Detectives uncover Allen Clarke

Allen Clarke was born in Bolton but moved to Blackpool later in life

Throughout summer the Lancashire Reading Detectives have been searching through the county's literary heritage.

They have found an eclectic mix of work from drug addict Catholic poets to apocalyptic novels set in the small village of Wheelton.

Perhaps one of the most interesting finds by the team has been the Bolton born writer Allen Clarke (1863-1935).

He wrote poetry and novels as well as antiquarian, philosophical and political works.

He was one of the most popular writers in Lancashire in the early twentieth century. Paul Salveson

He often used different pseudonyms such as Teddy Ashton, Capanbells, Ben Adhem and Old Boltonian.

Clarke was from a working class background - he went to work in the mills at the age of 11 - but grew to be a successful writer and radical thinker. His dialect poetry was very popular as were his numerous novels.

Popular

Some of his works on religion and politics had less commercial success but Tolstoy was a fan and had a Russian translation made of his book on factory conditions, Effects of the Factory System.

The Reading Detectives who are based in Chorley Library met up with Paul Salveson, an expert on Lancashire dialect poetry who has recently published a book on the author.

He believes Clarke deserves to be rescued from obscurity.

Paul said: "He was one of the most popular writers in Lancashire in the early twentieth century and his work tells us much about life and conditions in the north of England between the 1880s and 1930s."

Romantic

The Lancashire Reading Detectives are based in Chorley Library

He moved to Blackpool later in life because of his fascination for windmills and he is credited as saving many from demolition in the Fylde area. His love for windmills was demonstrated in Windmill Land, a poem he wrote in 1916 about the Little Marton Mill in Blackpool.

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in this enigmatic character and great writer with the publication of Paul Salveson's book - Allen Clarke: Lancashire's Romantic Radical: the life and writings of Allen Clarke/Teddy Ashton - and the work of the Lancashire Reading Detectives. Clarke's grand-daughter Shirley Matthews is also publishing a book of some of his work later in the year.