In Time & Beyond
The small village of Paythorne, near Gisburn, holds a fascinating history and remains a delightful present-day attraction for walkers, writes Andrew Stachulski
It’s a familiar theme. Lying very near a busy road, perhaps out of sight, is a place of great interest, with old buildings and a long history, perhaps stretching back to the prehistoric. This is certainly true of Paythorne, a small village mentioned in the Domesday Book and situated by the Ribble just north of Gisburn. Yet many travellers along the busy A682 are barely aware of its existence. When you have some time, turn off the A road and descend Neps Lane, when the village quickly comes into view.
By this time, you will already have met one of the village’s notable features, a Grade II listed bridge with four arches, which many consider one of the Ribble’s finest crossings, and depicted by Wainwright in his Ribble sketchbook.
The original bridge probably dates from the 17th century – it was widened on the north side in the 19th century and its parapets were renewed. You can easily detect the older and newer elements from a lateral view. Beyond the bridge, turn right, going uphill, and shortly you reach the Buck Inn with its welcome hospitality. The village also possesses an active Methodist church dating from 1830, additionally serving the nearby village of Newsholme and part of the Clitheroe Methodist circuit. This is also a Grade II building, beautifully kept inside with fine woodwork and banked seating. The nearest Anglican churches are at Gisburn, less than two miles distant, and at Bolton-by-Bowland.
Walk back through the village, cross the bridge again and take a path along the Ribble downstream, climbing steadily through a small wood. Soon you reach Castle Haugh, a large ancient mound, which announces itself even to the untrained eye as a once fortified edifice which is ringed by trees. Though its altitude is modest, Castle Haugh occupies a commanding position – it is set high above the river and with extensive views looking north east towards the Dales. You can make out the old ditch which surrounded the enclosure, though it has been partly destroyed by land slippage on the Ribble side.
The present structure, also known as Cromwell’s Basin, dates from Norman times, probably the late 11th century. There is some evidence that it was erected in haste by a Norman baron as a defensive measure, but was soon destroyed by Scottish raiders, who were active throughout much of northern England at that time. The site was almost certainly used much earlier, as a Bronze Age burial site, with the Norman structure simply built on top. Riverside places were frequently used as burial sites in Bronze Age times, believed to be threshold places between the living and the dead. Indeed, the OS map also notes a tumulus – namely, a prehistoric burial mound – less than a mile further south, again close to the river.
You are on the Ribble Way at this point, and if time permits why not enjoy a further short walk downstream? The way passes through fields, avoiding the road and soon you can traverse to the west, crossing Stock Beck – consult the OS map. In less than half a mile you reach Gisburn Bridge, situated among a beautifully wooded stretch of the river. The old sawmill once situated by the bridge no longer exists. From here you may simply retrace your steps, or arrange for a driver to meet you – you are less than a mile from Gisburn where you meet the road. On a fine day it will make a pleasant conclusion to your outing.
‘A Ribble Sketchbook’, A. Wainwright (Westmoreland Press)
‘The River Ribble: A Local and Natural history’, Malcolm Greenhalgh (Carnegie Press, 2009)
Paythorne Bridge: Historic England historicengland.org.uk
Andrew Stachulski is co-author with Helen Shelmerdine (nee Shaw) of ‘The Forest of Bowland’, published in 2015 by Merlin Unwin £14.99
