Wycoller is a village in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Trawden Forest Trawden Forest is a civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 2,765, and contains the village of Trawden (formerly called Beardshaw) and the hamlets of Cottontree, Winewall and Wycoller. Boulswo ...

in Pendle,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England. It is east of

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

, near to the junction of the Lancashire,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

borders. The village may date back to the 10th century BC. Central to the village are the ruins of 16th-century Wycoller Hall. The village is a conservation area, and is closed to outside traffic. There is a car park on Trawden Road and another on the east side of the village opposite Height Laithe Farm on the road towards

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages inc ...

in Yorkshire. The name is probably from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''wīc'' "dairy farm" and ''alr'' "alder", so means "dairy farm by the alders".

Bridges

Various ancient bridges cross Wycoller Beck, including 'Pack-Horse Bridge', a twin arched bridge in the centre of the village, 'Clapper Bridge' (also known as Hall Bridge) and 'Clam Bridge' (also known as Bank House Bridge). The last is believed to be of

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

origin (possibly 6000 years old) and is listed as an ancient monument. It consists of just a long stone laid across the river. It was damaged by floods in 1989–90, though has now been repaired. All three bridges are designated as both Grade II* listed buildings and scheduled monuments.

Wycoller Hall

Wycoller Hall was originally the home of the Hartley family, and passed through marriage to the Cunliffe family in the early 17th century. The hall was built in 1550 by Piers Hartley, and was extended in the late 18th century by its last owner, Squire Cunliffe. The structure was dismantled in 1818, and reused in the construction of a cotton mill, to help repay debts owed by Henry Owen-Cunliffe, who was the last Cunliffe to live at the hall. He was born Henry Owen of Sheffield and was left the Hall by a distant uncle (Cunliffe) if he changed his name to Cunliffe and educated himself. The hall subsequently fell into ruin and is reputed to be haunted by a variety of spectres. Like the bridges, it is both a Grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument. 'Ferndean Manor' in

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

's novel ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' is thought to be based on Wycoller Hall. The

Brontë Way The Brontë Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in the northern counties of West Yorkshire and Lancashire, England. Route The Brontë Way starts at Oakwell Hall in Birstall, West Yorkshire, and finishes at Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham, Lan ...

passes through here, leading to the Brontë sisters' home in nearby

20th–21st centuries

Wycoller was featured in the BBC's ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

'' programme when they visited the barn in the village that has been converted to a

tourist information centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

. Wycoller also appears in ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...

'' a 1970 British drama film based on the novel of the same name by

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...

. Wycoller was also featured in Episode 2 of the television series ''

Penelope Keith Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, (née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Good Life'' and '' To the M ...

's Hidden Villages'' in 2014. Notable people from the village include Tom Emmott, who founded the Lancastrian Party while living in Wycoller Cottage.Peggy Hewitt, ''Bronte Country: Lives & Landscapes''

References

External links

Pendle Net Wycoller Webpages

"Friends" Website

Tearoom/History website Towns and villages in the Borough of Pendle
{{Lancashire-geo-stub

Bridges

Wycoller Hall

20th–21st centuries

See also

References

External links