The Coppice
- Thread starter Gayle
- Start date
For those that aren’t aware. In our gallery we have a small collection of recent-ish images of the coppice and its monument / shelter.
You can find them here or click on the image below.
As far as monuments go it's a bloody disgrace Len. A crying shame. I have not a clue what it was erected for initially, I'm not Accy born and bred but......Someone needs a major kick up the arse.
I think the buggers just went made at some point, there are cart loads up Fern Gore. What bothers me is the fact that most of them on the Coppice seem to coniferous, not all that brilliant for wildlife and the needles can suffocate the ground so that wild flower and fungi can’t fight back. Who can remember the old days when the coppice was naked, and who can remember Woodnook and Priestley Clough covered in Bluebells and other wild flora as the seasons progressed. We had some fantastic wild places when we where kids, my best memories are the Bluebells in the midst of Oaks, Chestnuts and Sycamores down Woodnook and Skylarks flitting the heavens above Brindles Field off Miller Fold (now cover in weak trees and scrub) Blooming marvellous.
Cheer's Len.....it make you feel that people don't care about what they have......it is a shame, what I fear is that it will all be lost unless something positive is done soon.
I agree, the trees will/are spoiling the view.
However what I did used to find strange is that we all called it the Coppice, even when it was denuded of vegetation, and coppice of course actually means a cultivated thicket of small trees or bushes.
The picture is so stark, when you walk past that monument ( I still dont know what it's for) it has no presence. You walk by the thing as though it is not there, or sit on it to have a ciggy as I do. Lots of towns would exstatic at having such a viewpoint to display their monument.
I'm as sure as i can be that it's heavily planted to stop land slippage, could well be wrong but it always seems wet an slippy up there.
I once heard that it was derived fro the south african word - copje - meaning small hill
pic named ' Race for the copje'
Race for the Copje by G D Giles - Cranston Fine Arts Aviation, Military and Naval Art
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Don't know whether it's been on here before, but here's a panoramic view taken from the Coppice.
Accrington | Panorama from the Coppice
Accrington | Panorama from the Coppice
Residents and myself have worked hard to secure a renaissance of the Coppice, the paths, monument, protect the bio-diversity (largely through Arden Hall initially) etc... since 2003. It's been a long slog. I always believed the Coppice had potential to be better than it is now as a place to visit.
All the hard work over the years has payed dividends, REMADE at LCC have taken the project onboard and it's now the biggest project in Lancashire of its kind with £1.1m funding over 3 years. The plan is to transform it into a Local Nature Reserve and Regional Park for Lancashire.
There have been two preliminary meeting of stakeholders, environmental groups, councils, project managers etc... The team assembled to deliver the project are very enthisisatic and it's a very exciting project.
I have arranged a special Area Council meeting in January with REMADE and the team as part of the public consultation process to take on board the views of residents before any plans or ideas are set down.
For further info;
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/remade/sites/peelpark.asp
or contact myself or Huncoat Councillor Paul Gottt
All the hard work over the years has payed dividends, REMADE at LCC have taken the project onboard and it's now the biggest project in Lancashire of its kind with £1.1m funding over 3 years. The plan is to transform it into a Local Nature Reserve and Regional Park for Lancashire.
There have been two preliminary meeting of stakeholders, environmental groups, councils, project managers etc... The team assembled to deliver the project are very enthisisatic and it's a very exciting project.
I have arranged a special Area Council meeting in January with REMADE and the team as part of the public consultation process to take on board the views of residents before any plans or ideas are set down.
For further info;
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/remade/sites/peelpark.asp
or contact myself or Huncoat Councillor Paul Gottt
Don't change the monument, read the "vandalism". No bugger knows what the monument was originally put there for, however people from as far back as the 1950's have etched into it's surface. The childhood memories of dozens of "Accringtonians" are placed in sight of all and you are you to say they should be destroyed ?
Monument for the pals ? No statue will bring you closer than being in the same trenches they trained in. No plaque will say more than the etchings in St John's pews.
Ugly things can be beautiful. When you actually think about it.
Monument for the pals ? No statue will bring you closer than being in the same trenches they trained in. No plaque will say more than the etchings in St John's pews.
Ugly things can be beautiful. When you actually think about it.
Interesting ... never thought about it in this way. Maybe my name is on it. But I do wish that you had not said "as far back as the 1950s" as if it is ancient history.
And I agree that ugly things can be beautiful. The thought crosses my mind every time I look in the mirror
But this is an original approach that deserves serious consideration.
Interesting views SamF but the majority of the grafitti on the monument is anti-war - both CND from the 70s and Bush stuff.
The monument is nothing to do with any war. It was originally erected in 1909 and unveiled on 29th September 1909 - so it will be the 100 years anniversary in just over two years time. It was erected because the land, which was formerly owned by the Peel family had been handed over to the people of Accrington as common land - the monument was to recognise that.
The monument is nothing to do with any war. It was originally erected in 1909 and unveiled on 29th September 1909 - so it will be the 100 years anniversary in just over two years time. It was erected because the land, which was formerly owned by the Peel family had been handed over to the people of Accrington as common land - the monument was to recognise that.
So the monument is a sort of evolving time capsule. And if the land and the monument were handed over to the people of Accrington, then the people of Accrington should have the say in what to do with it. Of course, you can't please everyone, but some sort of consensus could be reached.
Oh, and don't forget the people of Clayton who also spent time up there
Does anyone remember there being a map on it? My Dad used to tell me there was a map on it once.
vaugely remember some kind of metal plate on it, not sure if it was a map.
If you stand at the bottom of Avenue Parade and look up to the top that's the Coppice.
yep thats it emamum, lovely walk on a nice day, you can acess from Peel Park, Avenue Parade, easily on foot.