The soldier connection: I've found a photo in William Turner's book 'The Accrington Pals: A tribute to the men of Accrington and District... Who Volunteered, Fought and Died in the Great War, 1914-1918' (ISBN 1-871236-16-9) on page 7 showing recruits for the Pals Battalion. Caption reads "No.3 Platoon 'B' (District) Company, ready for 'Swedish Drill' (physical training) in front of Hyndburn Park School, September 1914."
At a glance the photo seems to show them right where the glass bmw/mini building is, but this does seem to suggest they used open ground in the area for training so maybe your spot of land was used too? Might be worth PM-ing Retlaw and asking if he has more specific info; he seems to be the man for Pals details.
Admin: am I allowed to scan and post an image from a book?
Oh, and on the subject of "feeling a presence"; in my experience, it's usually a dodgy curry
