59-521: The Forest of Pendle is a hilly area to the east of Pendle Hill in eastern Lancashire , roughly defining the watershed between the River Ribble and its tributary the River Calder . The area is not a forest in the modern sense of being heavily wooded, and has not been so for many centuries. Historically a somewhat larger area than the modern forest was one of the several royal forests of
118-595: A chase, but what is left of it is protected as a detached part of the designated " Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty " (AONB) of the modern version of the Forest of Bowland . The most populated part of the ancient forest are not in the modern AONB. This includes the line of townships along the Barrowford road, from Higham to Barrowford, north of the River Calder and Blacko on the road from Barrowford to Gisburn, on
177-523: A huge installation by putting '1612' on the side of Pendle Hill using 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) of horticultural fleece. Pendle Hill is separated from the nearby main bulk of the Bowland Fells by the River Ribble . This isolation means that Pendle Hill is in fact the most prominent child summit of Kinder Scout , far away in the Peak District , rather than a child of Ward's Stone ,
236-521: A region of the British kingdom of Rheged , Bowland was absorbed into Northumbria in the 7th century. In turn, as Northumbrian influence waned, the westernmost areas of Bowland became part of Amounderness , a territory forged by the Norse hold Agmundr, a vassal of Eowils , Halfdan and Ingwaer , co-kings of Jorvik , in the early 10th century. In 926, Amounderness was annexed by Æthelstan , king of
295-521: A series of landslips . Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland , also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland , is an area of gritstone fells , deep valleys and peat moorland , mostly in north-east Lancashire , England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however roughly half of the area falls into the area of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire ). It
354-692: A series of grid references over a ten-hour period. It raised funds for the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team. Crafty Vintage Festive Markets take place every year in December within Wyresdale Park near to the village of Scorton . Nicky Nook Fell within Wyresdale Park hosts a road stage with spectator viewing zones along the route of the North West Stages car rally. Popular annual events held in
413-670: Is a western outlier of the Pennines . The Forest of Bowland was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1964. The AONB also includes a detached part known as the Forest of Pendle separated from the main part by the Ribble Valley, and anciently a royal forest with its own separate history. One of the best-known features of the area is Pendle Hill , which lies in Pendle Forest. There are more than 500 listed buildings and 18 scheduled monuments within
472-563: Is buried at St Hubert's. Considerable areas of the Bowland Fells were used for military training during the Second World War, and there are still unexploded bombs in some areas. The name "forest" is used in its traditional sense of "a royal hunting ground ", and rather than being covered by trees, much of the land is heather moorland and blanket bog . In the past wild boar , deer , wolves , wild cats and game roamed
531-575: Is formed largely from the succession of sandstones , mudstones and siltstones dating from the late Carboniferous period which constitute the Millstone Grit Group. Early Carboniferous rocks in the form of the limestones and associated rocks of the Craven and Bowland High groups underlie the area at depth and are exposed at the surface around its south-eastern margin. The succession in stratigraphic order (uppermost/youngest at top)
590-586: Is in the east of Lancashire , England, near the towns of Burnley , Nelson , Colne , Brierfield , Clitheroe and Padiham . Its summit is 557 metres (1,827 ft) above mean sea level . It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle . It is an isolated hill in the Pennines , separated from the South Pennines to the east, the Bowland Fells to the northwest, and the West Pennine Moors to
649-533: Is internationally important for its upland bird populations and under the Habitats Directive "Bowland Fells" has been designated a Special Protection Area (designated especially for breeding merlin and hen harrier ). Part of the land designated as Bowland Fells SSSI is owned by United Utilities . The hen harrier is the current symbol of the AONB, although originally this position was occupied by
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#1732786838374708-867: Is surrounded by the Yorkshire Dales and South Pennines , from which the fells are separated by the Aire Gap and Ribble Valley . The southern part of the Forest of Bowland is divided by the valley of the River Hodder. West of the river lies a tract of lowland dotted by limestone hills, such as the New Laund and Long Knott. East of the Hodder is a low-lying area known as the Lees. Nearby, higher up, are Browsholme Moor and Burholme Moor. The Forest of Bowland
