re: Old Accrington
 

Don't know but might be something to do with PP, over to our sleuth Kate:D

re: Old Accrington
 

You raise me to higher levels of knowledge than I have, Jaysay.
Possibly to do with safety or maybe valuable. Mind you, if valuable, would have disappeared years ago .. :)

Sure Bekibird will know why ... they will have asked of course.

re: Old Accrington
 

Went and had a look again at your property, if you look at the width of the pavement on the Grange Lane side, it should be that width all the way round to Wellington St, the previous owners were ordered by the council to reinstate, the original pavement and to remove that wall. The lamp with the etched glass, is not an original type of street lamp of that era, and is stood in what used to be the pavement, it is an ornamental lamp, probably purchased from a garden center, also the plaque on the wall. There are photographs on this thread showng what it used to be like.
You need to watch out now, you may get lumbered with that pavement problem.
I don't think your husband was the one who let me take photographs in the basement, it was over 30 years ago.
Retlaw.

re: Old Accrington
 

We've had the building for about five years now ... I think!! Haven't heard anything from planning dept about the pavement but I will keep it in mind (thank you). Shame about the street lamp too (the age and probable provenance!!) I will one day get around to taking down the 'Toll House' signs as I don't like to have the property identified as something that its not.
I thought you might have been inside recently, Retlaw, as my husband was working on the ground floor last year and someone called around to ask if they could have a look inside. Might have been a former owner or just an interested passer by.
I am assuming PP refers to Planning Permission? I was going to take out the etched glass as it clearly and proudly states the house is The Toll House!! Might be a while before I get round to that though as the place needs other pressing works. Thanks again everyone.

re: Old Accrington
 

It is a good few years since I was in that property, I was passing the building on the Grange Lane side, when I heard some one working in the cellars.
Those cellar widows are almost covered by the pavement, which happened when Grange Lane was raised to join with Manchester Rd, before that they were at ground level. I asked the chap who was working there if I could have a look, and took one or two pictures, which I've attached.
Retlaw

re: Old Accrington
 

the stairs look like the ones going down into the basement from the ground floor. There is yet another floor under this one, which we believe runs right under the house into the area that has took up the pavement at the front. It is very dark and spooky down there and with so much to do above ground we haven't yet done a proper exploration!! Great pictures though, thank you

re: Old Accrington
 

A chap called David Platt or Pratt lives in Plantation St He is always writing to the Observer. His grandparents were the Bews. He loaned me some photographs for my book 'ACCRINGTON OBSERVED'

Re: Old Accrington
 

You do realise you have two different house levels in your property. It was four storey property at the top end of Grange Lane. The entrance to the first two floors being from Grange Lane and a totally seperate entrance to a different property was on Wellington Street. When they highered the road in Grange Lane, the bottom two sets of windows then became BELOW ground level. If you peep down and look into the "cellar" of the property at the top of Grange Lane, you are actually looking at the bedroom windows.
Then you have an entrance on Wellington Street - so they are sort of back to back properties, one low down and one high up, if you get my drift. So your basements are actually the upstairs and downstairs rooms of terraced propety which once had a Grange Lane address (photo again shown which Retlaw kindly included in one of his posts).
Hard to explain, if you can do it any better Retlaw, please feel free to have a go. Tee hee.