I grew up in Rochdale, one of the Lancashire cotton towns. As a child I used to walk up on Rooley Moor, just outside the town. It was there that began my lifelong love of hills, moorland and wild places. I particularly remember walking there in the hot, dry summer of 1959 when the level of water in the reservoirs was rather lower than when I took the photo on the right!

However, I only recently discovered that the cobbled road across the moor had important historical significance and is known locally as ‘The cotton famine road’.

The cotton famine happened when, during the American civil war, the northern states blockaded the southern ports. They wanted to prevent cotton exports – a vital source of income for the confederate states. This hit the Lancashire cotton industry hard, many of the mills closed, and many Rochdale millworkers found themselves without work and income.

However, the Rochdale millworkers were aware that when they opened a bale of cotton, the last hands which had touched the cotton had been slaves’ hands. So they chose to support the cause of abolition. To quote David Olusoga:

‘Even when they were hungry and destitute, thousands of workers in Rochdale stood in solidarity with the slaves of America.’

As the situation worsened, local councils including Rochdale launched famine relief funds to pay millworkers to work on public projects. One such project was to improve the road over Rooley Moor from Catley Lane Head up to Top of Leach, at 474 metres the highest point on the moor. Rochdale’s millworkers cut and laid a third of a million setts across the moor – it must have been tough work, especially in cold, wet weather.

Here’s my song about the Cotton Famine, filmed at Cambridge Folk Club. It features Lucinda Fudge (viola), Matt Kelly (violin) and John Meed (guitar and vocals). The Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum has been most helpful in my work on the song, and you can read their description of the road here. There is also a video about the road here. Alan Rawsterne from the forum supplied the photo featured at the top of this post.

You can download the song here.