767-536: Is this: The Ward's Stone Sandstone forms the peaks and hillsides of Clougha Pike, Ward's Stone, Tarnbrook Fell, Wolfhole Crag and Mallowdale Fell whilst the Dure Clough Sandstone forms White Hill, Great Harlow and Lythe Fell. The Brennand Grit forms Bowland Knotts, Great and Little Bull Stones, Whitendale Hanging Stones and parts of Brennand Fell. The Pendle Grit forms almost all of the fells south-west of
826-520: The Norman Conquest , Bowland was held by Tostig , son of Godwin , Earl of Wessex . However, as feudal entities, the Forest and Liberty of Bowland were created by William Rufus sometime after Domesday and granted to his vassal Roger de Poitou , possibly to reward Poitou for his role in defeating the Scots army of Malcolm III in 1091–92. In all likelihood, it was this grant that subsumed
885-469: The Pendle witches is a notorious and well-documented example of cases brought against alleged witches in 17th-century England. The area became popular with ghost hunters after Living channel's show Most Haunted visited it for a live investigation on Halloween 2004. The show's presenter, Yvette Fielding , said it was the scariest episode they had made. Pendle Hill and the surrounding area are
944-437: The de Lacy family of Pontefract . It was they who apparently built Clitheroe Castle soon after. The Forest of Pendle was within their manor of Ightenhill . Within the honour of Clitheroe, two sets of forests were administered separately, those of Bowland, and those of Blackburnshire . The Blackburnshire forest had four detached parts: Pendle, Trawden , Accrington and Rossendale . As early as 1311 [the Forest of Pendle]
1003-487: The geographic centre of Great Britain which is close to the Whitendale Hanging Stones, around four miles (6 km) north of Dunsop Bridge . The historical extent of Bowland Forest is divided into two large administrative townships, Great Bowland ( Bowland Forest High and Bowland Forest Low ) and Little Bowland ( Bowland-with-Leagram ), but the modern-day AONB covers a much larger area. Possibly
1062-482: The goshawk , the 'queen of the Forest', a hawk that in medieval times was only permitted to be flown by nobility and therefore became emblematic of royal hunting forests such as Bowland. Because the hen harrier is under threat from illegal persecution in the Forest of Bowland and other upland areas of England, with none recorded breeding in England in 2013, this emblem was unofficially modified and adapted to represent
1121-575: The vision of George Fox (1652), which led to the foundation of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) movement. In his autobiography, George Fox said he had a vision on Pendle Hill in 1652, during the early years of the Quakers : As we travelled, we came near a very great hill, called Pendle Hill, and I was moved of the Lord to go up to the top of it; which I did with difficulty, it
1180-425: The 13th century, it had started to become a place of habitation by commoners , including tenant farmers , who had purchased their holdings from James I or Charles I. As farming increased, so did the populousness of the forest. Parks were created for the preservation of the remaining deer. It was one of many such surveys of Crown lands made by the government during the interregnum . The common result of these surveys
1239-483: The AONB and surrounding countryside. There is a display on the ecology of the Forest of Bowland in Clitheroe Castle Museum . One mile to the west of Chipping is Bowland Forest Gliding Club , ICAO airport code GB-0339, which is used by winch-launched gliders . The Bowland Challenge was a fundraising event held from 2006 to 2009, and again in 2011, in which teams of walkers navigated around
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#17327868383741298-517: The AONB. The Trough of Bowland is a pass connecting the valley of the Marshaw Wyre with that of Langden Brook , and dividing the upland core of Bowland into two main blocks. The hills on the western side of the Forest of Bowland attract walkers from Lancaster and the surrounding area. Overlooking Lancaster is Clougha Pike , the westernmost hill. The hills form a large horseshoe shape with its open end facing west. Clockwise from Lancaster
1357-593: The British sub-stage of the Carboniferous period, the ' Pendleian ' derives its name from Pendle Hill where an exposure in Light Clough is taken as the type locality . Much of the lower slopes are mantled by thick deposits of glacial till or boulder clay dating from the last ice age . The historic decomposition of sphagnum moss on the hill has led to it being covered in peat . The steep slopes of its eastern and southern flanks have given rise to
1416-532: The English defeat in the Battle of Bannockburn , but Pendle suffered particularly after its lord Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster was executed for rebellion against the king. From Tudor times the forests began to be sold off to private holders with increased rights, and Pendle was developed further than it had been previously. Pendle Forest, like all the forests of Blackburnshire, was once entirely contained within
