Living Heritage

Ribble Valley is a heritage treasure trove, with iconic buildings and a landscape which has inspired artists, authors and a host of many historical events. The history held in this beautiful landscape is surprisingly rich in culture and tradition. Here is just a sample of the treasure waiting to be discovered.

Clitheroe Castle Museum

Visit the 16-acre manicured grounds of Clitheroe Castle, a Norman Keep teetering on the top of an ancient reef knoll, surrounded by panoramic views of Clitheroe and the valley. As well as showcasing arts and ever-changing exhibitions, the Castle Museum will take you back through 350 million years of local history, starting with the transformation of the landscape we see today.

Museum Manager Claire Sutton (pictured) oversees the management of the museum, where behind the scenes, documenting and classifying artefacts become second nature.

Clitheroe Castle Museum

“It’s a well-used local resource and we’re very family friendly,” Claire observes, and the 5,000 school children welcomed at the museum every year are a good testament to the educational value of the museum.

The museum is a journey of discovery, some exhibitions even include games, competitions and interactive aspects such as dress-up and wax rubbings, enabling for a more kinaesthetic style of learning. There are great explorer bags, kitted out with an adventurer’s hat, items to looks out for within the museum and toys, helping any young person to explore the castle, and of course the gift shop is packed with pocket-money memories.

For years, people have been coming to the castle grounds to enjoy a leisurely walk and to soak up the views.

Ribchester Roman Museum     

Lancashire’s only dedicated Roman antiquities museum sits on an old Roman cavalry fort called Bremetennacum with six known Roman roads connecting other settlements to the village. The museum leads to the ruins of the fort and the bath house, found on a short walk into the village, it exhibits connected artefacts that tell the story of Roman Britain.

Roman Ribchester: Ribchester is flooded with a Roman heritage, boasting a partially excavated Bremetennacum Veteranorum (Roman Fort), a Bath House, plenty of uncovered hoards and even Roman columns which now beautifully frame the entrance of The White Bull and are thought to have been pulled from the river just down the road.

Ribchester Roman Museum     

10 things to spot walking around Roman Ribchester

Stonyhurst College Museum

Stonyhurst College Museum

Founded in 1593, Stonyhurst College attracts visitors from far and wide. Its breath-taking grounds and magical interior make it the perfect location for taking a step back in time. Interestingly, the independent school even served as a place of literary inspiration for the author J.R.R. Tolkien. Stonyhurst Museum is back open! Since reopening after the pandemic, there are new exhibitions featuring religious and historically monumental artefacts, that helped to make the religions what they are today.

Religious relics are not the only items on display either, tours pass displays of natural history, human history and past pupils making their mark on the world as scientists, archaeologists, civil servants, and many other professions.

To find out museum opening times and special events go to www.stonyhurst.ac.uk

Holmes Mill

Holmes Mill

A stone’s throw from Clitheroe Castle, you will find the former textile mill, Holmes Mill, first established in 1823. In recent years Holmes Mill has been developed into a second to none leisure venue. Surrounded by gorgeous décor and original Victorian-style features, including a large mill engine, visitors can explore everything the mill has to offer, from a food court and hotel, to a beer hall housing what is said to be the longest bar in Britain.

For generations it has been an inspiration to both visitors and local people, one of the most famous being George Fox, the founding father of the Quaker movement, whose vision of God here in the early 1600s, inspired him to start what is now a worldwide religious movement. Beneath the hill lies pretty villages, which reveal a history of intrigue and witchcraft spanning 400 years. Twelve alleged witches, who lived in the area, were charged with the murders of ten people by ‘the use of witchcraft.’

Pendle Hill  

Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey

Whalley Abbey was once the wealthiest monastery in Lancashire, the Cistercian abbey still holds Mass and offers a place of quiet retreat. The grounds are beautifully trimmed and display the criss-crossing ruins of the old monastery.

Sawley Abbey

Slightly smaller, but equally as exciting as its Whalley-based counterpart, Sawley Abbey lies eight miles away along the banks of the River Ribble. Here you can explore the remains of a Cistercian Abbey that was founded in 1148 and preserved over the centuries following Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.

Sawley Abbey

Browsholme Hall  

The oldest family home in Lancashire, Browsholme Hall dates back 14 generations. The privately-owned Elizabethan home offers guided tours of its magnificent interior and external architecture. Over the Christmas period, guests can discover how beautifully the house has been decorated for the festive season.

Robert Parker: Robert was 20 when he inherited Browsholme Hall from his 4th cousin. He had never seen the hall beforehand and when he made his way up North from Oxford to see his inheritance, the hall was in such a state of disrepair that he had the whole family move to Lancashire to help.

Browsholme Hall nestled in the beautiful Forest of Bowland.

Dangerous wiring, undrinkable water, antique bathrooms, no heating, and little sanitation are just a few of the issues that were wrong with the Hall, but over the next 40 years, Browsholme was restored to its former glory and its history revealed on guided tours.

Opening the house to the public and becoming active in community events allowed the Parker family’s hard work to be appreciated and funding to be available to restore their Tudor house. Today, Browsholme Hall stands proud and proper in the green countryside, boasting manicured lawns, lily ponds, a restored café, a glamping site and a wedding barn and courtyard, with plenty of space and events for all the family to enjoy.

Check out their website for a full programme of events and opening times. www.browsholme.com

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