(Excerpt) Clitheroe Castle served as the caput (administrative centre) of the Honour of Clitheroe, a large estate stretching along the western side of the Pennines. The de Lacy family, whose principal seat was at Pontefract, used it as a base for local governance and it functioned as a court, small prison, and centre for the administration of the surrounding forests and manors. A small garrison was maintained through the 13th century.
Tag Archives: #Pendle
The Northern Oak Eggar Moth
(Excerpt) The Oak Eggar moth (Lasiocampa quercus) is one of Britain’s most distinctive and widespread large moths. Despite its name, it has no connection with oak trees, the ‘eggar’ refers to the tough, oval, acorn-like cocoon in which the pupa develops, this is referred to in the epithet of its scientific name: quercus, which is the latin name for Oak.
The History of Read Park
Tucked away on the outskirts of the quiet village of Read, in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, sits Read Park, a 450 acre estate surrounding Read Hall, a Grade II listed manor house that has been a local seat of power for over half a millennia.
Searching for Stonechat on Pendle
In spring the hill becomes alive with birdsong as smaller birds come into their own, high above, unseen in Pendle’s famous mists, Skylark and Meadow Pipit trill, from a lone Rowan an Ouzel whistles and from the Gorse you may hear the unusual yet unmistakeable call of the Stonechat.
Northwest Recipes: Lancashire Hotpot
Back in the 17th century, the term “hotpot” didn’t refer to food at all; instead it described a hot spiced ale drink, sometimes mixed with spirits. The word gradually shifted meaning, and by the 1830s to 1840s, “hot-pot” or similar terms started appearing for meat stews in places like Liverpool.
A Lancashire Day Photo Album 2025
A Lancashire Day Photo Album
Buntings in Bowland
Snow Buntings are true Arctic specialists, thriving in barren, open habitats with sparse vegetation. They breed in high-latitude tundras but undertake impressively long migrations southward during winter to avoid the perpetual darkness and sub-zero temperatures.
Unnatural Histories; Dandy the Dog, James Device’s Shape-shifting Familiar
A Tale of the Pendle Witch Trials and a Demonic Dog. Including a Chapter on the Design and Installation of the Eponymous Sculpture in Clitheroe, Lancashire
Northwest Nature and History 