The interior decked out for the Millennium Dinner on 31st December 1999
With the school, perhaps the heart of any community, gone in 1962, the hamlet of Knowle Green was set to become a commuter area - a pleasant place to live for people working in the towns or who want to retire to the country.
Although most of the farms working today have continued for generations and can be identified on the early maps, many of the cottages which housed the mill workers, along with redundant barns, have been renovated and extended into desirable residences whose owners work further afield. The desirability of country living and "old world charm" has been reflected in the prices which houses in the district can command. Modern Knowle Green with its attractive properties and well-kept gardens presents an air of prosperity.
Signs of the early industry along Cowley Brook which caused the growth of Knowle Green have almost disappeared. Cage Mill, working until 1978, has been converted into an attractive house. There is now no trace of Lum Mill or White Carr Mill in Dilworth Bottoms. The site of Higher Mill with its lodge would be missed by any casual observer, as would Dutton Mill on Duddel Brook. Moor Hey Mill and Clay Hill Mill are in ruins. The one mill which remains intact is Lower Mill on Knowle Green Bridge. After 1861 this iron roller foundry was used for bobbin and rake making and later for storage. In the 1980s "Mini-prints" Printing Services moved into the premises. The business prospered and employees came out from Longridge to work there. It closed in 1993. The renovated premises across the road, on the site of the old garage, have been occupied by an antiques business and more recently "Country Cakes" which supplies cakes to retail outlets.
Some of the other businesses in Knowle Green are listed on the Links computer now
installed in the village hall. They reflect trends in modern life such as the increase in
leisure time. The Halls Arms and the New Drop, no longer part-time farms, attract
people from far and wide to enjoy a drink and a good meal out. Accommodation is
offered in self -catering cottages and bed and breakfast guest houses. "Oak Lea" which
featured in the 1920s once more offers bed and breakfast and there is an attractive
licensed small caravan park at Moss Gate. Charity Farm, in 1696 bequeathed to"The poor distressed housekeepers of Dilworth", has for many years been a well-known
riding stables. Care for domestic pets is provided by boarding kennels and a cattery.
In Dutton, the former Manor estate workshop owned first by the Fentons and then the
Dugdale family, is now the premises of a health food business. Continuing the modern
theme of health and safety there are businesses supplying burglar alarms and windows.
A number of businesses are "invisible" as people work from home with modern
technology freeing them from the necessity of being in a town.
Social life has been re-vitalised after the renovation of the village hall in 1999 with a
variety of events every week which are attracting people from away as well as those
living locally. This booklet has indicated some of the changes which have occurred in a
small Lancashire community over 2000 years. Life has changed many times during that
long period. However, the community of Knowle Green, with its Chapel and Village
Hall at its heart, has much to celebrate and can look forward to the 21st century with
confidence.
The village Hall was refurbished in 1999 in readiness for the millennium.
