The picturesque hamlet of Red Lumb lies just off the A680 Edenfield Road near
Norden, Rochdale, in the shadow of, and on the lower slopes of the conical
shaped, Knowl Hill. The etymology of the place-name Red Lumb is uncertain though
it possibly means 'a small valley with red soil or clay', but that is open to
interpretation. The lane through the hamlet winds its way along passing by what
used to be a textile mill that made cauduroy clothing, but now it's called 'the
Meadows' and is a complex of modern luxory flats, very sadly. The mill, situated
beside Boyd's Brook, was built in the 1840s and was for most of its life a
cotton spinning manufacturing establishment. It eventually closed down and was
later converted into private apartments - in about 2005. The lanes further along
branch off and become trackways called Red Lumb Street - while in the opposite
direction - the other farm trackway is called Over Town Lane.
There were several coal mines scattered around the hamlet - Red Lumb Colliery
being the main pit - the area rich in the commodity of coal - but the mine at
Red Lumb closed down in the 1950s following a tragic accident there. Other coal
mines were located at Knowl, Bamford Closes, and at Wolstenholme Fold, a bit
further along Edenfield Road in the direction of Norden, and at Cheesden Bar
(Cheesden Bridge) in the opposite direction there was another coal mine. There
was also a coal mine at Wind Hill opposite the Ashworth Moor Reservoir. However,
all these coal mines have long since closed dowm and in most cases there is now
nothing much to see at ground level.
There are several farms scattered around Red Lumb hamlet and the moors nearby -
the area being rich in agriculture. Farms include Lower, Middle and Higher Red
Lumb; Knowl Farm and Top o 'th' Royds Farm and Bamford Closes Farm. Above the
hamlet of Wolstenholme another hamlet, Rain Shore and the former bleach and Dye
works and cotton spinning mills (upper and lower), which were demolished to make
way for a modern housing estate with Greenbooth Reservoir close by, while beyond
that the smaller Naden Reservoirs. The etymology of the 12th century Old English
place-name Wolstenholme is possibly derived from Wulfstan's Holme which is maybe
an island on raised dry land or “Holme” refers to a piece of land located by a
river or stream, often submerged during floods. Wolstenholme Hall, a
Gothic-style ediface, was built in 1850 by a Mr George Goodwin of North
Staffordshire and was built with bricks from that county. It became a military
hospital in World War I, but the hall is now a restaurant called Nutters.
Baitings Mill on Rainshore Road (Over Town Lane), Wolstenholme, was marked on
the Ordnance Survey map as Baitings Mill (cotton) in 1848 and in 1890 as
Baitings Mill (cotton). In 1908 it was marked on the OS map as Baitings Mill
(fustian) and in 1923 as Baitings Mill (fustian). Then in 1961 it appeared on
the OS map as Mill. But in 1986 the mill was known as Cudsworth's Mill and made
cotton fustian cloth for corduroy material. The building was demolished after
2000, and by 2003 there was a new housing development on that site, which is now
known as Baitings Close.
The former Red Lumb Mill, now called The Meadows, is located at: SD 84256 15593
and Wolstenholme Hall is at: SD 8482 1508. The former Baitings Mill, now known
as Baitings Close, was located at: SD 8524 1479. Rain Shore bleach and Dye works
and cotton mills, now a modern housing estate, were at SD 8522 1540.
https://www.heywoodhistory.com/2018/01/mills-p-r.html
https://www.heywoodhistory.com/2018/01/mills-a-z.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Approach_Road_to_Red_Lumb_-_geograph.org.uk_-_214068.jpg
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/59681
Copyright © RayS57, 2024.
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