Today we took a wander around the Calderbrook Heritage Trail, starting at the Summit Inn: which was originally called the “Bull and Butcher” and was sited on the old turnpike road (lower calderbrook) near Wilmers farm. When the new road was built in 1824 the pub was taken down and rebuilt in its current location on the new main road and its name was changed to the Summit Inn. At this point we were above the Summit Tunnel: opened in 1841 and at the time was the longest railway tunnel in the world at approximately 2809 yards (1.75 miles) long. It had 14 ventilation shafts 2 of which can be seen at tunnel end. In December 1984 a train pulling 13 petrol tankers derailed in the tunnel, spilling 40,000 tons of fuel and causing a fire which took over 3 days to burn out. The flames it produced rose out of the air shafts and could be seen for several miles around.
From the turnpike road we travelled down Calderbrook road and Sally street, past the farm until we came to the trail sign and took a left turn down towards Temple lane. Down the track, between spoil heaps from the construction of the tunnel can also be seen a huge rock with rope markings. Along Temple lane we turned into Moor Road passing Mawrode farm, the site of an ancient Celtic settlement, occupying a strategic defensive position overlooking the valley and guarding the entrance to the Summit Gap. It was here in 1832 that a Celtic bronze torque (necklace) was found, which is now in the British Museum, although a replica can be found at the Touchstones Centre in Rochdale) . The earliest record of a farm on this site is from 1503.
Carrying on down Calderbrook road we came to St James Church Calderbrook: the church was founded in 1859 and has a famous connection in the 19th Century – early 20th Century socialist and Women’s rights campaigner Edith Stacey, who was married to the vicar. She is commemorated by the blue plaque on the wall, one of several in the village commemorating local historical figures.
Walking past the fishery, we could see Handle Hall ahead . It was originally a manor house, was a pub during the 1800’s and then an abattoir until about 1990.
Turning down Shopwood way we entered Shop Wood going down to Todmorden road. Here we were able to use the recently opened footpath adjacent to the currently ongoing Flood defence works, which took us across the Yorkshire and Lancashire Railway Bridge: building of the railway commenced in 1837 and the line opened in 1839. The railway was an important transport link through the Pennines, connecting the industrial centre of Manchester to Yorkshire.
On reaching the canal footpath we turned south to the bridge over the canal and headed in the direction of Sladen fold, turning north to the Hollingworth Lake Feed Channel: the water for the canal came from reservoirs on Blackstone Edge and Hollingworth Lake. Water from Hollingworth Lake was pumped up 45 feet by a steam engine on Bear Hill, lower Hollingworth into this channel or “leet” which transported the water 4 mile up to Summit locks.
From our vantage point we pondered the Textile Mills: the 3 main cotton mills in the area were Sladen Wood, Rock Nook and Greenvale. Prominent Summit mill owners Thomas Forthergill and Alexander Harvey started their business at Sladen Wood Mill in 1846. The business was later continued by Alexander’s son Gordon Harvey, who built Rock Nook. Summit was a superb location due to the right climatic conditions, good transport links and a constant supply of water from streams running down off the Pennine moors. Gordon Harvey was a politically active mill owner and early environmentalist, who spent thousands of pounds in education, housing and welfare for their workers and their families. Sladen Wood Mill was demolished not long ago and the site has planning application for housing. Part of Rock Nook mill was also burned down not long ago.
We could also see Calderbrook Terrace: built circa 1875 by Fothergill and Harvey. The 2 central houses are slightly larger than the others and were lived in by the Manger, Cashier and office workers. They were the only houses in the row to have bathrooms. Up ahead is Stansfield Hall Primary School which was built in the 1890’s and opened as a school in 1897.
At the end of the open canal drain we took the road behind the mill site and crossed the canal at Prospect House and along the footpath back to the site of Summit Quarry and Brickworks: the Halsalls brickworks used to occupy the site where the car park is now. The first record of the brickworks in 1858. The location was ideal due to the close proximity of a huge supply of shaly mudstone from the quarry. The bricks were transported down the canal by barge and were used to build local structures including the old labour exchange near Rochdale Station, the Waithlands estate off Milnrow road, and the Dunlop mills at Castleton. Above the quarry is Snoddle Hill where there is a Neolithic Burial Site.