RootsChat.Com

dobfarm & sallyorks- thankyou for your last comments, can't see any wright link though-seems to be all whittaker and stamper, must have missed it,  the old english dialect for narrow passage could be of interest.
thankyou both for your input. maybe it was just too long ago! (1736 or thereabouts but still written as twitcher clough in 1771)

Thankyou to everyone for all of the comments re twitcher clough, there are many interesting suggestions which I would never have even considered...you have all put a lot of effort into it for me, and whilst we have not 100 % 'bottomed' it, it has brought us nearer to a resolution!the wool info was interesting
re dobfarms entry number 27- I also think the second word could be quarry, I decided that before I saw that dave thought the same...the wrights were quarry workers and farmers in later years in thornton.
My conclusion so far is that 'possibly' twitcher clough was maybe a row of cottages near the ravine described earlier that were probably connected to some very early wool industries in the area, I think it is nothing to do with birds, although  that could still be possible, but unlikely..unless any more accurate info comes to light, which I doubt it will as you all seem to have exhausted pretty much all avenues,
the ancient handwriting clearly shows that the word did begin with a 't' rather than a 'p' and I think it has been misinterpreted as an 's' on some old documents, the old 't' looks very much like an 's'-so that would explain that.
I think probably pitcher clough is too far away, but not discounted.
thankyou all again for your efforts. It is nice to have the support.
regards.

thankyou pauline and dobfarm, I thnk it is parish registers but will confirm that....most of the names of persons on the burial record come from castlefields, morton, mortonbank, micklethwaite, harden and gilstead, so I think we are very close with Harden...Dobfarm, you might just have nailed it for us....i will pass on this information, thankyou also for the link to megolithic pauline.
regards.
J

the source of the 'Twitcher, Switcher, or Swicher' clough was from the parish registers for Bingley, if anyone can shed any light on where this place might be that would be great,  the Pitcher clough farm that kevin mentioned is a good possible and I have passed that information on,many thanks.

thanks kevin for your interest..the dets have come to me via a cousin in USA..i will put pitcher clough to him, see what he makes of it....do you know if it was an area or simply a farm as such?