Families digging for during the Miners Strike, 1926 Strike, Miners the during coal for digging Families ago years million 300 looked have may Lows the How

Later coalpits descended well over 200 metres. 200 over well descended coalpits Later

Glodwick Lows, as seams were close to the surface. surface. the to close were seams as Lows, Glodwick

would have been obtained from shallow workings on on workings shallow from obtained been have would

important for coal mining. In the early days coal coal days early the In mining. coal for important

on the Lows. About 370 years ago became became Oldham ago years 370 About Lows. the on

(filled and made safe) to one of the many coalpits coalpits many the of one to safe) made and (filled 2

Below the steep slope to your right lies the entrance entrance the lies right your to slope steep the Below

merging into this huge, eastward looking rock face. rock looking eastward huge, this into merging

appeared. Quarries expanded rapidly, eventually eventually rapidly, expanded Quarries appeared. be profitable. be

to quarrying the clay mudrocks, and brickworks brickworks and mudrocks, clay the quarrying to to left coal good enough not was there when

quicker to produce so stone quarrying gave way way gave quarrying stone so produce to quicker mudrock. clay and sandstones into Mining ceased on Glodwick Lows in the 1940’s 1940’s the in Lows Glodwick on ceased Mining

boundary walls. Later, bricks became cheaper and and cheaper became bricks Later, walls. boundary them turning below, layers the squashed material

in the mines in the nineteenth century. nineteenth the in mines the in

quarries here provided sandstone for houses and and houses for sandstone provided here quarries new this of weight The mountains. distant from

toilet and evidence he found of children working working children of found he evidence and toilet

was the biggest. Well over 200 years ago the early early the ago years 200 over Well biggest. the was mud and sand new in brought river the as time,

how they dealt with rats, what they used for a a for used they what rats, with dealt they how

There were several quarries on the Lows but this this but Lows the on quarries several were There over thicker and thicker got Lows Glodwick at

Albert recalling what it was like digging the coal; coal; the digging like was it what recalling Albert

and mudflats. Similar beaches and mudflats mudflats and beaches Similar mudflats. and

across . across Oldham Local Studies Library has a recording of of recording a has Library Studies Local Oldham

Think of the sand and mud you see on beaches beaches on see you mud and sand the of Think

numerous coal seams that were mined here and and here mined were that seams coal numerous

coal by the light of candles or carbide lamps. carbide or candles of light the by coal

over time bands of rock were formed, including the the including formed, were rock of bands time over today. of deltas Mississippi

He describes working a 2 metre thick seam of of seam thick metre 2 a working describes He

started to cover the site. As these changes continued continued changes these As site. the cover to started or Amazon the like system river gigantic a of part

wars. the between Lows the worked who

which then filled up with mud and sand so new plants plants new so sand and mud with up filled then which was and Equator the on actually was Oldham

Albert Buckley belonged to a family of miners miners of family a to belonged Buckley Albert

years. An ancient coal forest was drowned by a lake, lake, a by drowned was forest coal ancient An years. when ago, years million 300 over formed were habitats have all been enhanced. enhanced. been all have habitats

created by changes to the Lows over millions of of millions over Lows the to changes by created rocks The importance. geological national of is bindweed. Heather, grassland and woodland woodland and grassland Heather, bindweed. and weavers’. and

1 are bands of coal, sandstone and clay mudrock, mudrock, clay and sandstone coal, of bands are it as 1989 in Interest Scientific Special of Site a ranging from foxes to mining bees and field field and bees mining to foxes from ranging colliers of village ‘a as Glodwick described 3 2

The different coloured layers of rock in the cliff face face cliff the in rock of layers coloured different The declared was you of front in face quarry large The Try and spot some of the wildlife of the Lows, Lows, the of wildlife the of some spot and Try In 1780 John Valton a Methodist preacher, preacher, Methodist a Valton John 1780 In

