ONE of Lancashire’s oldest roads – which may have been used as a cross-country route by medieval peasants and noblemen – is set to be preserved for posterity.

County archivists believe the track, from Goodshaw Lane, in Rawtenstall, to the outskirts of Cliviger, has a history dating back centuries.

Large sections of the road, measuring 3,250 metres, appear on maps dating back to the 1780s, according to a report compiled for Lancashire County Council’s regulatory committee.

And there is evidence that the lane features a crossroad between two ancient thoroughfares, from Preston to West Yorkshire and Clitheroe to Rochdale, that have survived since the Middle Ages.

Marking the historic junction is what known as the Gambleside Crosses, near Cliviger, a popular destination for local ramblers, thought to have been erected in the 13th century and restored in 1902.

Lancashire County council’s regulatory committee passed a motion to turn the path into a bridleway this week. This means that parts of the path, which had sunken, will be restored and opened up to visitors.

County Councillor Mike Calvert said: “The path had actually sunken in parts which forced people to divert.

“We felt as a council that due to the significant historic background of the path, we should reinstate back to it’s original alignment.”

Officials from United Utilities, which owns much of the middle section of the road, placed a formal objection to the proposals.

In a statement, a UU official says that the "land was fenced off in 1996 preventing access and since then gated access has been kept locked to prevent horses and bikes using the route.

"We would not want to see this upgraded to a bridleway."

But council environment director Graham Harding said: "No records were found to show that the claimed route had been legally closed or stopped-up. "

Even as far back as 1910, when a Finance Act required all private land to be valued, the landlords who owned much of the route had claimed tax breaks from Whitehall because their holdings included ‘public rights of way’.

The road has always roughly run from the area of Goodshaw Chapel through to the north-south road across Deerplay Moor, near Burnley, says Mr Harding.