Drive & Stroll, with RON FREETHY. . .

I'VE lost count of the number of times I have written about Whalley in these columns but this week I discovered one or two aspects which I should have known more about.

Over the past few weeks I have been looking at Alms houses without knowing of a splendid set in Whalley and which are still in use.

On Station Road are the Alms Houses built by Adam Cottam in the 18th century and they looked a treat in the spring sunshine and covered in beautiful flowers. Nearby is the cricket field and the railway station.

Before the railway, Whalley was an important stop on the old coach road between Manchester, Blackburn, Clitheroe and Skipton.

An even earlier transport route was literally the High Way, which avoided the boggy valleys and climbed over the hills. Such routes were followed by packhorses and the one from Whalley to Great Harwood can still be followed over the Nab.

Hundreds of horses used these routes regularly and some softer areas were eroded away. These became known as Holloways and this accounts for the name of the district of London now best known for its women's prison.

I strolled down from the Nab and looked at the Calder from Whalley Bridge. I found a house which was once a school owned by the family of Harrison Ainsworth. He stayed with his relatives whilst writing his most famous book The Lancashire Witches, which was published in the 1850s and is still in print.

Whalley has many famous people which feature in its annals but I do feel sorry for poor old Adam Cottam. He presented a fine organ to the church and also a painting of Christin the Garden. Although described as an 18th century gentleman, he seems to have earned a good living partly as an engineer and partly as a lawyer, which seems to be a rather strange combination.

Where did Adam Cottam live? He was related to the Whalley family, who lived in the nearby Clerk Hill house which has sadly been demolished. I found a photograph of Clerk Hill taken in 1903 and details on the back indicated that it's name derived from the date that Geoffrey, Dean of Whalley, gave land to Ughtred, who was his clerk. The house was situated on a hill on the Sabden Road but overlooking Whalley. Adam Cottam's Alms Houses have survived and are thriving, while his ancestral home has been demolished.

Cottam still ranks high on the list of generous people at least as far as Whalley is concerned.