1475-613: The Forest. In 2018 two nests were reported on land belonging to United Utilities. In 2020–22 the work of staff from Natural England and gamekeepers from the area's estates, monitored by the RSPB, showed further progress, with 22 hen harriers fledging in 2020, 31 in 2021 and at least 39 in 2022. Bowland is dominated by a central upland landform (generally above 1,200 feet (370 m) and rising to 1,700 feet (520 m)) of deeply incised gritstone fells covered with tracts of heather-covered peat moorland and blanket bog . The lower slopes of
1534-572: The Honor of Clitheroe was subsumed into the Earldom of Lancaster . Between 1351 and 1661, it was administered as part of the Duchy of Lancaster . By the late 14th century, Bowland comprised a Royal Forest and a Liberty of ten manors spanning eight townships and four parishes and covered an area of almost 300 square miles (800 km ) on the historic borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The manors within
1593-517: The Liberty were Slaidburn ( Newton-in-Bowland , West Bradford , Grindleton ) Knowlmere , Waddington , Easington , Bashall Eaves , Mitton , Withgill (Crook) , Leagram , Hammerton and Dunnow (Battersby) . Pendle Forest was also part of the Honor of Clitheroe, but administered as part of the Forest of Blackburnshire , entirely in Lancashire. Gradale, in the northeastern extremity of
1652-520: The Old Norse boga-/bogi- , meaning a "bend in a river". It is a 10th-century coinage used to describe the topography of the Hodder basin, with its characteristic meandering river and brooks. The Domesday Bogeuurde is an instance of this usage – the placename thought to designate Barge Ford (formerly known as Boward), a ford that sits on the wide, pronounced bend of the Hodder at its confluence with Foulscales Brook, due south-west of Newton. Before
1711-536: The Trough of Bowland and all of the south-east of the Forest from Winfold Fell to Croasdale Fell as far east as Gisburn Forest. It also forms Birkett, Waddington, Easington and Grindleton fells, south of Slaidburn. The Bowland Visitor Centre is located in Beacon Fell Country Park in the AONB. It is managed by Lancashire County Council Countryside Service and provides visitors with information about
1770-704: The West Saxons, as a spoil of war. In 934, he granted it to Wulfstan I , Archbishop of York . According to Aethelstan's grant, Amounderness at that time stretched "from the sea along the Cocker to the source of that river, from that source straight to another spring which is called in Old English , "Dunshop" , thus down the rivulet to the Hodder , in the same direction to the Ribble and thus along that river through
1829-455: The ancient parish of Whalley , which was much larger than modern versions of that parish. Newchurch in Pendle became the chapel of the forest, and eventually became the recognised centre of a parish. Other townships which developed within the ancient forest include Barley , Barrowford , Blacko , Fence , Reedley , Roughlee , Higham and Wheatley Lane . Today Pendle Forest is no longer
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1888-407: The area, under the control of Clitheroe Castle , or Honour of Clitheroe . Over its history, the forest has gone from being protected and regulated as a medieval royal forest, to being labelled as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The forest is not coterminous to the modern local government district of Pendle , which is larger, and the modern version of the forest has come to contain areas to
1947-467: The east of the forest. Parts south of Pendle Water and the River Calder, such as Reedley and Ightenhill , are now suburbs of the modern town of Burnley . To the less populated north and east some Ribble Valley district areas such as Sabden , Twiston and Downham have been added to the forest AONB. Original forest townships still within the AONB include Newchurch, Barley and Roughlee. Citations Bibliography Pendle Hill Pendle Hill
2006-629: The eastern portion of Amounderness into the Lordship of Bowland for the first time. By the end of the 11th century, the Forest and Liberty came into the possession of the De Lacys , Lords of Pontefract . In 1102, along with the grant of the adjacent fee of Clitheroe and further holdings in Hornby and Amounderness, they came to form the basis of what became known as the Honor of Clitheroe . In 1311,
2065-434: The ecology and landscape of the area by bad land management practices. Large parts of moorland are still managed for grouse shooting . The Abbeystead estate holds the record for the largest number of grouse killed in one day, when on 12 August 1915, 2,929 birds were shot by just eight hunters. 38,940.5 acres (15,759 ha) of the Bowland Fells is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The area
2124-424: The fells are dotted with stone-built farms and small villages and are criss-crossed by drystone walls enclosing reclaimed moorland pasture. Steep-sided wooded valleys link the upland and lowland landscapes. In the north-east of the area are extensive coniferous plantations and the eastern limestone areas support high-quality species-rich meadows. Caves in the area include Hell Hole, Whitewell Cave and Whitewell Pot. It
