Ribble Valley, LancashireThe village of Hurst Green is situated in the Ribble Valley, oneof the most glorious landscapes in Britain. There is a variedchoice of accommodation, restaurants, inns, shops, andattractions offering excellent service, value for money and awarm Lancashire welcome.

For further information including accommodation booking,maps, walks and cycle rides, contact Clitheroe TouristInformation Centre.

Tel: 01200 425566Email: tourism@ribblevalley.gov.ukWebsite: www.ribblevalley.gov.uk

How to Get There J.R.R. Tolkien

A 9km/ 51/2 miles circular walkstarting and finishing at Hurst Green

in Ribble Valley, Lancashire.

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Stonyhurst College

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Stonyhurst College

The earliest building at Stonyhurstwas probably built in the 13thcentury, and added to during the14th and 15th centuries. Around1590, Richard Shireburn embarkedon the creation of a new Elizabethanhouse, which wasn’t completedfor a further 250 years. OliverCromwell, who famously spentthe night here on his way to the

battle of Preston in 1648, called Stonyhurst "the best halfhouse" he had seen.

The Shireburns were devout Catholics and remained loyal tothe king in the Civil War. Sir Nicholas Shireburn, who died in1717, was the last of the family to live at Stonyhurst. In 1754,Stonyhurst passed to the Weld family of Dorset, who neveroccupied the house and it was allowed to fall into a state of decay.

In 1794, the Welds placed Stonyhurst at the disposal of theJesuit English College at Liège, who were forced to flee fromthe advancing French Revolutionary army. Stonyhurst began itsnew life as a boarding school for Catholic Boys. By the 1850s,a church had been built and the front quadrangle completed.During the 1880s, the South Front was greatly extended.Stonyhurst had become one of the foremost public schools inthe country.

As well as its links to J.R.R Tolkien, other literary figuresassociated with the college include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (aformer pupil), the poet Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins (a formermember of staff ) and contemporary novelist Patrick McGrath.

The College is open to visitors during the summer holiday periodand to organised groups booking in advance by arrangement.

• Admission charged

• Refreshments and Gift shop

• Limited facilities for disabled

• Coach parties and evening group tours(by prior arrangement)

For further details, contact:Miss Frances Ahearne on 01254 826345.

J.R.R. Tolkien and Stonyhurst College

In the footsteps of

J. R. R. Tolkien was renowned for his love of nature and

wooded landscapes and the countryside around

Stonyhurst is richly beautiful. A number of names which

occur in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ are similar to those

found locally, including Shire Lane (in Hurst Green) and

the River Shirebourn (similar to the name of the family

which built Stonyhurst). The ferry at Hacking Hall (still

working when J.R.R. Tolkien was here) may have provid-

ed the inspiration for the Buckleberry Ferry in the book,

and the view from Tom Bombadil's house may have been

based on that from New Lodge.

Whatever the direct links which J.R.R. Tolkien used in

his book, he certainly spent much of his time at Stonyhurst

working on 'The Lord of the Rings' in a classroom on the

upper gallery of the College. An Oxford Professor of

Anglo Saxon and later of English Language and Literature,

he even taught a few lessons at the College during his visits.

Stonyhurst College is proud of its association with the

author, which continued when his younger son Michael

taught classics at the College and St Mary's Hall in the

late 1960s and early 1970s. With the opening of a new

Tolkien Library at St. Mary’s Hall in 2002,J.R.R.

Tolkien's connection with Lancashire's Ribble Valley will

live on for future generations.

The epic ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy wascompiled over the course of some 16 years, andfinally published in 1954/55. J.R.R. Tolkien,his wife and other children, regularly stayed ata guest house in the grounds belonging toStonyhurst College. Their son, John, who wasstudying for the priesthood at the EnglishCollege in Rome, was evacuated to the Jesuitseminary at St. Mary’s Hall (now the preparatoryschool for Stonyhurst College) during theSecond World War. J.R.R. Tolkien spent muchof his time writing, both at the guest houseand in the College itself.

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AccringtonBlackburn

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Whalley

One of the many J.R.R.Tolkien entries in the visitors book

Hacking Ferry

Rear view of New Lodge,where J.R.R.Tolkien stayed

Hurst Green is 8km /5miles west of Clitheroe and 15km/91/2

miles north east of Preston on the B6243. There is limitedcar parking in the village. Buses running between Clitheroe,Whalley and Preston serve Hurst Green. For details, contactTraveline on 0870 608 2 608.

