Ruins and Romans, Fonts and Furrows. Anything Old in Lancashire

[Maggie.]

Just reading that the name Accrington is of Saxon origin - 'Akeringa's town', and older inhabitant's (this was written in 1928) still pronounced the town as 'Ak-ker-ing-ton'.

It has also been suggested that it means 'Oak-field-enclosure'.

[charlotteCH]

The harrowing of the North. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrying_of_the_North

YT, thanks for the link   The info there is most informative and confirms what I had understood to be the case.  The plagues that followed must have been the last straw.

[Tephra]

Just reading that the name Accrington is of Saxon origin - 'Akeringa's town', and older inhabitant's (this was written in 1928) still pronounced the town as 'Ak-ker-ing-ton'.

It has also been suggested that it means 'Oak-field-enclosure'.

My Grandpa always called it Akker-in-tun...... somewhat similar   

[Maggie.]

I remember my father telling me it's name came from 'Acorn-in-ring-town'.  I think that supports the 'oak-field-enclosure' theory.

[Ashgard]

Sorry about my intervention, which refers back to earlier posts.  Thanks, Maggie for your photos of Slaidburn Church font,. It doesn't look very like yours, unless yours has been more 'smoothed by an improver'! but at least I know now what was meant by a cylindrical font, I couldn't imagine what J. Lofthouse meant.

I don't know what counts as a long distance in terms of quarrying stone.  I suppose it depends if there is a nearer source or not.
Thanks
Anne

[Maggie.]

Returning yet again to the possible stone font currently residing in a field around here, I've now had an opportunity to take a photo of the ancient (likely) font now in the church at Newchurch in Pendle and I have attached the pic. alongside one of the 'font' in the field.  The one in the church was found several years ago in a field in the valley just below the church - the same valley as where the other one lies.  The distance between the two would have been no more than 2 miles as the crow flies.  The font in the church is approx. 15 inches in height and 18 inches in diameter.

The fields around the first 'font' are still too wet for me to go and acccurately measure it for a size comparison.

[charlotteCH]

Is the supposition that the font now back in storage in the church, the original one that was in the church long ago?

[Maggie.]

The church can be dated back to 1250 - the church tower is all that remains of that period.  There are tales told of there being a shrine to St Chad somewhere in the valley bottom, possibly sited near one of the many springs there, but to date nothing to confirm this has been found.

[Ashgard]

That looks like a very good match.  I wonder why these two are quite shallow whereas the one at Slaidburn looks so deep.

I often fondly think of returning to live in the Ribble Valley, but was reading Country Life in the Dentist's waiting room and they had an article on ' Houses in and around Clitheroe', with prices!!!