County Library and Information Service
Community History - Guide to the Local Collections - Bacup Collection
South East Lancashire
St James Square
Bacup
Lancs
OL13 9AH
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Tel: 01706 873324
Fax: 01706 873324
E-mail: Bacup.library@lancashire.gov.uk
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
10:00 - 12:30, 13:30 - 19:00
10:00 - 12:30, 13:30 - 17:00
10:00 - 17:00
Closed
10:00 - 12:30, 13:30 - 17:00
10:00 - 16:00
4. Scope and arrangement of the collection
The library holds approximately 2,000 volumes in addition to pamphlets and ephemera. The aim is to cover the area of Bacup and Rossendale in detail, together with some additional material relating to neighbouring districts, e.g., Rochdale, Todmorden, Blackburn, Pendle. The ephemeral material held relates to Bacup and its environs.
Loans are not normally made from the Local Studies collection, but loan copies of some items may be available in the general library stock or obtainable through the inter-library loan service. Arrangement of the collection is by the Dewey Decimal Classification Scheme.
A number of local studies publications are for sale in the library.
5. Catalogues and bibliographies
The main catalogue is a dictionary card catalogue; please ask staff if you require information from this catalogue; the contents of this catalogue are currently being added to the Lancashire County Library and Information Service's online catalogue. There is also a catalogue of the Bacup Co-operative Store Library (1926 reprint); the collection to which this catalogue relates no longer exists as a collection, but a small proportion of the books are now in the Bacup Local Studies Collection.
All published volumes of the Lancashire Bibliography are held.
The library holds a good selection of local directories by various publishers, the earliest being BAINES' Directory of 1824-25 and the latest currently held being the North Western Counties trades directory 1969-70. Many of the directories are trades only, a notable exception being Macdonald's directory of Rochdale, Milnrow, Littleborough, Bacup, Rossendale, Haslingden and Todmorden for 1879, which includes lists both of residents and classified trades.
The collection also includes local telephone directories from 1959. Weakest coverage is for years 1879 - 1901, 1904 - 1935, and 1940 - 1954.
Directories can be found on the Library's online catalogue.
Register of electors for Bacup for the following years:
1937 - 38, 1938 - 39 (amended - wards BJ, BK, BL only), 1939 - 40,
1953 - 54 (amended for 1954 - 55), 1966 - 67 (amended for 1967 - 68),
1971 - 72, 1971 - 72 (amended for 1972 - 73), 1972 - 73 (amended for 1973 - 74), 1973 - 74, 1973 - 74 (amended for 1974 - 75), 1975 - 76 and all main and amended registers to date (lacks 1986 -1989)
None. The main collection of rate books for the county is held at the Lancashire Record Office.
9. Census enumerators' returns
1841 - 1891 Bacup. Microfilm only. For holdings of census returns for the wider area, please click here
NEWCHURCH, St. Nicholas. On microfilm. Baptisms, May 1853-Sept 1890; Marriages, Apr 1754-Jun 1763 & Jun 1864-Sept 1914; Burials, May 1871-May 1932.
BACUP, Ebenezer Baptists. On microfilm. Baptisms, 1759-1874; Burials 1759-1866.
BACUP, Mount Pleasant Wesleyan. On microfilm. Baptisms, 1786-1950; Burials 1794-1964.
GOODSHAW, Rossendale, St. Mary & All Saints. Printed. Marriages, 1907-1991; Burials, 1893-1946.
LANCASHIRE PARISH REGISTER SOCIETY printed volumes:
Vol. 1 Bury 1590 - 1616.
Vol. 10 Bury 1617 - 1646.
Vol. 58 Rochdale 1642 - 1700.
Vol. 45 Newchurch-in-Rossendale 1653 - 1723.
Vol. 117 Todmorden 1666 - 1780.
Vol. 131 Eccles, St. Mary the Virgin, part 2 1632 - 1663/6.
ROCHDALE. St. Chad's Church. Registers... 1582 - 1641. Edited by H. FISHWICK, 2 Vols. Clegg, 1888 - 1889.
