Smallbridge
Smallbridge Village had quite a reputation for being one of the 'rowdiest' areas in 19th century Rochdale. This probably had something to do with the number of ale houses in the area. The main employment in Smallbridge was sandknocking. This involved crushing sandstone to sell the sand, and was done in a warehouse which was situated across Halifax Road from the Red Lion Hotel, or as it is now known, The Sandknockers. It was renamed to in 1973 to commemorate the previously mentioned local trade. The main alternative to sandknocking was coal mining. Smallbridge was such an independant place that it took quite some time before it was comfortably absorbed by the expanding Rochdale.
The photos above both show the same public house, Left: The Red Lion Hotel, Right: The Sandknockers. Believe it or not but they are both the same building. The picture on the left was taken around 1900, the one on the right 1999.
In his 'Lancashire Sketches', Edwin Waugh described Smallbridge people as follows:
There is a race of hereditary sand-sellers or sandknockers in Smallbridge - a rough mountain breed who live by crushing sandstone or rock for sale. The people who knock this sand and sell it have been known over the countryside for many years as "Th' Kitters".
31/12/99