Haslingden

There is some evidence of Bronze Age human presence in the area of Haslingden. Thirteen Stones Hill is west of the town and probably dates from about 3000BC. There is now just one stone visible. Part of what is now Haslingden, along with the neighbouring towns of Rawtenstall and Bacup, were part of the Forest of Rossendale, itself part of the Forest of Blackburnshire. During the late 13th and 14th centuries, the forest was a hunting park; the term 'Forest' referred to it being parkland rather than being heavily wooded, as the forest declined much earlier during the Neolithic period. The Forest of Rossendale contained eleven vaccaries (cow pastures) and was poorly populated, with Haslingden…

William Cockerill (1759-1832) and his son John Cockerill (1790-1840), along with other family members, both sons and daughters, are worth a footnote to the industrial history of Haslingden. Both were born in Haslingden and, as a young man, William showed great skill as an inventor of machinery. The Slubbing Billy, a roving or slubbing machine which twists and draws out yarn, is named after him. Slubbing Billy is also the name of a North West Morris Team. Father and son eventually left Haslingden and settled in Belgium, where they built the John Cockerill company, one of the largest industrial and machinery complexes in mainland Europe. It is said that they instituted the spread of the…