The Water Courses of Huncoat

(Rivers and streams invariably formed the ancient administrative boundaries). Warm Leaf Brook flows off the Coppice and under Burnley Road. Beneath Bolton Avenue playing fields it is culverted until it emerges near the little concrete bridge. Spout House Brook drains through the old brick works pond westwards through marshy ground underneath the electricity pylons. Here the two streams join before going under the railway. Another stream which I shall call Laneside Brook because that is where it seems to emanate from via Sankey House Farm is culverted between Whinney Hill Road and Newhouse Road but emerges under the bridge at the bottom of Bolton Avenue. All these streams converge on Enfield Road in front of Oak Bank Terrace to form Clough Brook running north easterly behind the village. After the canal the river turns north through Altham Clough Wood down to Syke Side Bridge. Here it becomes Syke Side Brook for a short distance before issuing into the Calder at Dunkirk. Locals call the main stream through Huncoat Tom Brook. Another major stream comes off Great Hameldon and down through Cronker Plantation forming the boundary with Burnley. Hameldon Brook would seem an apt name for this? After skirting the A56 roundabouts it veers north easterly to join Castle Clough Brook and make its way via Hapton and almost Padiham down to the Calder.

Some Historic Notes on the Coppice (Peel Park), Accrington

In September 1899 a plan was first mooted for the Borough of Accrington to buy land on the slopes of the Coppice to make a public park. Negotiations took place sporadically over a period of ten years and eventually the Borough decided it wanted to include a parcel of land on the top of the hill. The land belonged to Mr. William Peel of Knowlmere Manor in the Hodder Valley and in 1909 he made a gift to the town of part of the land comprising the Coppice and sold it the rest at a very reasonable rate. As a mark of appreciation to the benefactor the new amenity was to be called "Peel Park". On 29th September 1909 the park was formally opened with the ceremonial unveiling of a memorial to William Peel. Hillock Bank This was a farm building right at the foot of the Coppice near to the bowling green. It appears on maps in 1890 but by 1965 was just a remnant. The Monument The memorial to William Peel was constructed of ashlar stone comprising of three stepped rises each being of twelve inches. The base was 12ft. 6ins. square with two stone blocks forming a cube at the top of the pyramid bearing plaques and inscriptions. The top surface of the cube sloped slightly for viewing of the maps and diagrams inset into it. To the front (south facing) side of the cube was attached a shield bearing the inscription "Peel Park. To gratefully record the gift by William Peel Esq. of Knowlmere, of 35 acres of land forming part of this park." On two sides of the cube were carved the names of the then Mayor Councillor J.C.Lupton and the Chairman of the Parks Committee Councillor J.R.Cameron. The four sides of the monument each faced squarely North, East, South and West and these words were carved into the stone on each respective side. The Shelter This was erected in June 1911 and presented to the town by Lady Macalpine of Broad Oak. On 10th June 2008 it was declared structurally unsafe by Hyndburn Borough Council and had to be demolished, having stood for nearly 100 years. The Trees Photographs of the Coppice around 1848 indicate an abundance of trees but by 1909 there was only a sparse population of windswept saplings and by the 1960's it had become a bare scarred eyesore. A programme of new tree planting began in April 1972 but for the first five years the slow growth meant there was little impact on the landscape's appearance. By 1990 however, the afforested hillsides were looking quite mature. In 2000 some of the trees were getting overgrown and beginning to obscure the view off the top so they were pruned back in 2004! The Cannons These were two 64lb guns that were presented to the Corporation in 1910 and for long stood sentinel over the town. During the second world war the barrels were removed and melted down towards the war effort and the cannon bases became derelict. In the 1960's they were local landmarks of curiosity attracting vandalism and became abandoned amongst the remnants of trenches dug on the top of the hill for military training. By the 21st Century their remains had disappeared and even the trenches were hard to discern. The Accrington Pals Trained on top of the Coppice before going to the Somme in 1916. The Summit The Peel Monument (NGR771293) and the Macalpine Shelter (NGR772293) stand at 830 feet above sea level. The height of the Ordnance Survey triangulation station (NGR772294) is determined at 843 feet. The land used to rise gradually behind up to the Kings Highway over 1000 feet but construction of the A56 road cutting in 1984 considerably altered the landscape and now there is an isolated man-made summit of around 850 feet ¼ mile behind and east of the Peel Monument.