"The farm is set in a 30 acre site containing farm buildings,
accommodation, offices, stables and a small wildlife reserve which was created in the
former Harper Clough Quarry, better known as
Star Delph,
which has a three
million-year-old fossilised tree root that has led to the area being named a site of
specific scientific interest protected by English Nature. "
Since 1993 when the farm became known as Lords House Farm, being
taken over by Mary Walker, the farm was previously Harwood Edge Farm.
Upon taking the farm over, it was opened a children's rehabilitation
centre, mainly for the disabled.
First published on Thursday 09 May 1996: It's animal magic!
FROM Llamas to pot-bellied pigs, a
whole herd of
unusual animals are about to make
their home in
Rishton.
The new animal park is about to
take shape at
Lord's House Farm, thanks to a
£10,000 British
Telecom community award.
The cash will pay for a barn,
exercise yard and
stables for the farm's newest
recruits.
Disabled access and seating will
also be improved
and there will even be an "animal
cuddle corner".
Mary Walker, the farm's
administrator, said: "We
have been running a therapy programme for local
handicapped groups and special
schools for 18
months but desperately needed
somewhere to
house the animals.
"The grant from BT has come at just
the right
time and we are grateful for their
generosity. Now Animal Magic can operate all
year round and
with the improved disabled access,
we can include
all people, whatever their
disability."
She added: "We aim to bring a
little magic into the
lives of people who do not normally
have contact
with animals. Our experience so far has shown
that this kind of
educational work improves
individuals' behaviour,
enjoyment of life and feeling of
self worth."
BT external relations manager Alan
Roberts said:
"The project application from
Lord's House Farm
was very professional and clearly
aimed to fill a local need. It complements perfectly the disabled riding
therapy work at the farm and will
benefit large
numbers of disabled people, of all
ages, for a long time to come."
Taught by farm volunteers, visitors
will learn to
care for and understand the
animals. At the end
of a six-week course, they will
receive a
certificate of competence in
recognition of their
new skills.
From autumn this year, the new
animal park will
be available, free all year round,
to special schools
throughout Lancashire.
Over 200 people each week were expected to benefit from the project.
First published on Thursday 27 March 1997: Secrets of a garden
A SENSORY garden full of sounds and smells is being built to help the
blind savour summer in bloom. The floral oasis, at Lords House Farm in
Rishton, will consist of heavily-scented flowers and herbs, plants with textured
leaves and carved wooden benches.
Named The Flight of the Bumble Bee, the project is the brainchild of
farm owner Mary Eagles and crime prevention police officer Gail Whiteoak.
Mary already runs horse riding classes for people with physical and
learning disabilities at the
Wilpshire Road farm. She said: "We wanted
to develop the garden as a picnic area for the people learning to ride
to have their lunch during summer. As some of them are blind, we wanted
to adapt it into a vivid wealth of smells, sounds and texture.
"All the work is being done by a group of volunteers known as the
Friends of Lords House Farm. The garden's features include a pond,
picnic area, a pathway littered with thyme - so that when people walk on
it the scent will escape - and wooden carvings of butterflies and bees.
Gail Whiteoak, based at Accrington Police Station, has been working
with Great Harwood Youth Club to encourage youngsters to get involved in
designing and putting together the garden. She said: "This is a
wonderful
project which will benefit people from all walks of life." BNFL have
already donated carved benches, Texas in Accrington has offered plants
and flowers and the project has secured grants of £1,000 from the
Community Council of Lancashire and £500 from Hyndburn Community
Environment Fund.
Mary is also organising a children's birthday party scheme to help
raise funds for the centre and needs volunteers to co-ordinate the
two-hour parties.
ANIMALS have been known to have a positive impact on the lives of
children with special needs. Lords House Farm, in Great Harwood, uses this ethos to help
children with behavioural and physical difficulties.
Richard Newton looked at the centre and discovered what it had to
offer after it received £6,000 from the Gannett Foundation set up by the company
that owns the Lancashire Evening Telegraph...
PETER is six-years-old and autistic. He visits Lords House Farm
every Saturday to ride and look after the ponies. His mum Julie, 35, who lives in
Haslingden, said she has seen a vast improvement since he started coming in March.
She said: "He absolutely loves it, he really looks forward to coming. But the
improvement we have seen in his balance has been remarkable. Because he has autism,
he finds this difficult, but since he started riding this has come on tremendously,
he can even skip now. His confidence has gone way up too. He has been in mainstream
school and there he is one of the bottom ones. Because of this he has low
confidence, but when he is at Lords House it goes way up. It's really good for us as
well because we meet other parents in similar positions and we can have a chat. The
workers there are also wonderful, they do not raise their voices or lose their
temper and they understand about autism and do not look at you as though you can't
control your child. Peter has also learned the concept of waiting when the ponies
are being prepared for riding, which autistic children find very difficult to do."
Lords House Farm, off
Wilpshire Road, is a charitable
organisation that provides animal therapy for children with special needs. But since
Mary Walker started the centre in 1993 it has expanded well beyond this single
service.
Manager Mrs Walker, said: "Animal therapy is a great way to reach
children with behavioural and physical disabilities, but this is not all we do and
we help a great many other people including the elderly, disadvantaged children and
others through the youth offending team."
Lords House also offers full and part-time courses in
horticulture, animal care and husbandry in conjunction with Accrington and
Rossendale College, and is a UK online centre offering IT tuition.
The farm is set in a 30 acre site containing farm buildings,
accommodation, offices, stables and a small wildlife reserve. It was created in the
former Harper Clough Quarry, better known as Star Delph, and has a three
million-year-old fossilised tree root that has led to the area being named a site of
specific scientific interest protected by English Nature.
It now has 24 horses and a number of other animals ranging from
rabbits to parrots and even llamas.
With these resources it is also able to offer holidays for
disadvantaged children from urban backgrounds so that they can experience the
countryside and see animals they may not have the opportunity to see.
The charity has a turnover of a quarter of a million pounds a
year and receives funding from a variety of sources including BBC Children in Need
and the European Social Fund. Through its partnership with Accrington and Rossendale
College, it also gets money from the government via Lancashire Learning and Schools
Council.
It receives money from the Blackburn with Darwen and Lancashire
Children's Fund to help socially disadvantaged and excluded children aged five to 13
and from the government set up Connexions to help 13 to 19-year-olds.
It also gets money to help with a number of projects including
£6,000 from the Gannett Foundation, a charity set up by Gannett, the parent company
of Newsquest, the media group that owns the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.
The centre received the money to buy a number a gypsy caravans to
offer children the chance of camping out under the stars in an authentic gypsy
caravan site.
It was announced in the local press on the 5th November 2009 that the
farm had shut down. Mary Walker had decided to relocate the farm to
Cumbria, after issues with planning permissions had been refused.
References
Lancashire Evening telegraph, 16th July 2003, 6th November 2009.