Pendle Heritage Centre Barrowford, Lancashire

Attractions

The Pendle Heritage Centre, Barrowford is the perfect place to relax for a few hours. Explore the old farm buildings, museum, gift shop, bookshop and walled gardens. Relax in the Garden Tea Room serving hot and cold lunches or buy a takeaway and wander around Bluebell Wood or Barrowford Memorial Park.

You can learn about the heritage as much or as little as you wish. You can enjoy the museum either as a quick walk around or as a deep learning experience. Its very much up to you. Either way, you will leave knowing more about this fascinating part of Lancashire.

Park Hill Story

The story of the Pendle Heritage Centre starts with a small medieval farmstead called Park Hill, guarding the river crossing from Colne into Pendle Forest, a place reserved for hunting by the king and his noblemen. Park Hill was built by the ‘Banastre’ family whose descendent, Sir Roger Bannister, was the first man in the world to run a 4 minute mile on 6th May 1954. Sir Roger later became one of the Heritage Centre’s supporters.

After 1507, farming takes over the Forest and Park Hill developed as Barrowford’s principal farm. It also owned the water-powered Corn Mill adjacent. In the 1700s, the farmhouse converted and extended into two houses, a farmhouse and a gentleman’s house. The farm buildings were improved while the corn mill was converted first into a fulling mill and then a cotton mill.

After 1800, a Turnpike road is built and Barrowford grew rapidly as a cotton weaving village while Park Hill continued farming to feed the local population. After the First World War, the buildings were taken over by Barrowford District Council and the water mill was demolished. The grounds became Barrowford Memorial Park and the mill pond became the duck pond!

In 1974, Barrowford Council is replaced by the much bigger Pendle Borough Council and Park Hill is proposed to be demolished. However, the buildings are rescued by a conservation group led by John Miller who had previously saved other buildings in the Pendle and Craven areas. They set up a Building Preservation Trust and created the Pendle Heritage Centre, one of four pioneer heritage centres in England.

Visit

Just 1 mile off the M65, Pendle Heritage Centre is the gateway to Pendle Hill and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Pendle Heritage Centre
Park Hill, Colne Road
Barrowford, nr. Burnley,
Lancashire BB9 6JQ

Telephone: 01282 677 150

Email: info@pendleheritagecentre.co.uk