Monday, August 20th 2007
Visit to Goodshaw Church, Crawshaw Booth and The Weavers' Cottage, Rawtenstall
The first visit of the new season of Towneley Hall Society lectures was a resounding success – from both attendance and enjoyment aspects.
Goodshaw Chapel, built by the local Baptist community, dates originally from 1760 when the area was a busy farming community and a major link road from Clitheroe and Burnley to Haslingden and Rawtenstall. When the new road was built in the valley below linking Burnley and Rawtenstall and a new Baptist chapel was built alongside it, Goodshaw Chapel was eventually abandoned but, thankfully in spite of this, or perhaps because of this, it has survived intact to now illustrate a rare example of a Georgian Chapel.
It is indeed an atmospheric building in a beautiful setting with superb views down the valley to Manchester and members enjoyed hearing the history of the building and the area and viewing all aspects of this impressive little chapel from the stall pews below, the galleries above and the imposing pulpit.
Members then went on to Rawtenstall to visit The Weavers Cottage, also dating from the same period as Goodshaw Chapel, with its historical collection of artefacts both relating to the weaving industry and the Victorian era. The Weavers Cottage would in fact have originally been a loomshop and indeed links up very nicely with Goodshaw Chapel because people living in the Goodshaw hills would have perhaps found work in loomshops like this one. Another interesting lecture on the history of the building, the local area and the weaving industry was enjoyed by all and a welcome drink finished off a splendid evening in Rossendale.