Local Nature Reserve Welcome to In the past 200 years the Lows has changed considerably from a windswept moorland Glodwick Lows hideaway to quarries, coal mines, brickworks Glodwick and, finally, a Local Nature Reserve surrounded About one kilometre from by houses. It is now a perfect place to observe Oldham town centre lies wildlife, study local history and geology, to walk Lows the dog and for children to play imaginative a small hillside with a games and hunt for fossils. 300 million-year history. In the 1990’s, Glodwick Lows was transformed It has witnessed the Iron by an ‘Open Space Reclamation Scheme’, which stimulated research into the history and geology Age, Roman and Viking of the site, leading to the production of this leaflet invaders, Medieval settlers, and a detailed Geological Trail booklet. coal miners, quarrymen This leaflet points out interesting historical and even a hermit! sites, helps you explore the nature and geology of the Lows, shows you where to find fossils If you would like to know more about This is Glodwick Lows. and presents you with superb views of the local geology you can contact the surrounding area. The walk should only take Oldham Geological Society about an hour. Please follow the map, inside this T: 0161 652 1161 and you can also visit leaflet, around the Lows. Each number Oldham Local Studies Library refers to a point of interest T: 0161 770 4654 around the site. Glodwick Lows is managed by Oldham Countryside Service. Enjoy your walk! If you wish to get in touch with them their details are as follows: Oldham Countryside Service Alexandra Park, Kings Road, Oldham OL8 2BH T: 0161 770 4056 E: [email protected] Stop where the paths join near the top of the hill and 4 take a look around you. With commanding views Nothing is now visible, but archaeologists think over the surrounding countryside, Glodwick Lows 8 this was the site of the Roman road, built about 79 provided a good site for settlement with people AD, linking Manchester, through Castleshaw and having lived here for over two thousand years. over the Pennines, to York. Look south-west and The word ‘Glod’ is of Celtic origin and Iron Age flints Hawthorne Pub note the straight line of Honeywell Lane continuing have been found here. The term ‘wick’ is Saxon and Roundthorn towards Manchester. later, it is thought Vikings may have settled here. Primary School R This road, used as a military and civilian supply ou Incidentally, “Lows/Laws” is used throughout Britain ndt d horn Road route, may even have transported coal, dug up on to describe high ground! rn Roa Roundtho 3 the Lows, for use by the garrison in Manchester! Dog and Partridge Pub Near here stood the ‘Elysian 9 The quarry face is unstable, with occasional rock 5 Cot’, home of Oldham’s 2 falls. However, a rock pile has been created here famous hermit, Billy Manor Road where you can safely collect fossils. There are no Butterworth, who lived from dinosaurs, as these rocks are about 100 million 1781 to 1834. He lived here, 1 years older than any dinosaur! You may find alone, for nearly twenty years. impressions of bivalve shells (like modern mussel 4 shells), plant fossils, even fish scales or a water Billy dressed in the fashion ‘flea’. Here, over 300 million years ago, there was of the days of King Charles once a tropical freshwater lake and a gigantic II: wearing a black hat with 10 Quarry 5 swamp forest. buckle and ostrich feather, Face and a long waistcoat 9 and jacket. Along with his 6 Glodwick waist length black beard, this Lowside Lows reflected his love of theatre Billy Butterworth Drive and unusual views on life. Road B6194 8 His strange home was built partly below ground level, using rough stones, turf and moss, and without proper building tools. The cottage had a chapel and an observatory with a Camera Obscura 7 Fenny Hill St Michael’s (a device for plotting stars and tracing landscapes). Church Ficoides ren Lane fossil War The house and garden were ornamented with shells, Lepidodendron tree fossils and grotesque Plaster of Paris carvings.

Skipton St Though, supposedly, a hermit, Billy had plenty of Abbey Hills Road B6194 visitors, even school groups! He sold them cakes, t ginger beer and sweets. He would sing old songs ree eet St Nether Hey ey Str or tell the sad tale of how his one true love had sl Prior St T or deserted him to marry another. ate Str W Hope eet Congregational eet Church Glodwick Lows Nature Reserve The housing estate to your left was once the circular walk - easy 6 home of Oldham FC (later Oldham Rugby Nether Hey Str League FC). In 1876, they played their first ever match here (at that time 15-a-side rugby union) Calamites tree Calamites Suckowi Carbonicola against FC. Oldham FC (Redand amber strip) Perhaps the most Look at Abbey Hills Road. Notice the change of roof The housing estate around Jinnah Close stands on renowned person 7 level to your left, with its lower, tiled roofs. This site 10 the site of Lowside Brickworks. Bricks were first connected with the Lows saw Oldham’s worst bombing of World War II. produced in the area about 130 years ago. The was Clem Beckett, who Lows was ideal for a brickworks, having both coal In the early hours of Christmas Eve, after a wedding lived on Swinton Street in and clay on site. The bricks were used to build celebrated with a party on Abbey Hills Road, it was Roundthorn. Clem was local cotton mills and houses around the Lows. devastated by a V. 1 rocket (flying bomb), launched a daredevil motorcyclist from a German bomber and aimed at Manchester. Behind the Dog and Partridge Inn, there was and probably practiced once a pottery, set up by a Staffordshire man who here. He rode the ‘Dome The last sounds heard by the 27 people killed, were lived on Roundthorn Road. The pottery’s clay of Death’ at fairgrounds the distinctive rasping noise of the rocket engine, came from a locality behind the Hawthorne Inn. It and became a famous followed by a spluttering, then a deathly silence as produced crude earthenware mugs, with yellow speedway racer. He was the bomb plunged to . insides and brown outsides, known locally as killed in Spain, in 1937, Also, 35 houses were destroyed and 53 people ‘butter mugs’. fighting the forces of injured but no newspaper was allowed to publish the Fascism. details because of wartime censorship.

Clem Beckett