So I’m following up on this potential “Barn Brook”, could it be the mysterious tributary of the River Roch that appears on the current OS map without a name. Let’s see what Google has to say about “Barn Brook, Bury”. Well, there’s a “Barnbrook Street” which sounds as if it entails some further investigation. It’s on Google Maps:
Oh look. Is that the sign of a culverted brook running by the side of Barnbrook Street? I do believe it is. And, what’s more, I’m kicking myself: I forgot that I used to walk past this stream on my way to the bus stop on Derby Way when I commuted every day by bus to the depot in Haslingden. It’s the cobbled street that runs behind the back of Home Bargains at Moorgate retail park. (You can even spot the big Winnebago parked illicitly in the staff car park to the rear.)
But could this little section of culvert link up with the unnamed stream down in Pimhole? I get Google Maps out, highlight the two sections of streams in blue, and then draw a straight line between the two in pink.
It’s not ideal – I doubt any culvert goes as the crow flies between the two points – but seems like it might be possible. What I need to do is find some older maps online, ideally dating back 150 years, to the time when the mills and terraces of Bury hadn’t been developed. I think I know where I can find some.
virtualnostril 