A few other scattered volumes in the L.P.R.S. series are also held, and the registers for Todmorden, 1624 - 1633, are included in the Rochdale registers mentioned above.
For a modern study based on local parish registers see:
ORMEROD, M.B. Social and medical history, derived from an 18th century Parish Register (Newchurch-in-Rossendale). (Typescript, 1968).
The main collection of parish records for the county is held at the Lancashire Record Office.
December 1967 - June 1972. Not indexed. Microfilmed.Bacup and district advertiser
Bacup and Rossendale News May 1863 - 1890 (originals owned by Bacup Natural History Society). Not indexed. Microfilmed.
Bacup Chronicle and Stacksteads and district News 30th Jan. 1909. Not indexed. Microfilmed.
Bacup Comet November 1985 - . Not indexed. Microfilmed.
Bacup Division Gazette January 1891 - December 1892; 18th February 1893 - June 1897. (Originals owned by Bacup Natural History Society). Not indexed. Microfilmed.
Bacup Echo Nos. 1-155, 1972 - 1977. Not indexed. Print and Microfilmed.
Bacup Times 8th April 1865 - 27th November 1965 (originals deposited with Bacup Natural History Society). Indexed 1866 - 1876, 1879 - 1886, 1906, 1965. Also obituary index 1866 - 1879, 1923 - 1966 and some other years. Microfilmed. Obituary Index not microfilmed.
Rossendale Free Press Not indexed. Microfilmed November 1965 to date;
Rossendale Front December 1967 - December 1974. Not indexed. Microfilm only.
Rossendale Watchman 1876. Including the Bury Body and Rossendale Critic, 1876). All published. Not indexed. Microfilmed.
An index to holdings of North West newspapers is available on the Museums, Libraries and Archives website.
Lancashire Lantern includes an index to stories from local newspapers covering several areas of the county.
No. 1-12, May 1909 - April 1910.Bill-O'-Jack's Lancashire Monthly,
CHETHAM SOCIETY. Remains, Vol. 1-113, 1844 - 1888, with an imperfect run of later volumes.
HISTORIC SOCIETY OF LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE. Proceedings, Vols. 1-11, (1848 - 1859), 1861 - 1867, 1979.
LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. Transactions, Vols. 37-56, (1919 - 1942).
LANCASHIRE DIALECT SOCIETY. Journal, 1951 -
Lancashire life, 1950 -
Northern history, Vol. 1- , 1966 -
PENNINE PATHS PROTECTION SOCIETY, ROSSENDALE: FOOTPATH (official organ). Nov. 1958 - . (lacks some early issues).
Record: LANCASHIRE AUTHORS' ASSOCIATION, No. 183- , 1960 - (lacks some issues).
RECORD SOCIETY OF LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE. A few scattered volumes are held, the earliest being Vol. 2, 1879.
ROSSENDALE METHODIST CIRCUIT Plan of services, No. 1 (Sept. - Dec. 1972) ROSSENDALE TEXTILE SOCIETY Journal, 1950/1951, 1952/53 to 1958/59, 1961/ 62 to 1970/71.
SONS OF TEMPERANCE. Annual volumes, 1902, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1933, 1935.
The library also holds collections of newsletters of several local churches.
The library holds a selection of Ordnance Survey maps of various dates, including some large scale plans. The area covered is Bacup and its immediate neighbourhood. In addition to a variety of other maps relating to the Bacup/Rossendale area, the following maps are held:-
CARY, J. Map of Lancashire, 1787 and 1806.
MORDEN, R. Lancashire map from Camden's Britannia, 1695.
SAXTON, C. Map of Lancashire, 1577 (modern copy).
STEPHENS' and MACKINTOSH'S business street map of Bacup, c.1900.
Maps from editions of the same work published in 1722 and 1804 are also held.
14. Council minutes and minutes of official bodies
BACUP. Corporation. Minutes of the meetings of the Town Council, 1910 - 1914, 1915 - 1974 (lacks years prior to 1910, also the year 1914 - 1915).
