Clitheroe; The Alleys
Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House, and also as a Possible Pele Tower
There are uncertain remains
| Name | Clitheroe; The Alleys |
| Alternative Names | |
| Historic Country | Lancashire |
| Modern Authority | Lancashire |
| 1974 Authority | Lancashire |
| Civil Parish | Clitheroe |
Outside the borough, on the north side, was the Alleys, thought to have been the manor house of the manor of Salthill (Whitaker 1876, 79). The manor may have comprised the two oxgangs of land granted in 1102 to Ralph the Red, as the Heriz family, who owned the Alleys, held a Clitheroe estate of that size in 1255 (Langshaw 1955, 6). In 1653, the Alleys was sold to the Oddy family, who held it for around 200 years. At the time of the sale, it was described as “that capital mansion house, the yards, orchards and gardens” (LUAU 1996). The house was still extant at the end of the eighteenth century, when it was described as a “strong tower-built house, of which some remains still exist and more are remembered. The whole, with a large inclosure behind, has been surrounded by a large moat” (Whitaker 1876, 79). The moat was infilled in the late eighteenth century (Baines 1825, 610-11), leaving only two small ponds to the rear of the property, which were still extant in 1844 (OS 1848 1:10560). Around the same time, a small chapel adjoining the manor house was demolished, because it was “built in popish times” (Baines 1825, 611). By the early nineteenth century at least part of the manor house had been demolished, and the remains were said to comprise only two cottages, with a portion of the old wall (Baines 1825, 611). This is probably the structure depicted on the Ordnance Survey map of 1848, and marked as an ancient place. It lies to the rear of a plot fronting Pimlico Road, and is similar to the structure shown on a map of 1740 (LRO DDX 1525) and on Lang's map of 1766. The two ponds, surviving elements of the moat, are also shown in 1848, and lie well to the rear of the house. Archaeological evaluations have revealed further sections of the moat closer to the house (LUAU 1996) and towards the front of the plot (Matrix Archaeology 2002). This suggests that the moat was either recut, or there had been a double enclosure
Indeed, the larger moat, represented by the ponds may have been enclosing the rear, large enclosure described by Whitaker (1876, 79). Given the high status of the Alleys in the medieval period, that latter interpretation cannot be discounted. (Lancs. CC, 2006)
Not scheduled
This is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law
Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SD744422 |
| Latitude | 53.8754005432129 |
| Longitude | -2.39014005661011 |
| Eastings | 374400 |
| Northings | 442200 |
