Blackburnshire

Hundred_of_Blackburn
Map of Pendle Hill and Blackburnshire 1610

Pendle Heritage is about the heritage of the old Hundred of Blackburn, also known as Blackburnshire. Stretching from Blackburn in the west to Colne in the east, Clitheroe in the north to Rawtenstall in the south, its towns and countryside are built on five centuries of clothmaking and a thousand years of cattle and sheep farming. Ancient churches and yeoman clothier’s houses vie with Victorian mills and townscapes for the attention of heritage lovers.

The Blackburnshire area has many great places to visit. In addition to the Pendle Heritage Centre, Blackburnshire has a wonderful cathedral at Blackburn, a Norman castle in Clitheroe, a Roman fort at Ribchester and a ruined abbey at Whalley.

Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington (Photo: Peter Graham)

You can also visit a unique working cotton mill, a heritage railway and several stately homes, some with special collections such as textiles and fabrics at Gawthorpe Hall and Art Nouveau Tiffany Glass at the Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington while others with eclectic museums and art galleries, not to mention a textile mill converted to a museum about the industrial revolution.

Wycoller Aisled Barn Heritage Centre (Photo: David Morris)

This heritage is set in vivid landscapes, rich in wildlife., not least being the romantic Wycoller Country Park, Trawden where nature, heritage and the literature of the Bronte sisters merge in one outstanding landscape superb for walkers.  The wide green valleys of Blackburnshire provide habitats for butterflies and birds and windswept hills support internationally important assemblages of upland birds, invertebrates and breeding waders. Pendle Hill and Blackburnshire have something for everyone!

Twite are found on the moors of Blackburnshire (Photo: Mike Pennington)

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