Jo May

Barkers Wood

Many people know what Barkers Wood is, but not why. So, here, at least in part, is why.

For reference, I am Marjorie Barker’s Godson.

Barkers Wood was born over thirty years ago in 1990 when five acres of pasture land was donated to Rochdale Council by Mrs Marjorie Barker in memory of her late husband Edmund (Teddy).

A memorial in the wood - thirty years in the making.

(Click on the images to enlarge them)

The Barkers lived at Middle Starring, just up the road from the wood. Marjorie and Teddy were ‘old school’, traditional, decent people, invariably well dressed in tweeds, ties and polished shoes. I suspect we all know people who are referred to as Mr or Mrs rather than by Christian name. These days, whenever I hear people speak of Marjorie it’s, ‘Oh, Mrs Barker, I remember her……’. It’s likely there was a deep-seated respect. She was also the kind of person who would mix with people of any age. She loved the company of young people and had many friends from Littleborough and further afield. Among other things, she worked with the Red Cross and I met someone the other day who remembers her doing Meals on Wheels from Birch Hill in her Land Rover.  

Marjorie drove an ambulance during World War II and a Ford Capri in her eighties. In between, she battled away up and down Starring Lane in that old Land Rover, the type with flip-up air-vents above the dashboard. The lane was a very rough track and sole access to Starring before Bents Farm Estate was built, so a car with some 'grunt' was needed back then, particularly in winter. The lane is much the same today as it was back then, though there are more trees now.

Middle Starring under construction in the 1950s

Note the original farm that was demolished on completion

Teddy was member of Lancashire County Council as well as a regular at both Littleborough Cricket Club and the Conservative Club. He was a merchant seaman during the war and was torpedoed twice. Terrifying stuff, that according to Marjorie, changed him for ever. It would wouldn’t it? I didn’t know the Teddy before he ‘changed’, but the one we knew from the early 60s, was a pretty special guy. An amusing man, often in a tweed suit with a ready chuckle and a crystal tumbler of malt.

Back in the 1960s there were only three houses up at Starring. Nothing but fields between there and Cecil Street / James Street near the main road. Apart from Bents Farm House that is, where Roger Sykes lived, the guy who sold the land that would become Bents Farm Estate. They started building that in the late 60s and I’m glad they did because I made plenty of friends there.

I lived just up the hill from The Barkers at Higher Starring with Mum, Dad, brother Nick and sister Sally. We arrived there when I was two years old having previously lived at Starring Grove down the bottom of Starring Lane. It was a rudimentary house back then including winter frost on the inside of the windows - pre double glazing. Amazingly, in 2023, I met the man who’d installed the central heating in late 1962, but even that wasn't enough to stop the ice during a bad winter.

A Bad winter looking up to Starring

1963 perhaps

The third house up there was Lower Starring Farm where the Sutcliffe’s lived, George, Rose and twins, Jimmy and Elizabeth. I’m still friends with Jim and Elizabeth. They had a dog, Sniffy the beagle, who’d have a daily wander over the back lanes to Birch Hill Hospital. He’d do a turn around the wards, meeting and greeting patients and staff, where he enjoyed mid-morning cake. Then he’d walk home. A local institution was old Sniffy. Dad George worked at Birch Hill, latterly as a theatre nurse. Well known and well respected, George was our last link to the generation previous to mine. He only died recently in 2019, Rose having passed away in 2015.

Marjorie and Teddy were ‘Aunt and Uncle’ to me and my siblings. Not actually related, but as good as. We were always close, in and out of each other’s houses, and they became particularly important when our dad died early. Dad, Dr May, was a local Chest Consultant, who succumbed to leukaemia in 1973. Aunty ‘M’ and Uncle Ted took up some emotional slack and they were to be a huge influence on us kids. A positive influence.

Teddy died in the mid-1980s and Marjorie gifted the land to the community in his memory a few years later.

So, perhaps that explains a bit about ‘Why’ Mrs Barker donated the land. Fundamentally, it’s because she and Teddy loved the area. For the last 20 or 30 years of their lives they had immersed themselves in local life. In the present, for me and my siblings it is fabulous to see people enjoying what has become a community space, particularly the school children. I used to go to Dearnley School, now the Kingdom Hall, play footy on the nearby ‘wreck’ (rec - or recreation ground) and cause mischief in the field that is now the wood.

Marjorie would be amazed and happy to see the wood today. She would love it, Teddy too I’m sure. In these days of me, me, me, an act of benevolence such as that gift of land should stand as a reminder to us all that giving is a good thing. It’s brought into closer focus because much open land in and around Littleborough is under, or threatened with, development.

Rochdale Council officially owns Barkers Wood, but it’s management was recently passed to Littleborough Civic Trust. A sub-group of the Trust is ‘The Friends of Barkers Wood’ who are a group of local volunteers who treasure and help maintain the woodland. I get a feeling of pride and satisfaction from them and it’s evident they love the time they spend there. I suspect they’ve made friends because of it.

We held a meeting back in January 2024 to discuss a permanent memorial to The Barkers. For a number of reasons it’s been delayed, partly my fault, for which I apologise. I suggested a black, honed granite plinth with a plaque. I finally managed to source one, but I was already questioning in my mind whether granite wasn’t rather too funereal. The supplier then told me the lead time may be 6 months! ‘They come from India,’ he said, ‘and it can depend on where in the world there is a war being fought as to which shipping route they choose!’ I sourced a local piece of sandstone instead.

Fittingly, the ‘Friends’ have endorsed the wording on the plaque and were involved in where the memorial should be sited. In addition to honouring the benevolence of Mr & Mrs Barker, the memorial is also very much a thank you to The Friends of Barkers Wood for the love and effort they have put in. My main point of contact has been Maria Thompson and her enthusiasm is infectious.

While growing up at Starring, I think all three families left their mark on Littleborough in their own way. Today, that has continued through the people dedicating themselves to the wood. I’m sure they enjoy what they do, but I hope they realize the importance of leaving a legacy for the community to enjoy. Things are generally pretty fraught these days and the wood is a place of peace.

It was January when we first met up to discuss the memorial, and the wood was all rather sparse and forlorn. Despite that, there were plenty of people about. I’ve been up numerous times since and there is invariably someone there. I said to that first group that sometimes when people die, they leave a part of their soul behind. I think that’s the case here and it seemed to resonate with some of the group, it certainly does with me. The special times my family enjoyed with Marjorie and Teddy Barker have been paid forward.

They have left quite a legacy I think.