St.Mary’s Hall,Stonyhurst.

RIBBLE VALLEYBOROUGH COUNCIL

Main entrance to Stonyhurst College

Stonyhurst in 1808.

With your back to the main road,walk along Warren Fold. Just beyondthe last of the houses, go over a stile- you will see the domed turrets ofStonyhurst College straight aheadof you. Follow the wall on yourleft, pass through a gateway andturn sharp right. Walk across thefield, passing a lone tree, to reachthe fence on the other side.

Don't go through the gate, but turnright and follow the fence, headingtowards the red brick cricket pavilion.Go through a kissing gate and continue to follow the field boundary.After passing through another kissinggate, follow the path downhill andover the stream. Climb uphill withFox Fall Wood on your left.

As the gradient levels, bear rightacross the narrow paddock to followthe iron fence to the corner. Gothrough the gate in the corner andturn right, passing the currentObservatory for the College.Follow the tarmac track downhilltowards Hall Barn Farm.

Turn left before the gate and gothrough a wooden gate, followingthe line of the farm buildings. Thereis a magnificent view of StonyhurstCollege and the Pavilions to yourleft. You will shortly emerge on toa track. Keep straight ahead,following the hedge. To your left isSt. Mary’s Hall, formerly a seminary.Across the playing fields to yourright is the distinctive profile ofPendle Hill, with - a little to itsleft - Clitheroe Castle.

When you reach Woodfields, crossthe road, bearing slightly to the leftand turn down the lane betweenthe houses. The lane soon becomesa rough track and swings to the left.Turn right and go over the woodenstile, then follow the edge of thefield alongside Over Hacking Wood.Near the corner, turn left over astile, then right to descend astepped path.

Cross the bridge over the stream andfollow the path which forks to theright towards the River Hodder.Just before reaching the river, turnright over another bridge and climbsteadily uphill. Passing HodderPlace on your right, the path nowdescends towards the river. Heronscan be seen along this stretch ofriver. Go through the stile at thebottom of the hill to emerge fromthe woodland on to a wide, surfacedtrack. You will now follow the riveras it curves gently round to the right.

In the footsteps of J.R.R. Tolkien The walk starts from the War Memorial in the centre of Hurst Green

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Where the track meets the mainroad at Lower Hodder Bridge, crossover, pausing to admire Cromwell'sBridge just a little downstream.Turn right along the footway andfollow the road uphill. Oppositethe junction, go left over a stile andbear slightly left across the field toanother stile in the fence opposite.Go over the stile and walk straightuphill, crossing another stile beforethe brow. Bear slightly right acrossthe field, passing through a kissinggate and heading towards the hedgeto the left of the farm buildings.

Where the Hodder joins the RiverRibble, take the path to the left,around the gate, to reach a stile by abench. Go over the stile and turnleft to follow a wide track alongsidethe Ribble. After about 1km, theRibble is joined from the left by theRiver Calder, with Hacking Hall onthe opposite bank.

Continue to follow the bank of theRibble until the path narrows near astone building on the right. Gothrough a gate on to a track andover a stile, heading towards JumblesFarm. Follow the track around tothe left to pick up the line of the riveragain. Where the track turns right,keep straight on alongside the Ribble.As you walk you will see a stonecross on the hillside to your right.

Where the cross disappears from view,go over a stile, across a gravelsurface, then over another stile tocontinue alongside the river. Aheadof you is a graceful three-archedaqueduct. When you reach theaqueduct, go over the stile to itsright, bearing slightly right acrossthe field and through another stileon the edge of a wood. Cross thewooden bridge and climb the steppedpath to another stile. Go over thisstile and walk straight ahead,following the fence on the left.

Where the fence turns sharply left,keep straight on downhill. Crosstwo bridges and another stile, thenturn slightly to the left. You shouldnow be walking uphill along a lowridge with streams on either side.After about 200m, cross the streamon the right and turn left to continueuphill, following the line of thefield boundary on the left. At thetop of the field, go over a stone stilein the left corner and pass throughthe car park of the Shireburn ArmsHotel. Cross the road to return tothe start of the walk.

