Wycoller is a hamlet 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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. Boulsworth ...

in Pendle,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England. It is east of

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. The town is northeast of Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson, northeast of Burnley and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The ...

, near to the junction of the Lancashire,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

and

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

borders. The hamlet is centred on the ruins of 16th-century

Wycoller Hall Wycoller Hall was a late sixteenth-century manor house in the village of Wycoller, Lancashire, England. The hall was the centre of a sizeable estate but subsequently fell into disrepair. The ruins are now listed, and form part of Wycoller Coun ...

and may date back to the 10th century BC. It is in a conservation area, and is closed to outside traffic. There is a car park on the road from Trawden and another on the east side opposite Height Laithe Farm on the road towards

Haworth Haworth ( , , ) is a village in West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines south-west of Keighley, 8 miles (13 km) north of Halifax, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhop ...

in Yorkshire. The name is probably from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

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

Bridges

Various ancient bridges cross

Wycoller Beck Wycoller Beck is a stream in Lancashire, running through Wycoller Country Park and the village of Wycoller in Pendle. It is long and has a catchment area of . The river joins the River Laneshaw at Covey Bridge near Laneshaw Bridge to form C ...

, 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 or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

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

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 partially dismantled in 1818, some material was 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 Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

'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 firs ...

'' is thought to be based on Wycoller Hall. The Brontë Way passes through here, leading to the Brontë sisters' home in nearby

20th–21st centuries

Wycoller appears in ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by E. Nesbit, 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 ...

'', the 1970 British film based on the novel of the same name by E. Nesbit. It 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 ...

's Hidden Villages'' in 2014. She also owned a house there, but never lived in it. 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
{{Borough of Pendle geography Towns and villages in the Borough of Pendle

Bridges

Wycoller Hall

20th–21st centuries

See also

References

External links