The Summer outing 2015 — Lancashire Gems

This year’s outing was to visit All Hallow’s Church and Great Mitton Hall nearby in Great Mitton in the morning, then Ribchester Roman Fort, Stydd Chapel and Stydd Almshouses in the afternoon.

In lovely weather we congregated at the church, were greeted by our guide, and then had a guided tour. The Grade I listed church has stood on this spot since about 1170 but the earliest extant fabric dates from the 13th century. The tower is 15th century and the north chapel 16th century. The north chapel contains the vaults of the Shireburn family of Stonyhurst Hall, now a school. The Shireburns held the lordship of the manor of Twisleton-with-Ellerbeck from 1565 to 1625. The earliest vault is 16th century. The alabaster tomb is that of Sir Richard Shireburn (d.1594) and his wife Maud. There is also a curious, badly defaced effigy in the chapel said to be that of Sir Richard. The chancel screen is part-medieval, possibly brought from Sawley Abbey after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In the churchyard is a late 19th-century cross with a fine 14th-century head. Outside the south door, normally closed, stands another shaft dated 1683, now with a sundial on top, which may originally have held a cross. An unusual but well-worn grave slab rests in the churchyard - probably of considerable antiquity.

We were allowed to go up the 77 steps of the tower with two guides, four at a time because of space limitations. The clock mechanism is now electrically wound. The six bells can be hand-rung from the clock chamber below - with instructions for use! The view from the top is extensive as expected, and Great Mitton Hall next door can be seen to advantage.

The Grade II-listed Great Mitton Hall is essentially 17th century on the outside but is a 14th century timber H-shaped hall in origin. The building is now much altered. An even earlier wattle and daub construction hall lies under part of the present structure. The hall was the seat of the lords of the manor, the de Mitton family, who became the de Sotheron family who eventually married into the Sherburne aka Shireburne family, but this family’s association with the hall ended in 1310. The house is private but the fine gardens were open to us (and open in one weekend in June as part of the National Garden Scheme’s Gardens for Charity).

In the afternoon we proceeded to Ribchester Museum. Our excellent enthusiastic guide gave us a most informative talk about the foundation and development of the museum over the 100 years of its existence. He explained how the fort came into being and the part it played in local affairs. A timber fort to control the crossing of the major roads from Chester, York and Carlisle was built here in the early AD70s, but fully rebuilt in stone within a century or so, to become the administrative and military centre of this part of the North-West. Inevitably, a civilian settlement - the vicus - grew up outside the fort’s walls and it is thought that its extent more or less mirrors the extent of the modern village. The fort remained in use into the 4th century. Much of the fort has either not yet been excavated or has been built on. St Wilfrid’s Church probably stands on the site of the Principia (the headquarters building). Much has been lost to the meandering River Ribble.

The ground was such as to preserve important artefacts and a coin gave a date for latest known occupation. Lancashire has very little by way of Roman material or structures so the museum has an importance belied by its size. We then looked at the granary buildings and had explained to us the complex features and puzzles of the very well-preserved building foundations. We also viewed the baths nearby and wondered about the water supply and its use.

Very near to Ribchester stands Stydd Chapel in some isolation. The name Stydd means ‘place’ or ‘farm’ an ‘estate in land’. It is a simple building but nevertheless impressive for its unadorned simplicity with features dating from a multiplicity of periods. The Holy House of Stydd has been in existence since before 1136 and was once the church for a large leper sanctuary and pilgrim’s focus, under the ‘jurisdiction’ of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. A leper’s squint can be seen. The chapel is associated with a holy well and a Roman road. It has its original 12th- century door and some Norman masonry. Stydd Almshouses stand nearby - built by the Shireburn family in 1728, they were built to house poor people of the parish, originally for six residents, now four. A splendid, astonishing house in a quiet garden adjacent to farmland.

We are grateful to David and his informative notes (on which this report is based) for yet another excellent summer excursion.