Barrowford in Pendle
OS Grid ref:- SD855395
The large and characterful village of Barrowford is situated in the Pendle district of Lancashire and lies to the north of Nelson.
Barrowford sits on the confluence two rivers, Pendle Water flows through the village with trout that are often visible in the clear waters. The other river is Colne Water, which joins Pendle Water behind the site of the now demolished Samuel Holden cotton mill and this river flows down from the moors above the town of Colne, again this river holds trout.
There are several handsome seventeenth and eighteenth century farmhouses and pretty handloom weavers’ cottages in the village, which has been a centre for textile production since at least the sixteenth century. The White Bear pub dates to 1607 when it was the home of the Hargreaves family. The oldest bridge in the village, the Packhorse Bridge near Higherford Mill, dates back to the end of the sixteenth century. John Wesley once preached from the bridge. Set back from the main road and now known as the Lamb Working Men's Club is a building dating to 1696, with mullioned windows which carved faces were intended to scare off witches!
Barrowford is situated on the Marsden–Gisburn–Long Preston Turnpike. One of the original toll houses, dating from 1804-05, can still be seen at the junction with the road to Colne, complete with a reproduction of the table of tolls which were paid. The toll house was restored in the 1980s and is owned by the trust which operates nearby Pendle Heritage Centre.
The Pendle Heritage Centre at Park Hill in Barrowford is situated beside an ancient crossing of Pendle Water.
The centre is set in a range of tastefully restored Grade II Listed farm buildings and .consists of a museum, art gallery, gift shop, tea-room, an eighteenth century walled garden, cruck barn with farmyard animals and tourist information.
The museum contains a wealth of information about the history of the farmhouse, as well as the fascinating story of the notorious Pendle witches and of the Bannister family who built the original house in the 1400's.
Exhibitions include- The story of a Lancashire farmhouse. Dating back to the fifteenth century, Park Hill was a working farm for most of its existence. Visitors may use the inter-active computer to see how Park Hill grew from the first timber framed building to the house seen today. The story of the notorious Pendle Witches which resulted in their famous trial at Lancaster in 1612. The history of the Bannister family, who settled at Park Hill in the 1400s, and the Swinglehursts who occupied part of the house from the late eighteenth century and built the Georgian extension.
The village about a mile from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and a set of seven locks leads to the highest section of the canal between Barrowford and Barnoldswick.
Nearby places of interest
Whalley Abbey- founded by Henry de Lacy, third Earl of Lincoln on the 4th April 1296.
Lancaster Castle founded in the tenth century
Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park, Lancaster was commissioned by James Williamson, Baron Ashton as a tribute to his second wife, Jenny and was built between 1907 and 1909.
Butterfly House, Lancaster
Clitheroe Castle-Norman castle keep and museum, said to be one of the oldest buildings in Lancashire, and one of the smallest keeps in England.