Helmshore Mills to explore Lancashire's forgotten history with 50 Objects exhibition

A More information about objects featured in this news release:

Bond Minicar Mk A

These small three wheeled cars were made at the Sharp’s Commercials workshops on Ribbleton Lane, Preston between 1948 and 1966. Designed by Lawrence (Lawrie) Bond, who had spent the war in the aircraft industry with Blackburn Aircraft Company at Brough, the car captured the mood of post war austerity perfectly. It was cheap to buy and, driven by a 197cc Villiers motorcycle engine, cheap to run. As a three wheeled vehicle it attracted less Purchase Tax, less Road Tax, and had lower insurance costs, and as it had no reverse gear it could be driven on a motorcycle licence bringing it within range of the ordinary working man.

Using elements of aircraft design and construction from the 1940s such as a lightweight monocoque body (from the French for single shell rather than the traditional chassis and body) and aluminium outer panels, the Bond became a successful small car of its time. In the same year (1948) Jaguar launched the groundbreaking XK120, at the time the world's fastest production car, and Morris launched the Morris Minor which became the first British car to sell over a million. In contrast only 1,973 Mk A Bonds were manufactured with something over 24,000 of all marks sold in total.

Sharp's Commercials changed their name to Bond Cars Ltd in 1963 and ceased production of the minicar in 1966 due to tax changes eroding the price advantage of three wheelers over other small cars. In 1969 the company was taken over by rival company Reliant and the Preston factory closed the following year.

Fish Fryer

Stories of Lancashire often revolve around food, from delights like black pudding and tripe to everyday staples like Lancashire oatcakes. However, one dish stands out as more iconic than any other, good old fish and chips.

Although Lancashire is unlikely to have been the first place in the country to combine the two, the concept of the fish and chip shop, standing on many a street corner selling hot food for working people, is evocative of every Lancashire town. With fast growing urban populations, access to the fisheries of the Fylde coast, and rich arable farmlands, it makes perfect sense.

This range is from a fish and chip shop in Rochdale which raises an intriguing question. The great singer and actress Grace Stansfield, better known to millions as Dame Gracie Fields, Rochdale's most famous daughter, was born over a fish and chip shop owned by her grandmother Sarah Bamford on Molesworth Street, Rochdale in 1898. Did it come from that very shop? Or more likely is it a frying range very like the one used by her and her family? After all it didn't travel far, it was manufactured around 1900 by J E Nuttall & Co. in their Newgate works in Rochdale. In the collection there are other fittings from the shop, such as wooden benches, tables, a serving counter, and a potato bucket, all kept as they were when it closed in the early 1970s.

The Silverdale Hoard

The Silverdale Hoard is one of the largest Viking hoards discovered in the UK. Consisting of over 200 items it was found by a metal detectorist near Silverdale, Lancashire in 2011. The collection includes arm rings, finger rings, ingots, coins and many other fragments of broken silver jewellery. These silver pieces may have been used as currency or were intended to be melted down for reuse.

The hoard was buried for safe keeping in a lead container between AD900-910 during a period of intense conflict between the Anglo-Saxons and Danes in the north of England. The range of items from Frankish, Anglo-Saxon and Islamic coins to jewellery with Irish, Carolingian and Russian influences, attest to the wide network of trade that the Vikings had stretching across Europe and into Asia in the 10th century AD. The hoard also contained a coin featuring a previously unknown ruler of Northumbria named Hartacut, who ruled over a vast area of northern England which included what is now modern-day Lancashire.

Sixteen Viking hoards have been discovered in the northwest, more than any other region of England. The largest Viking hoard found in Western Europe was also discovered in Lancashire at Cuerdale near Preston, which consisted of more than 8000 items.

 A Witch Charm

It may seem strange to us today, but the widespread and very real belief in witches has been part of Lancashire folklore for generations. Just as engrained is the belief that charms and amulets can in some way protect against evil. We are perhaps familiar with the 'lucky horseshoe' hanging in a stable, but other items like hag-stones, children's shoes, cups, and serving vessels have all been cited as having the power to ward off unwelcome spirits.

These occasionally come to light today in the fabric of buildings under floorboards or built into walls and chimneys. The simple act of hanging a charm over an entrance or window, often accompanied by a written incantation, was seen as a way of warding off evil spirits and preventing them entering. A great account can be found in our museum blog series 'Stories from the Lancashire Museums' Protection Against Witchcraft – Stories from Lancashire Museums (www.wordpress.com)

The most famous Lancashire connection with witches is of course the Lancashire witch trials of 1612, a story steeped in superstition, fear, and revenge. A tale of village politics, of two feuding families, and of poor unfortunate victims. In this infamous case 10 were found guilty of witchcraft and hanged. Another of the 'Stories from the Lancashire Museums' Gawthorpe Hall and Witches in Lancashire (Part One) – Stories from Lancashire Museums (www.wordpress.com) tells the story of the trials from the contemporary stance of the Shuttleworth accounts at Gawthorpe Hall.

Why not visit the site of the historic trials of 1612 at Lancaster Castle, the Lancashire folklore and legend room in Clitheroe Castle Museum, and the new exhibition 'An Account of Life' at Gawthorpe Hall to find out even more.

World War 1 Nursing Uniform

This Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service uniform was worn by a senior sister in Lancashire during the First World War. It came from Calderstones Hospital in Whalley which became the Queen Mary's Military Hospital. The nursing service had strict entry criteria which was dropped at the outbreak of war, allowing married and working class women to join.

Calderstones Hospital was originally built as one of Lancashire's county asylums but was handed over to the War Office when it opened in April 1915. The Clitheroe Advertiser described it as the "largest military hospital in the kingdom". It was a vast establishment covering an acre of land which treated up to 500 patients at any one time. The hospital also had a railway line which brought patients to the hospital door. The first ambulance train arrived in Whalley on the 6th May 1915. More than 55,000 injured servicemen were treated at the hospital until it was formally handed back to the County Asylum Committee in 1920.

There remains a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery on the site which remembers the 300 servicemen who died at the hospital during the First World War.