Pictures of Bolton by Bowland

About Bolton by Bowland

Lancashire, that great hotpot of a county, has ingredients and flavours enough to match the unique flavour of its famous regional dish. It has windswept slopes and moors, rich and fertile coastal plain and dear little stone and brick villages. Such a village, is the charming hamlet of Bolton-by-Bowland.

There are two village greens in Bolton, the smaller has the stupm of a 13th-century market cross and stock posts at it's centre and is prettily flanked by an Inn and an impressive house built in 1835. Interestingly, two rows of cottages lead down from the green, and one of the cottages has steps which lead to the upper floor of the dwelling, another has a mounting block for horse riders.

The other green lies above the 13th-century Church of St.Peter and St. Paul. At the top end of the green is the old Church school of 1874. Halfway down the green is the old Court House, with its weather vane in the shape of a fox. In days gone by the court used to decide the rights of dwelling in the Forest of Bowland.

In the church is the tomb of the 15th-century landowner, Sir Ralph Pudsey. Sir Ralph had three wives who between them produced 25 children, all are commemorated within the church. In the year 1466, for the brave deed of hiding the Lancastrian King Henry VI, who was fleeing from his Yorkshire enemies, Sir Ralph was hailed as a hero and in these parts, he has remained so ever since.

This quaint little village is but a stone's throw from Sawley which centuries ago was known a Salley, after the Cistercian abbey which stood there. The Abbey ruins are near the village which straggles the River Ribble just two miles downstream from Bolton.
Nearby too, is Holden and Forest Becks. These charming and entirely unspoilt villages are set within beautiful moorland scenery.
They present a quiet oasis in an otherwise hurried world. These are quiet places in which to unwind and breathe crisp clear moorland air, to enjoy ambling over hill and dale and then, following a hearty dinner and a pleasant glass or two, enjoy the peaceful sleep that will only be broken by early morning birdsong.