With its cobbled streets and pretty stone cottages, the tiny hamlet of Firwood Fold is a throwback to a lost age. Tucked away behind a housing estate two miles north east of Bolton town centre, a visit to the picturesque street feels like stepping back in time.
It’s best known as the birthplace of Samuel Crompton, the inventor of the Spinning Mule, who as one of pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, changed the course of history. His childhood home is still there, a stone plaque on its façade bearing his name and date of birth.
Today, the historic street is home to a small, but tight-knit community – some of whom have lived there for decades.
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Among them is Clifton Riley, who was born and raised on Firwood Fold. More than six decades on, he is still proud to call the street home – the third generation of his family to have done so.
“My grandad lived here from the 1900s,” the 63-year-old explained. “He and my grandmother lived at number three.
“My mum and dad moved down here and they lived at number one. When me and my sister were born the house was too small so we just swapped houses.”
After getting married, Mr Riley briefly moved away from the street before returning. He and his wife now live at number four, next door to his childhood home.
“There’s nowhere else I wanted to live,” he said. “I couldn’t live on a normal street. I’ve always had the connection here.”
Firwood Fold’s oldest properties, including Crompton’s former home, date back to the 16th century. Others were built during the course of the next few hundred years as Bolton grew during the Industrial Revolution.
Many of the homes in Firwood Fold were occupied by employees at the nearby bleachworks and their families.
During the 19th century, the street became part of the estate of Thomas Hardcastle – a textile manufacturer who lived at nearby Firwood Hall – who built a Dutch barn and a school at Firwood Fold.
However, by the 1960s many of the buildings had fallen into a state of disrepair. But Bolton council purchased the site in 1969 and designated it a conservation area.
In the years that followed, many of the buildings were modernised before being sold off. There are still some, like Mr Riley, who remember the street in its less salubrious days.
“When my mum and dad moved down, they were neglected,” he said. There was no bath or flushing toilets.
“I used to have to go to my auntie’s for a bath on a Sunday. It was a blessing when they modernised them.”
For Mr Riley, the street’s location and history are a major part of its attraction.
“It’s quaint and hidden away,” he said. “It’s a little hamlet that is frozen in time.
“It’s a decent community and it’s good to be surrounded by history. We get schoolchildren coming down in the summer and groups of walkers taking an interest in the history.”
But, despite more than six decades on the street, there is still one thing Mr Riley has not yet got to grips with.
“I’m still struggling to walk on the cobbles,” he laughed. “It’s something you never get used to. Other than that, everything’s fine.
“I can’t see me ever leaving. There’s nowhere else appealing.
“They don’t build things like they did when they built these kind of houses. They’ve stood the test of time.
“I’m hoping they’ll be here a few more hundred years and this house will be passed on to my son and grandchildren to keep it going.”
Geoffrey Lowe is Firwood’s Fold oldest and longest-serving resident. Now 85, he moved into his cottage as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in the late 1950s.
Having grown up in nearby Breightmet, he found his new home to be “a totally different environment”.
“I didn’t know where Firwood Fold was, or its history,” he explained. “The people were really nice but the house was a dreadful setup.”
Mr Lowe soon set to work, rewiring the entire property, fitting new windows and building furniture. Today, his home is a time capsule filled with antiques and items from a bygone era.
From his kitchen window, Mr Lowe can look out across The Bunk – a reservoir home to a range of wildlife and plants – and the surrounding woodland.
“The view is gorgeous,” he said. “People knock on my door and ask if they can go down the passage and have a look.”
“The people here are what make it special though.”
Lana Quigley lives in a converted schoolhouse opposite Mr Lowe’s home. She first moved to the street in 2009 and initially lived at number 15 – believed to be the oldest inhabited house in Bolton.
“I was living in Manchester at the time and trying to buy an apartment in Salford Quays but I got gazumped five times,” she explained.
After expanding her search, Ms Quigley came across a home in Firwood Fold. She has never looked back.
“As soon as I walked in I knew we were going to live there,” she said. “It’s so peaceful and quiet.
“It’s like you’re back in the 16th century with the cobbled roads. It’s like living in history, it’s magical.
“You’re in Bolton but you’re not. Everything is on your doorstep and we’re so close to nature.
“Even people who have lived in Bolton for years say they never knew this even existed.”
Ms Quigley’s property originally served as a school for the children of local workers, before later being converted into a house.
For her, its crooked walls and stone floors are part of the appeal. While the house requires considerable maintenance, she is adamant that it is worth the hassle.
“When you take on a property like this, you know it comes with responsibilities but I don’t mind,” she explained. “It’s got so much character.
“People who live in a new build would not appreciate it.”
Another resident, who gave her name as Gemma, only moved into one of the cottages in Firwood Fold with her family last year and described the street as a “hidden gem”.
“We really like it because it’s out of the way,” she said. “It’s almost like its own oasis within the town.
“You’re not far from amenities but it feels like you are. We love the character and we’ve got the lake at the back so you have nice views.”
It was not until she moved to the street that Gemma learned about its past.
“There’s a lot of history,” she said. “When we first moved in, some of the local people dropped off a brochure they had put together about it. That was very welcoming.
“Everyone is really lovely, they look out for each other. I love the cobbled street and Victorian lamps.
“It’s nice to be in a conservation area. They are old buildings so they’re hard to look after but it’s the price you pay for an old listed building.”
When Crompton’s Cottage was sold at auction three years ago, its new owner did not realise the full extent of its history. The building is believed to date back to at least 1610, but is best known for being the home of Samuel Crompton more than 100 years later.
Crompton was born in the house in 1753 and lived there until 1758 when his family moved to nearby Hall i’ the’ Wood, where his father was a caretaker.
He is known for inventing the Spinning Mule, a hybrid of James Hargreaves’ Spinning Jenny and Arkwright’s Water Frame in 1779 after becoming disillusioned with the deficiencies of existing machinery whilst earning a living spinning cotton as a child labourer. Crompton is believed to have spent six years working in secret on his new machine which spun fibres into yarn and ended up revolutionising the textile industry worldwide.
At its peak, there were 50,000,000 Mule spindles in Lancashire alone. However, Crompton could not afford to patent his invention and returned to weaving, having sold the rights to the Mule to Scottish industrialist David Dale, who went on to reap the financial rewards.
Alan has spent the last three years renovating the Grade I Listed cottage, which still retains many features from its historic past. He has spent thousands replacing its thatched roof and timber frame as well as refurbishing the interior.
It’s no small task given the property had been empty for several years prior to him purchasing it.
“We were looking for a project during the lockdown,” he explained. “We weren’t looking for anything like this but it came up and we thought it was something we could do.
“Because it was so run-down, we were able to get it at a good auction price. Before we saw the auction adverts, we didn’t know this place existed.
“The moment we turned into the fold, it was a case of ‘wow’. The view from the back over The Bunk is immense.
“It’s a hamlet that you would not even expect to be here. There are people who have been here for years who all seem to know each other.
“It’s definitely not for everybody though. There is a responsibility that comes with it.”
Even now, Alan said the historical property acts as a magnet to curious visitors to Firwood Fold.
“You do get a lot of people turning up,” he said. “You’re watching TV and there will be somebody peering through the window.
“They are just interested. The fact it’s got the stone plaque and the thatched roof draws them in.”
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