2183-492: The forest, grew in population as new land was made available for colonisation. In the mediaeval period, it was a pasture of the Cistercian grange of Rushton on the upper Hodder. In 1537, its manor house , Kirkstall Abbey , was dissolved. Tenements began appearing in the area from the mid-16th century. By 1650, the lower land of the forest had been almost completely cleared of woods, then divided into small plots, with only
2242-713: The forest. The last herd of wild deer is reported to have been destroyed in 1805. In recent decades extensive peatland restoration work has been carried out in the AONB [1] , with over 755 hectares of blanket bog being restored since 2010 through the co-operation of estates including Abbeystead estate, which is owned by Grosvenor estates, Whitewell estate, which is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster, United Utility's Bowland estate and organisations such as Natural England, Lancashire Wildlife Trusts, Yorkshire Peat Partnership, Wyre Rivers Trust and Ribble Rivers Trust, amongst others. This ongoing work has helped to undo decades of damage caused to
2301-428: The hen harrier instead. The RSPB takes the view that driven grouse shoots should be licensed so that, for example, crimes committed on estates managed for shooting should result in the withdrawal of their right to operate. Bowland Beth: The Life of an English Hen Harrier , a 2017 book by film director David Cobham , studies the persecution of the hen harrier on the grouse moors of the Forest of Bowland. In 2014 it
2360-436: The higher land remaining open. Whereas their forebears of the 16th century lived in "crude timber and thatch cottages", the farmers of the following century were likely inhabiting stone farmhouses. In October 1652, Parliament had made a survey of the area, when it was an estate of the Duchy of Lancaster formerly belonging to Charles I . The survey showed that the forest was not just a demesne hunting ground, and that, since
2419-603: The highest point in Bowland. It is included in a detached part of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . Pendle Water , which runs through Ogden Clough, has its source on the summit plateau, heading southwest before turning back to the east as it falls into the Ogden valley. It joins the Lancashire Calder near Burnley , a few miles upstream from the confluence with Sabden Brook , which drains
Forest of Pendle - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-557: The hills are Clougha Pike (413 m or 1,355 ft), Grit Fell (468 m or 1,535 ft), Ward's Stone (561 m or 1,841 ft), Wolfhole Crag (527 m or 1,729 ft), White Hill (544 m or 1,785 ft), Whins Brow (476 m or 1,562 ft), Totridge (496 m or 1,627 ft), Parlick (432 m or 1,417 ft), Fair Snape Fell (510 m or 1,670 ft), Bleasdale Moor (429 m or 1,407 ft), and Hawthornthwaite Fell (478 m or 1,568 ft). The area contains, by one definition,
2537-467: The middle of the channel to the sea". As such, Amounderness encompassed a significant portion of western and south-western Bowland. Ekwall thus describes the eastern boundary of Amounderness as "being formed by the fells on the Yorkshire border"; a description which places the ancient boundary firmly within the modern-day Forest of Bowland. While it is difficult to pinpoint Dunshop , the confluence of
2596-664: The north and east of Pendle Hill which are partly in the district of Ribble Valley . In 1086, at the time of the Domesday Book , Pendle forest was part of the extensive forests in Blackburnshire, in the eastern part of what would become Lancashire. The entire area between the rivers Ribble and Mersey had been granted by William the Conqueror to Roger the Poitevin , and he in turn had granted most of this area to
2655-619: The restoration of Charles II . The Lordship of Bowland then descended through the Montagu , Buccleuch and Towneley families. Bowbearers of the Forest of Bowland have been appointed since the 12th century. A Bowbearer was originally a noble who acted as ceremonial attendant to the Lord of Bowland , latterly the king, by bearing (carrying) his hunting bow, but over the centuries the Bowbearer's role underwent many changes. In April 2010, it
2714-433: The rivers Dunsop and Hodder at Dunsop Bridge seems a likely locale, situated as it is close to the eastern mouth of the Trough of Bowland, whose Grey Stone marks the line of the pre-1974 county boundary. Contrary to the popular histories, the origins of the name "Bowland" have nothing to do with archery ("the land of the bow") or with mediaeval cattle farms or vaccaries (Old Norse, buu- , farmstead). The name derives from
2773-567: The setting for 1951's classic Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neill , and also for the fourth book in Joseph Delaney 's Spook's series, called The Spook's Battle . " The Witchfinders ", the eighth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who , takes place during the 17th-century Pendle witch trials. To mark the 400th anniversary, in January 2012 local artist Philippe Handford created
