History of Petre Lodge

Due to the building of a Cotton Mill in the Village, the much needed School was opened on the 22nd April 1912, thanks to the energy and enterprise of the Village Priest Fr. Pinnington. The School was built using local stone with Yorkshire pan points and dressings from Stoneyhurst Quarry with the foundation stones dating back to 1911. The epigraph that still remains on the front elevation A.M.D.G. Ad Mairoem Dei Gloriam - "To the Greater Glory of God" was the motto used by the Jesuit Priests from Stonyhurst College which has links with J.R.R. Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.

The School played an important and integral part of the community - used as a Chapel for Sunday Mass, a Community Centre for whist drives, dances, Tea Parties, Christmas and May Festivities, even used as an evacuation centre during World War II.
It was therefore a very sad day on 4th July 1983 when the Children had to pick up their pencils and belongings as the roof literally began to fall in on them.

Sunset over the Ribble valley