July 2025

Your official monthly newsletter for the Pendle villages of Barley, Newchurch, Roughlee, Sabden Fold & Spenbrook.

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Hill & High Fashion: Free Photography Workshop around Pendle Hill

Seeking Photographers & Models (19 July, Barley) — Only 15 Places!

Local photographers and models are being sought to join acclaimed fashion photographer Quinn Lovero for a free one-day editorial photography workshop on Saturday 19 July around Pendle Hill, focusing on attitude and composition in fashion photography.

Set against the iconic backdrop of Pendle Hill, this workshop will create today’s “postcards” of countryside life, combining high-fashion editorial photography with authentic documentation of rural people and places.

Images from the workshop will be displayed as part of the new Pendle Hill Museum’s first exhibition, WORK/LIFE, funded by Historic England’s Everyday Heritage programme and launching in autumn 2025. The workshop is being delivered by local media arts company …

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Notes from St Mary’s Church

The Celebration of Rushbearing (12 July)...

July is the month when we now celebrate our annual Rushbearing ceremony. It did used to be held in August when everyone was on holiday, as in years gone by people didn’t go away. Due to changing life styles, it became necessary to move to July while we still had children from school in the village and surrounding areas.

Rushbearing traditionally was when the rushes, which covered the church floor, were renewed. We celebrated by having a procession up the village followed by the crowning of a Rushbearing Queen, the singing of a special Rushbearing hymn, written by Rev William Frankland, a former vicar at St …

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Barley Parish Council

Parking, Double Yellow Lines, Village Green, BKV...

I trust everyone enjoyed the great weather we had in May and June, and we were all wondering how long it would last, I never thought I would be watering my plants in early May. The good weather enabled the PC to plant the summer bedding plants around the village and get a lot of weeding done, the village does look quite tidy. Help us keep on top of the weeds, litter and general tidiness when you can!

Last week Jack Hartley posted the image below on Facebook showing the difficulty of moving farm equipment when visitors park on both sides of Cross Lane above the …

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Goldshaw Booth Parish Council

Pub Walk, GBPC Summer BBQ, Community Wellbeing, Footpaths, Spenbrook Mill...

In June Goldshaw Booth Parish welcomed the 2,000 walkers taking part in the 16th annual Pendle Pub Walk, who stopped off in Newchurch to use the facilities there. The walk was a great success and organisers hope it will raise in the region of £100,000 for the vital work of Pendleside Hospice.

A couple of other local events are currently being planned. One is the GBPC Summer BBQ in August – date to be announced shortly, and the other is a Community Wellbeing event taking place in October 2025. GBPC is supporting St Mary’s Church with this event which aims to enhance the wellbeing of Pendleside …

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Roughlee Parish Council

New Speed Indicator, School tiles, Planning, BKV, Village Kids...

I am pleased to announce that we were successful with our capital grant bid from Pendle Borough Council to fund the purchase of own “ all singing and dancing” solar powered speed indicator device. We will have to put a little bit of our own funds towards this purchase to ensure we get the one that we would like, final decisions on which model to be made at our July PC meeting.

The school tile project is progressing well, our Mary joined a party of the the senior pupils at the school on a foraging walk to look for ideas on what to put on the …

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Roughlee Village Centre

Derian House Children’s Hospice Day (12 July)...

Hi everyone,

After another successful Music, Gin, and Beer Festival, the VC also hosted a pop-up bar and food stop for the pub walk run by the Hospice. The feedback and assurances put in place by the RVCC all seem to have gone swimmingly, and everything went without complaint.

Next up is the Derian House Children’s Hospice Day, a very worthwhile cause supporting respite care and nursing for sick children. The Derian Day event on Saturday, 12th July, starts at 1 pm and needs your support. The Real Village People are performing, among others, at 3pm, and our local Malkin Morris dancers are giving Maypole classes during …

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Events Galore in the Forest of Bowland this Summer

Family-friendly events, National Meadows Day, Tramper treks, Geology Walk...

That’s the message from the Forest of Bowland National Landscape Partnership, co-ordinators of the annual Festival Bowland events programme.

Opportunities over the summer months include family-friendly activities, a National Meadows Day celebration, guided Tramper treks and the chance to step back in time on a geology walk in the beautiful Trough of Bowland.

Sandra Silk, Project Officer with the National Landscape Partnership said, “The events in the Festival Bowland programme are delivered by a range of different organisations and individuals and take place across the National Landscape. Whether you live locally, or you’re visiting on holiday, we hope you’ll be able to find something which catches …

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Mobile Library Services Recommences

Back after a 9-month absence

On Monday 2 June the Lancashire (Brierfield) Mobile Library Service recommenced after a nine month absence. The service covers the communities of Barley, Roughlee, Newchurch and Spenbrook.

During 2025, the mobile library will visit on Monday 14 July, Monday 4 August, (no visits on 25 August or 15 Sept), Friday 5 September, Monday 6 October, Monday 27 October and Monday 17 November.