Go through the kissing gate andturn left along the tarmac track,which drops steadily downhill.Where the track levels, go straightahead, through the gate and intoWinckley Hall Farm yard. Turnright, go through the yard, thenturn left, passing a brick wall on theleft to reach a gate. Go through thestile and turn immediately rightalong a gravel track, with the RiverHodder again on your left.

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The ObservatoriesThe first observatory at Stonyhurstwas begun in 1838 and completed in1845. In 1868, this observatory –known as the Dome Observatory –was completed. It houses a largertelescope than the original buildingand is still in use by the students.

Hill Barn FarmThe Barn, which stands alongside thepath, is at least in part probably latemedieval. Until as late as the 1820s, anumber of 14th and 15th centurybuildings survived at Stonyhurst. It ispossible that the barn dates from thesame period, as the roof is supportedon 5 massive oak cruck frames. Thisbuilding technique fell out of favourin the 16th century due to ashortage of timber.

Garden PavilionsThe two pavilions, with their elegantcurving roofs, were added toStonyhurst – along with a formalwalled garden – by Sir NicholasShireburn in the late 17th century.The octagonal building beyond (nowused as a tea room) is the oldobservatory of 1838 (see above).

Pendle HillPendle Hill dominates the south eastern flank of the Ribble Valleyand is the highest hill in Lancashireat 557m (1860ft). Clitheroe Castlewas built in the 12th century on therocky outcrop overlooking thecrossing of the Ribble at Edisford.The castle and adjacent museumare open throughout the year.For opening times, contactClitheroe Tourist Information on01200 425566.

Woodfields andNew Lodge

The houses around Woodfields areowned by Stonyhurst College andprovide accommodation for staff.J.R.R. Tolkien stayed at nearby NewLodge when he visited his son Johnat St. Mary’s Hall. At that time, it wasa seminary for the English Collegeevacuated from Rome. His other sonMichael later lived at Woodfields andplanted a copse in his father'smemory following J.R.R. Tolkien'sdeath in 1973.

River HodderThe Hodder marks the historiccounty boundary betweenLancashire (this side) and Yorkshire(far side). Much of the land in theHodder Valley further to the north isowned by the Queen as the Duke ofLancaster.

Hodder PlaceThis impressive building dates backto 1780, when it was the home of acotton mill-owner. All traces of themill, on the river bank below thehouse, have now disappeared. Thebuilding was greatly extended by theJesuits in the nineteenth centurywhen it was used as a Novitiate andthen as a preparatory school until itsclosure in 1971. It has since beendivided into privately owned housesand flats.

Cromwell’s BridgeAlso known as Devil's Bridge, thepackhorse bridge across the Hodderwas built by Sir Richard Shireburn in1562, replacing a wooden bridgedating from at least 1331. Legend saysthat it was used by Oliver Cromwellduring his march from Skipton tointercept the Royalists at the Battle ofPreston in 1648. It is far more likelythat he would have crossed the riverat Higher Hodder Bridge.

Winckley Hall FarmIn the 12th century,Winckley was partof the estates of the KnightsHospitaller. By the early 13th centuryit had been granted to John deWinkley. John supported Thomas Earlof Lancaster in his revolt againstEdward II in 1318. Although Thomaswas executed for treason, JohnWinkley was pardoned. Little of theearly house survives.

Hacking HallThe de Hacking family occupied thissite from at least 1200, until it passedby marriage to the Shuttleworthfamily in the 14th century. Thepresent house was built in 1607 by SirThomas Walmsley of Dunkenhalgh,the noted circuit judge, who hadmarried the heiress AnneShuttleworth. Just upstream of thehall was the ferry service, whichoperated until the 1950s. Theferryman's hut and the ferry itself areon display at Clitheroe Castle Museum.

The Stone CrossThe base of the cross dates to theearly Christian period and wasoriginally sited to the north of CrossGills Farm. It was moved to itspresent position in 1833 by theRector of Stonyhurst. At the sametime a new shaft and arms were cutto surmount the pedestal.

The AqueductThe graceful stone aqueduct wasconstructed in the 1880s by theBlackburn Corporation. It originallycarried water from Whitewell via anunderground pipeline