Bygone Burnley: The English Civil War Battle of Read Old Bridge with historian Roger Frost MBE

Described as “one of the most historic sites in the whole county”, this old road between Padiham and Whalley was the location for an English Civil War battle in April, 1643, when a much smaller Parliamentarian group ambushed a Royalist force of around 4,000 men, commanded by the Earl of Derby, peppered them with musket fire and caused them to retreat.

The site is famous for the civil war battle of Read Old Bridge. The skirmish, also known as the Battle of Whalley, ultimately determined that the Royalists would not control Lancashire.

The Parliamentarians were commanded by Colonel Shuttleworth of Gawthorpe Hall, although he is thought to have been raising troops elsewhere at the time.

Roger explains: “It was here that a group of Royalists had to pass over the bridge to make their way to Marston Moor. This was the only bridge to cross the river in this area. Colonel Shuttleworth’s soliders discovered this and lay in wait in the surrounding woodland to ambush the Royalist force.”

Later in the video, Roger also highlights another claim to fame of the bridge – that of the accidental discovery of bottled beer by Alexander Nowell, who lived at the original nearby Read Hall. The discovery was also explored in our last Bygone video featuring Sabden.

Another feature of this unassuming rural area was the presence of a corn mill, of which some stonework and roof tiling can still be seen. It was one of the largest in the area.

“It’s quite remarkable as there were no corn and very little wheat grown in this area,” Roger said. “The word corn includes oats, wheat and barley. Of these, oats was the most important for making bread. Barley was essential for the making of beer.”

Finally, Roger tells us about Blackburn historian Jessica Lofthouse who requested in her will for a bench to be placed in her favourite locations, one of which was here at Read Old Bridge.