BACUP. Corporation. Yearbooks, 1885, 1890 - 91, 1900 - 2, Council handbook 1923, yearbooks 1940 - 41, 1942 - 43, 1945 - 48, 1949 - 1965, 1966 - 1974.
BACUP MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. Minute books, April 1839 - Dec.1900, together with sundry related manuscript and printed matter.
BACUP RELIEF FUND, GENERAL COMMITTEE. Record of payments made, 1862 - 1863.
LANCASHIRE. County Council. Education Committee and sub-committees. Minutes, 1974 -
LANCASHIRE. County Council. Minutes of committees, 1973
NORTH WEST REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY. Minutes, July 1974, Nov. 1974, Nov. 1975 -
ROSSENDALE. Borough Council. Minutes, 1974 -
ROSSENDALE. District Council. Minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee and of the full Council, 1973 - 74.
ROSSENDALE SOCIETY FOR VISITING AND INSTRUCTING THE BLIND. Annual reports, 1891 - 1937 (lacks only issue No. 40, 1929/30).
The collection includes pictures in the Borough of Bacup Photographic Record, begun in 1924 and comprising 45 pages of illustrations. In addition, there is a general collection of local illustrations, mostly in black and white but a few in colour, including some postcards and some aerial photographs. A few colour slides are held, including a set showing the 1958 Bacup Carnival. The library also possesses 46 printing blocks of illustrations reproduced in the Bacup Times 1916 - 1917.
The Library is currently developing an online database of photographs from the county's various library collections; this is available as part of Lancashire Lantern.
16. Sound and video recordings
Copy tape of Britannia Coconut Dancers, Easter 1973 (original held at North West Sound Archive).
BACUP MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. Minutes, notebooks, reports up to 1900. See Section 14 above for details of minute books.
The main repository of archives for the county is held at the Lancashire Record Office.
A collection of novels by local author Emily Sarah Holt.
Obituary index in progress. Held on card index.
Microfilm reader and photocopier.
21. Books useful as introductory reading
* BOROUGH OF BACUP. Jubilee souvenir handbook, 1882 - 1932.
* BOLTON, Herbert. The Geology of Rossendale. Tyne & Shepherd, 1890.
* BOWDEN, Kenneth F. Book of Bacup. Baron Birch, 1994.
* CRAVEN, Harry and DIGBY, Ronald Y. (compilers). A Bacup miscellany. Borough of Bacup Amenities Committee, 1972.
* DIGBY, Ronald. A Rossendale anthology. Forest Press, 2nd edition, 1969.
* DIGBY, Ronald Y. and BOWDEN, Kenneth F.(compilers). A Second Bacup miscellany. Lancashire County Council, 1975.
ENSUM, Jan. Bacup Mill trail. Rossendale Groundwork, 1984 (?)
GOLDTHORPE, Ian. Rossendale rambles. Rossendale Groundwork, 1985.
* JESSOP, William. Methodism in Rossendale and the neighbourhood. Stubbs, Brook and Chrystal, 1880.
MATHER, J. Marshall Rambles round Rossendale. J.J. Riley, 1888.
MATHER, J. Marshall Rambles round Rossendale. (2nd series). J.J. Riley, 1894.
* NEWBIGGING, Thomas History of the Forest of Rossendale, Simpkin Marshall, 1868. 2nd ed. J.J. Riley, 1893.
* OVEREND, Frederick History of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Kingsgate Press, 1912.
TAYLOR, John. Stories in stone: datestones in Rossendale. 1988.
TAYLOR, W.G. Bacupian Mills. 3 vols. Author, 1989-1992.
* TUPLING, G.H. The Economic history of Rossendale. Manchester U.P., 1927.
* indicates lending copy available.
22. Other Family History Sources
All our libraries provide free access to the Ancestry website which gives access to Census Records for England, Wales and Scotland 1841-1901) and indexes to Births, Deaths and Marriages for England and Wales (1837-2005).