs and we have similar stories about places around here, I think you can pretty much find them everywhere. That's not to say that some of them aren't true, of course.

Anyhow, I was just wondering if the reason that the MOD have refused to allow the site to be built on could be that some of those old mineshafts might have been used to dump old munitions and stuff at the end of WWI / WWII?

well i dont know about that, but the stories from the really old long standing employees of the site said that the place underneath the site was flooded. That would explain the health and safety risk of filling in the lodge, maybe contaminated? I cant see it being a risk to kids crossing it, Its a pretty hard place to get into tbh and when your in the site the lodge was nearly a mile walk to find anyway - there is a disused railway line nearby that runs round the back of the site, but security is hot.