Places
Dirker
Dirker is now a council estate to the north of the railway line, but this has obviously not always been so. The 1904 OS map shows it as a hamlet on Spring Head Lane, and the information below is from 1881. I have included the small terrace of New Ing, and Station House, as they are very close to Dirker.
1891 Census
| Number of households in Dirker - 13 | Population of Dirker - 63 |
| Ave household size - 4.8 | Ave size of nuclear family unit - 4.7 |
| Ave age of household heads - 40.2 | Number born outside county - 1 (Lancashire) |
| Percent born outside Marsden - 25.4% | Born outside Colne Valley - 6.3% |
| Households with related kin - 1(7.7%) | Wives in paid employment - 1(7.7%) |
| Farmer - 3 | Butcher - 3 |
| Stone quarryman - 2 | Weaver- 4 |
| Healder - 1 | Engine tenter - 1 |
| Piecer - 1 | Canal labourer - 1 |
| Railway station master - 1 | Stone mason - 3 |
| Tuner - 1 | Housekeeper - 2 |
| Stone dealer - 1 | Scripture reader (sic) - 1 |
| Pupil teacher - 1 | Joiner's apprentice - 1 |
| Boiler maker - 1 | Twister - 2 |
| Architect and surveyor - 1 | Carpenter - 1 |
| Shawl twister - 1 |
Resident families
| Dyson Whiteley Biltcliffe Marsden |
Woodhead (lodger) Wood Shaw Atherton |
Bower Bamforth Holroyd Carter (lodger) |
3, Dirker
Development of Dirker from 1801-2019.
Click to enlarge
Steven Miller has produced a report on the development of 3 Dirker. The introduction says, 'This report explores the history of No3 Dirker, Marsden, and the associated surrounding buildings. Using architectural evaluation, archive research and oral history a story of the development of the site is produced from 1801 to the present day. Links are also made which could stretch the history of the site into the 18th and possibly 17th century.'
