About Cowling
The village as it
stands today is very
different to the way it
was years ago. Many
people who are not from
Cowling (known locally
as 'off cum'd uns') fail
to understand why Holy
Trinity church and the
primary school were
built so far from the
main part of the
village.
The answer to this is
that Cowling village of
modern day was once very
sparsely populated, the
bulk of the population
living in Ickornshaw and
Middleton, and before
that on Cowling Hill,
close to water sources
they depended on, and
the main roads of that
time, which are now used
as back roads by locals
avoiding modern day
traffic.
In the early days
agriculture was the main
occupation, with corn
being grown and ground
within the village. When
canal transport boomed
corn became cheaper to
buy from elsewhere and
so the mills in Cowling
turned from grinding
corn to weaving.
During the Industrial
Revolution population in
nearby Lancashire towns
grew rapidly, causing a
greater demand for
farming produce,
ensuring that less
demand for crop growing
did not see the end of
the farms. Even so,
there was only a meagre
living to be earned, so
many farmers or their
families also took on
weaving work, whether in
the mill or at home on a
hand loom. The number of
mill workers also
increased due to a trend
towards keeping animals
out to pasture rather
than using the land to
grow crops, since the
latter was more time
consuming and expensive.
As workloads grew
cottages were built
close to the mills which
used the local water
sources, firstly around
Middleton and Ickornshaw.
The main road from
Keighley to Colne which
now runs through the
centre of the village
did not arrive until the
early 1800's, and even
then houses were only
added very gradually.
The village inn was once
part of a farmhouse on
Cowling Hill, but was
sold as changes to the
structure of the village
began. The son of the
landlord later opened
the Bay Horse Hotel on
the new road, which
still stands as a main
feature of village life. |
|
