Newsletter 219

Eye in the Sky

We've been out again with our new drone - taking advantage of the favourable weather conditions of an unusually warm and sunny February. Sites visited include the line of the Roman road north of Coppull, the Pingot Valley and the Dean Lock on the River Douglas.

A couple of years ago we investigated the possibility of a river lock buried under The Meadow at Appley Bridge (Newsletter 206). To get an idea of what one would have looked like however, there are the possible remains of a river lock at Dean near to where the M6 crosses the Douglas valley. In its first phase, the Leeds and Liverpool canal terminated at this point and remains of the lock connecting the canal with the river can still be seen. More interestingly, though, are the possible remains of the original river lock which was in use before the canal was built. It was part of the Douglas Navigation which was completed in 1742. It consisted of a huge weir across the river which backed up the water and a lock system to allow barges to pass through. The remnants of two sluice gates are all that can be seen now in this area but the present arrangement is difficult to understand and in fact maybe part of a later phase.

We last visited the Pingot valley 4 years ago, when we were trying to find the location of the piers of the Arches viaduct (Newsletter 182). This area is soon to be transformed by the construction of the M58 Link Road which will bypass Lamberhead Green to the south. The route is many metres away to the north of the Pingot site and therefore will not affect it. The exception, however, is the remains of the lime kiln at the bottom of Brook Lane which is likely to be destroyed when the lane is rerouted. The kiln's existence has been noted by the planners so hopefully provision has been made for its recording.

The last site visited on our flying expedition was the area north of Coppull where the Roman road is thought to cross the fields at Charnock Richard to connect the alignment at Row High Wood with the A49 going through Euxton. This area has always been a mystery as the main road wanders away from the alignment way off to the west. There is the suggestion that it's Delph Lane which goes up past Lower House Farm and Delf Quarry. However an alignment of field boundaries to the west of this could also be a possibility. However we may have to wait till the next drought when possibility of parch marks might reveal more features, before the mystery is solved. For more images from our 'eye in the sky', visit our blog site here.

New Venue

We have a new venue - it's the Bellingham Hotel on Wigan Lane WN1 2NB. With over 40 members now, it seems that we have outgrown our usual venue. The Brocket has served us well over the last 7 years but it's not just its size that has forced our hand. Corporate engagements have priority there now and it seems we won't always be guaranteed the room. The Bellingham, however, is eminently suitable for our purposes, with a decent sized room and more favourable car parking arrangements (i.e. free for patrons and no automatic fine if you forget to register).

Next Meeting

Wednesday 6th March. - at our new venue the Bellingham (7.30pm as usual). Our speaker this month is Steve King from the Lunesdale Archaeology Society. His talk is entitled 'A Glimpses of Archaeology - Low Borrowbridge and the Upper Lune Valley'. The Society have been carrying out lottery funded excavations there over a number of years now. These have included the Roman Fort at Low Borrowbridge (just south of Tebay), and a Prehistoric settlement at High Carlingill which is just south of the Fort. It will be interesting to see what they have found in light of our discoveries last summer at Burscough.

Hope to see you then - B.A.