2832-405: The short distance to Apronfull, threw a boulder aimed at Clitheroe Castle . At that moment the apron string broke causing the boulder to land near Pendleton and creating the pile of rocks atop the slight prominence there. The hill is famous for its links to three events which took place in the 17th century: the Pendle witch trials (1612), Richard Towneley 's barometer experiment (1661), and
2891-522: The south. It is included in a detached part of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The name "Pendle Hill" combines the words for hill from three different languages (as does Bredon Hill in Worcestershire ). In the 13th century it was called Pennul or Penhul , apparently from the Cumbric pen and Old English hyll , both meaning "hill". The modern English "hill"
2950-510: The southwest slopes of the hill. Mearley Brook cuts a large clough onto the northwest face, with its tributaries and those of Pendleton Brook draining this side directly into the River Ribble . The sloping plateau summit of Pendle Hill is formed from the Pendle Grit , a coarse Carboniferous age sandstone assigned to the Millstone Grit Group. It overlies a thick sequence of Carboniferous Limestone beds. In chronostratigraphy ,
3009-471: Was announced that the Forest of Bowland would be one of the SPAs included in a European Union LIFE project designed to ensure a sustainable future for Hen harriers in England and Scotland. Called "Conserving the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) in northern England and southern and eastern Scotland", the project aimed to work constructively with landowners and the shooting community. In 2015 a single chick fledged in
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#17327868383743068-455: Was appended later, after the original meaning of Pendle had become opaque. A Bronze Age burial site has been discovered at the summit of the hill. There is an ancient local legend that the Devil once jumped from Hameldon Hill to an outcrop overlooking Sabden , on the southwest slope of Pendle, leaving footprints in the sandstone. Here he gathered rocks in an apron, and after proceeding
3127-696: Was disbanded following the abolition of a copyhold by the Law of Property Act in 1922. General forest law in Britain was finally repealed by statute in 1971, more than 900 years after its introduction by the Normans . The original Bowland Forest courts appear to have been held at Hall Hill near Radholme Laund before moving to Whitewell sometime in the 14th century. The Industrial Revolution had little impact on Bowland, as it had no coal reserves or valleys with fast flowing streams to power wool and cotton industries. There
3186-401: Was divided into eleven places of pasture for cows, of which the principal names, as they appear in a commission of Henry VII , are still preserved. The whole forest, formerly named Penhill vaccary, and sometimes the Chase of Penhill, was perambulated in person by the first Henry de Lacy ; and about 1824, this ancient ceremony was repeated. In the 11th of Edward II , when Richard de Merclesden
3245-539: Was master-forester of Blackburnshire, William de Tatham was warden or keeper of Pendle Already during the Middle Ages under the de Lacys, the Forest of Pendle, like other forests, cattle started to be kept in the forest, and more agricultural development and settlement was allowed. There was also horse breeding and a deer park at Ightenhill. Given in 1507 the names of these pastures or vaccaries where recorded as: The general area suffered from Scottish attacks after
3304-519: Was reported that the current 16th Lord of Bowland had revived the office of Bowbearer and appointed Robert Redmayne Parker the first Bowbearer of the Forest in almost 150 years. The Forest of Bowland had its own forest courts – woodmote and swainmote – from early times. These appear to have been abandoned in the 1830s around the time of Peregrine Towneley's acquisition of the Bowland Forest Estate. The halmote court at Slaidburn
3363-535: Was so very steep and high. When I was come to the top, I saw the sea bordering upon Lancashire. From the top of this hill the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered. Pendle continues to be linked to the Quakers, who take pilgrimage there and use the name for the Pendle Hill Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . The story of
3422-596: Was some small-scale lead mining and lime production, quarrying and paper and cotton mills. St Hubert , the patron saint of hunting, is also the patron saint of the Forest of Bowland and has a chapel dedicated to him in Dunsop Bridge . This chapel was founded by Richard Eastwood of Thorneyholme, land agent to the Towneley family. Eastwood was the last known Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland. An acclaimed breeder of racehorses and shorthorn cattle, he died in 1871 and
3481-558: Was that the land was sold off, but the Chase of Bowland (as it was then known) remained under the ownership of the Duchy for a further decade. In 1661, the 28 manors contained within the former Honor of Clitheroe, including the Forest and Liberty of Bowland, were granted by the Crown to General George Monck as part of the creation of the Dukedom of Albemarle . Monck had been a key figure in
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