On these dates Kevin, the new mobile librarian/driver, will endeavour to meet the following timetable:

  1. Old Hall, Roughlee: 10:35 – 11:00
  2. Thorneyholme, Roughlee: 11:10 – 11:25
  3. Village Hall, Barley: 11:30 – 12:00
  4. Gorrell Close, Spenbrook: 12:20 – 12:35

Books may be borrowed, returned and renewed at any Lancashire Library. To renew items by phone call 0300 123 6703.

Contact Kevin via text or voice on 07774 335889 or email him.

Have Your Say: Lancashire’s new Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Respond to the consultation by Sunday 3 August...

We are lucky in Lancashire to have a diverse and spectacular environment and landscape, stretching from the uplands to the coast, including areas designated for their national and international importance for biodiversity. However, reflecting global and national trends, Lancashire’s biodiversity has been declining.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) are a system of strategies for nature and environmental improvement required by law under the Environment Act 2021. Lancashire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) aims to stop species loss, help local wildlife flourish and provide a wide range of environmental benefits, whilst making our environment more resilient. It also has a focus on improving …

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Events in Barley: June 2025

Dates for your diary...

  • Barley WI – 1st Wed of the month, 7.30pm at Barley Village Hall – The Pendle Pub Walk day was showery but turned out to be a successful fundraising event at our Pop up Pub. Thank you to all those who visited, volunteered and of course our hosts Jayne & Craig at Moss End. The July meeting is the Barley WI Garden Party at Dawn’s house. For catering this will be exclusively for members only but we will look forward to welcoming potential new members in August for our talk ‘Life as a Tiller Girl’.
  • Pendle Forest History Group – Wed 16th July, 7.30pm at Barley Village Hall – A presentation by Kevin Illingworth titled “Traditional Buildings in North East Lancashire” – Members £2.00, Visitors £3.00 – Please email to book a place
  • Pendle Patchers – Tues 8th and 29th July, from 1pm at Barley Village Hall – Work in progress in our picture this month as one of our members is close to finishing a bag made from some stunning material bought at the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching show we went to in 2023. Sometimes it takes a while to work through the stash! Anyone is welcome to come to our meetings to see what else we’re up to, bring your own work or just have a brew and a chat. For any information, contact Gil Beeke 01282 602449 / Email →
  • Pendleside Gardeners Club – No meetings over the summer break, next meeting date 16th September
  • FOG Club – Thurs evenings, 6.30pm-7.45pm at Barley Chapel – For children aged 6-11 years. Contact Angie on 07967 121031 or just come along
  • Card making class – 1st and 3rd Mon of each month, 1-3pm at Barley Village Hall – for details contact Valerie on 01282 691850
  • Coffee and Chat – 2nd Wed of each month, 10am-12pm at Barley Village Hall – All welcome, not just the old folk – £2 gets coffee (or tea) and cake!

Undaunted: The Remarkable Life of Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth

A new Biography on Gawthorpe Hall's Pioneering Figure

A new biography is casting fresh light on one of Lancashire’s most quietly influential figures. Undaunted, written by Jane Hellebrand and published by the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection, tells the extraordinary story of Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth — a woman whose life’s work in art, education, and public service resonates more than ever in today’s world.

Rachel spent much of her life at Gawthorpe Hall, the family’s ancestral home near Burnley. Drawing on a strong family tradition of philanthropy and public duty, Rachel became a pioneering figure in social work, the arts, and women’s education.

The biography, supported by years of research, new archival discoveries, and previously unpublished personal recollections, …

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Have you got a new neighbour?

Please mention Parish News to them!

If you have any neighbours or friends that have just moved to the area, or who might not be aware of this newsletter, please can you mention Parish News to them. We’re now on 800+ email subscribers across Barley, Goldshaw Booth and Roughlee so are definitely reaching the majority of households, but it’s an ongoing job to let people know when there’s no longer a physical copy being delivered and not everyone will see the adverts on noticeboards. Thanks for your help!

Print a note to post through their letterbox here →

They can enter their email address to receive an email on the first of each month online at www.parishnews.org – their data is managed/protected by Roughlee Parish Council on behalf of the other parish councils.

Reuben Burton Trust Fund

Applications invited

Former pupils of Newchurch and Roughlee Schools, who are undertaking a course of study at University or other Higher Education Centre, are invited to apply for a small grant from the Reuben Burton Trust on sending details of their intended course and post academic career before 1st September 2025 to Mrs M Kobak, 145 Gisburn Road, Barrowford, Nelson BB9 6HQ, email Mkobak81@hotmail.com.

The grant is payable at the end of the year’s study, subject to confirmation of successful completion, and candidates may apply for each year of the course duration.

St. Mary's Church

June 2025 Services

Summer is here and we look forward to welcoming you to our services. Our church is relaxed and friendly. We always end our service with coffee and cake. We also have activity bags for children and a space for them to play. Hope you can join us soon.

  • Sunday 6th July 9:30am – Holy communion
  • Sunday 12th July 14:30pm – Rushbearing service
  • Sunday 13th July 9:30am – Holy Communion
  • Sunday 20th July 9:30am – Holy Communion Holiday Worship
  • Sunday 27 th July, 9:30am – Holy Communion Holiday Worship

    For more information please contact our Vicar Nick Murray on 01282613206 or 07551936436, or email. Alternatively you can contact our Church Warden, Doug Bull on 07907 458894 or email.