course of the river from Lower Fold, more or less to near its source at Shawforth Moor, thence to Bacup via Britannia. Much of its traffic was stone freight, for example from Broadley Stone Sidings, beside the river at Broadley Stone Rubbing Mill. The initial building of the line to Facit was "of great service in conveying stone and coal from the quarries and mines in the Whitworth valley to their destination." The railway line closed, and the track was taken up, in 1967; the viaduct remains with a footway and the Rochdale to Whitworth sewer pipe over it. Industrial history - Turner Brothers Asbestos Mills and Works In 1855 one of the original Turner brothers built, in partnership with another, a cotton mill called Clod Mill alongside the river, at Spotland Fold. The firm of Turner Brothers was formed in 1871, and diversified firstly into the manufacture of asbestos packing, then, by 1879, into weaving asbestos yarn and asbestos cloth. It rapidly assumed a national, and later a global, prominence. The Clod Mill site expanded considerably. Later still, the firm manufactured combination products with rubber and asbestos, including clutch and brake linings, leading to the mill complex being described as "Asbestos and India Rubber Works" in 1910. With the growing awareness in the third quarter of the 20th Century of the health risks of asbestos, and a growing number of asbestosis claims from past and present employees, the company went into decline, and ceased operations on site. Partial demolition of the works commenced in 2001, though problems continued until 2013. July Flood, 1838 This term was applied to the effects on the River Spodden and the Spodden Valley of a storm which took place on 4 July 1838. The storm was described as one of the most violent storms ever known in the area, and heavy rain and hail led to the river rising, near to the site of Spotland Bridge, to a height of . Spotland Bridge was swept away, together with minor bridges in the area. "All the mills and houses near to its banks were much damaged." Mills along the river up to Broadley, including Healey Hall Mills, Foot Mill and Meanwood Die Works, were "almost demolished". The Fairies Chapel, in Healey Dell, (see below), was also damaged. On the following day, hailstones on Rooley Moor were found, weighing as much as ; the hailstorm was