Wycoller

15 miles from Skipton

Wycoller is a small, pretty hamlet, just over the border in Lancashire. In the 16th century Wycoller would have been a busy farming and weaving community, but the coming of the power looms led to the village's decline, and a hundred years ago Wycoller was all but abandoned. Over the years the stone from twenty or thirty buildings was taken and used elsewhere, and nowadays there are just a handful of well tended buildings, and the ruins.

The ruins of Wycoller Hall dominate the village, and are believed to be the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. The Brontes lived in nearby Haworth, and would almost certainly have visted Wycoller at some time. The Hall was built for the Hartley family towards the end of the 16th century.

"The manor-house of Ferndean was a building of considerable antiquity, moderate size, and no architectural pretensions, deep buried in a wood... Even when within a very short distance of the manor-house, you could see nothing of it, so thick and dark grew the timber of the gloomy wood about it. Iron gates between granite pillars showed me where to enter, and passing through them, I found myself at once in the twilight of close-ranked trees. There was a grass-grown track descending the forest aisle between hoar and knotty shafts and under branched arches." - from Jane Eyre.

'The Friends of Wycoller' were established in 1948 to preserve Wycoller Hall and the village itself. The Lancashire County Council bought the land in 1973 and the village has now been designated a Country Park. Restoration work on Wycoller Hall began in the 1950's and the impressive fireplace has been rebuilt with help from The Friends.

Wycoller Beck runs through the centre of the village, and is a pretty place for kids to play in the summer. The old bridges at Wycoller are interesting.

Clapper Bridge is almost next to to the ruins of Wycoller Hall and dates from the end of the 18th century. Consisting of three gritstone slabs resting on two supports, this is also known as 'Druids Bridge'. Supposedly, grooves in the bridge from weavers' clogs were chiselled out by a farmer whose only daughter tripped and died on the bridge.

The Pack-Horse Bridge at Wycoller is a very old, twin arched bridge, probably about 900 years old, and rebuilt several times over the years. Also known as Sally's Bridge, after Sally Owen, mother of a Wycoller Squire.

There is another, even older bridge, maybe over 1000 years old, and listed as an Ancient Monument. 'Clam Bridge' is a single huge stone slab laid over the beck It was badly damaged and repaired twice recently, in the floods of 1989 and 1990.

There is a cafe and a craft centre, and free car parking.

Related Pages:

See CragFace's walk around Wycoller at:
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