A Stroll Across Clitheroe's Limestone Ridge

Heritage Open Days 2025:

The Clitheroe Town Wells Conservation Campaign (CTWCC) is pleased to announce two guided walks on Saturday 13th September 2025 as part of this year's Heritage Open Days Festival.
• This year's theme is 'Architecture':
• Who built the structures around us? –
• Who commissioned, designed and constructed them?-
• Why were they built? –
• What was their purpose and has that changed over time? –
• How were they built? – What skills and materials were involved?
• Do they reflect the local environment, or have they come from further afield? –
• What impact have they had? –
• Are they simply useful, have they become beloved landmarks or are they under threat?

CTWCC's contribution this year is to conduct two guided (or self-guided at any time) walks: »A. Stroll. Across. Clitheroe's. Limestone. Ridge, each walk explores five of the town's most historically and architecturally significant sites and the legacy of formal and the vernacular architecture here in the historic Parish of Clitheroe.
In keeping with this theme, the walk highlights:
• The martial architecture of Clitheroe Castle, a Norman motte-and-bailey fortification
commanding the ridge.
• The vernacular Tudor enclosures of Clitheroe's three ancient spring-fed former Public Town Wells: Heald Well, Stock Well, and St Mary's Well

• The Gothic Revival grandeur of St Mary Magdalene's Church, with its Victorian landmark spire atop its Medieval Tower.
These walks aim to raise awareness of the geological, historical, and spiritual connections of these sites founded across Clitheroe's limestone ridge and particularly the significance of its ancient public water sources, which sustained the town for centuries but are now under threat from neglect and lack of formal stewardship.
Walk Details:
• Date: Saturday 13th September 2025
• Times: 10:00am and 2:00pm
• Assembly Point: Outside Clitheroe Castle Museum
• Duration: Approx. 1 hour 45 minutes
• Cost: Free
For those unable to attend in person, CTWCC has produced a comprehensive self-guided version of the walk, available online. This illustrated guide includes historical context, architectural insights, and campaign updates. Access the self-guided tour here: Clitheroe's Limestone Ridge Walk Guide
CTWCC continues to advocate for the legal recognition and conservation of Clitheroe's Town Wells, all of which are Grade II listed Local and National Heritage Assets. In 2019 one site - Stock Well - was registered with HMLR by Ribble Valley Borough Council as a result of the public support for this Campaign. Heald Well and St. Mary's well remain inexplicably unadopted – to date.
The lack of appropriate maintenance and registered ownership of all three wells and the formal protection and raised legal significance adoption enables makes all three sites increasingly vulnerable.
CTWCC looks forward to the public's participation in this event, part of the largest annual nation-wide community event organised by the National Trust. Further details of other HOD events in the area during the two-week Festival which starts on 12th Sept. can be viewed at https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on.html
Steve Burke Secretary
Clitheroe Town Wells Conservation Campaign
www.clithrroe3wells.com
Three Wells Images.zip