The Clough brook flowing below Wildboarclough, certain changes have been made to the brook along with flood defenses, but will it be enough to tame the Wild Bore? Photo by Gary Tacagni.
The Clough was once known as a place where a healer or herbalist grew or collected herbs, roots or plants, and it was said that the Clough stream was rather special but only at a certain time, and that was after the "Wild Bore had run".
It has been taken for granted that the name Wildboarclough referred to the wild tusked pigs that had used to roam the area, and it is said that the last wild boar that was shot in England had taken place in the hills around Wildboarclough, perhaps the boar skin which hangs on the wall of the Wild Boar public house is the very same skin in question?
The Wild Boar public house. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
Returning to the Bore, it was said that it was a phenomena peculiar to this area, where once in a while (it could be ten years or a century) when certain weather conditions prevailed, then a torrent of water or a wave of water akin to a tidal wave (hence the name Bore) flooded down the valley and the Clough brook. Afterwards when everything had returned to normal the water was believed to be special, presumably due to whatever had been washed down in its wake. There have been instances in the past when it is thought to have occurred, in the late 17th century Abraham Day built a paper mill on the Tor brook at Allgreave which the Clough brook runs into, three times during Abraham Day's lifetime his mill was destroyed by flooding and three times he rebuilt it, was this due to the Wild Bore devastating the valley and the mill?
The place where the Clough meets the Tor brook. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
On the afternoon of the 24th of May 1989 the Bore ran wild down the Clough brook once more, a cloud burst up on Shining Tor combined with a long spell of dry weather was the reason the rain ran into causeways instead of being soaked up by the ground, all this surplus water had to go somewhere. It turned the brook into an eight foot high wall of water which started making its way down the valley which gained height all the time until it had attained a height of 25 feet, this terrifying phenomena killed hundreds of sheep and cattle as well as a motorist. It destroyed bridges, telephone poles and lines as well as doing thousands of pounds worth of damage to properties in its path, the damage was estimated at over one million pounds and it took over a year and a half for the scars of that eventful day to heal.
A memorial plaque on the bridge in Wildboarclough. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
Some of the properties in Wildboarclough that were damaged by the Wild Bore. Photo by Gary Tacagni.
