In Chorley, just beyond the town centre, is the Parish Church of St Lawrence. Immediately behind the church is a flight of fourteenth century steps leading to the conservation area know as "Chorley bottoms". Through "Chorley bottoms" runs the River Chor, a large stream which starts in the hills just above the east of the town and then is culverted all the way into Astley Park.
For hundreds of years, Chorley bottoms suffered immensely from having the culverted river running through it. Until a multi-million pounds project in the 1990s, flooding was frequent. (I have actually seen cars and vans floating about in the water after a cloudburst.) However, the flooding was nothing compared to the stink down there in the height of summer. Sometime in the 1970s, when I was still a youngster, the local newspaper, The Chorley Guardian, had as its headline:
Residents complain of foul smells coming from Chorley bottoms.
Topic: Actual Newspaper Headlines (Read 657 times)