District stays faithful to Wakes Week tradition

That's how the Collins English Dictionary defines West Craven's annual two-week shutdown.

It's a tradition that goes back to the 19th and 20th centuries, when the area was dominated by the textile industry and most people worked "in t'mill".

The all-powerful mill owners were forced to grudgingly accept that their workers were entitled to an annual holiday. Instead of arranging individual holidays they would simply shut the mill for a week or fortnight and tell the workers that was their holiday, like it or not.

To give you some idea of the number of people suddenly on holiday, the Manchester Royal Exchange Directory of 1921 lists 55 cotton manufacturers in West Craven, between them operating around 25,000 looms. That figure doesn't include the 1,250 looms at Barnoldswick's Bancroft Mill, which began production in 1920 but didn't make the list.

Almost everyone in the district found themselves on "forced leave" at the same time, but at least they could plan ahead and save up. Many "set off" for a week, usually to Blackpool or Morecambe, travelling on specially laid-on holiday trains or the slower-but cheaper charabanc. Even those who couldn't afford a holiday tried to get away on day trips.

The result was that Barnoldswick, Earby and the surrounding villages ground to a halt. Only the farmers saw no change to their daily routine.

The streets were deserted, with no smoke billowing from mill chimneys, no deafening clatter from the looms, shops shut for lack of trade, even the pubs eerily empty. It has been likened to an Old West ghost town, tumbleweed blown down the dusty main street, the saloon door creaking, pushed only by the gentle breeze.

Perhaps it was never quite that bad, but even now the legacy of Wakes Weeks is clearly evident in West Craven. The mills may be gone, but their traditions live on.

Many smaller firms still find it easier to close for a fortnight rather than struggle on understaffed. But that's not an option for West Craven's bigger enterprises which took over the mantle of the once-proud textile industry.

The area's biggest employer is Silentnight Beds, in Barnoldswick. With customers across the country, it can hardly down tools and tell them "Sorry, you'll have to wait, we're on holiday".

So how does a 21st century company cope with a lingering 19th century tradition?

A Silentnight spokesman explained that each department set limits dictating what percentage of its staff could be on holiday at any one time. Those limits might be relaxed during the Wakes Weeks, but managers must still make sure there are enough people to do the job.

We tried to contact other large firms to see how they cope with the Wakes Week tradition, but hit a brick wall. The people we needed to speak to were away on holiday!

Meanwhile, any visitor to Barnoldswick or Earby in the first two full weeks in July will find them peculiar places. Almost every shop has a notice in the window, advising customers of the proprietor's holiday arrangements.

Headed "Barlick Holidays" or "July Holidays" or simply "Hols", they spell out the Wakes Weeks opening times. Some read "Shut both weeks", others are "Shut first week, open till dinnertime in second week, maybe a bit longer if it's busy on the town" - you get the picture. Even those brave few who stay open need to advertise the fact, with signs reading "Open as normal both weeks."

Whether it's worth their while is another matter.

Eddie Goddard, owner of Barnoldswick's Newtown Carpets, is one of the small band of merchant mariners stranded in the holiday doldrums, waiting for the trade winds to pick up again.

"I think there are only about four or five of us in the town open as usual this year," he said. "Most just close up and go on holiday for one or both weeks, some stay open till dinnertime then go home because there's no customers.

"Trade is a good 50 per cent down. That's not just for the holiday fortnight but for a week or two afterwards, because people have spent up."

It was a similar story at The Railway pub. Manager Martin Smith said trade at the Railway and its sister-pub, The Barlick, was "quite dramatically down".

"Historically the Friday before the holidays, when the local firms break up, is a very busy day for us," he said. "But even that's changing now because people are setting off to the airport in the early hours of Saturday or even driving through the night in the UK to avoid the traffic jams.

"It starts to pick up in the second week if people have just been away for a week, and the Saturday at the end of the fortnight is usually a good night. If people have any money left they'll come out for a last spend and show off their tans before they go back to work."

The Wakes Weeks tradition does have some benefits, however. West Craven schools break up earlier than most, again a throwback to when life revolved around the mills. It means parents can save money by booking their annual holiday just outside the peak season. Last year there was talk of bringing school term times into line with the "standard school year". Fierce opposition sprang up from parents keen to protect West Craven's peculiar heritage - and their bargain holidays.

The plan was shelved, for the time being at least.

Bizarrely, even those who could take their holidays at any time still do so in the Wakes Weeks. Local coach operators say their tours are "booked solid" with pensioners for the July holidays and many retired folk still plan their annual holiday for the Wakes Weeks.

Old habits are hard to break, it seems. Then again, why stay at home when everything stops?

Nobody would think of organising a social event or fundraiser in the holiday fortnight.

Even here at the Craven Herald we are forced to take account of the "Barlick holidays". We have less West Craven news to put in and we know there are fewer people out there to read it. Our sister paper, the Barnoldswick-based Town Crier, traditionally shut down for the fortnight while the previous proprietor took his holiday. Now we choose to soldier on and produce the paper as normal, not wanting to let down our loyal readers and advertisers.

We know we'll sell less copies than usual, but many newsagents save the weekly papers for their regular customers so they can catch up on local news when they return from their holiday.

And talking of holidays, it's time I signed off and set off for a week at the seaside. Well it is Wakes Weeks you know!