Drive and stroll with Ron Freethy...

ALMOST every guide book to Lancashire points out that Clitheroe is the second oldest town in the county -- with Wigan being the first.

Most, however, miss the point that this age is based on the granting of a market charter.

So when did the town of Clitheroe start?

It began life huddled under the protection of a fortification on the summit of a limestone knoll dominating the Ribble Valley.

The river is at this point squeezed between the brooding fells of Easington to the east and wonderful Pendle to the west.

Between these is a gap three miles wide and through which all traffic down the valley must pass. Two very prominent reef knolls overlook these routes -- Clitheroe Castle stands on one and the parish church of St Mary Magdalene on the other. It was quite natural that the town should develop between them. While the documentary history begins with the Norman Conquest, the castle is on a prime defensive site which must have been obvious to the earliest tribes. It was already fortified when the Norman invaders arrived and evicted a chap called Orme and his fellow Englishmen.

The settlement was then part of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia and a manuscript dating from 1057 refers to Earl Leofric as the owner.

It was then called Clidderhough, meaning the "crag by the water." This sounds good to me but other historians think that the name derives from the Scandinavian word for a song thrush.

The castle was built to the orders of Robert de Lacy in the early 12th Century. The keep measures less than 36-feet around and is the smallest in England. This does not mean, however, that it was the weakest. It was the underlying rock which gave the castle its strength.

The castle saw its share of action and in 1138 the Scots swept through northern England and a battle was fought on the banks of the Ribble at nearby Edisford. There is a marked footpath and an excellent stroll around Edisford but to do this you must wait for the foot and mouth epidemic to fade into a sad chapter of our history. The castle had a role in the Civil War. In 1644, Prince Rupert charged Captain Cuthbert Bradkirk of Kirkham to hold Clitheroe for the King but he soon deserted. With the victory of Cromwell's forces, the castle was "slighted" -- which is a simple word for a thorough demolition.

After passing through several landowners, the castle is now in the safe hands of the local council and the excellent town museum is situated in it.

Looking down from the castle towards Pendle Hill, the main street of the town is seen laid out like a map, with St Mary Magdalene's Church standing proud on top of its own hill. At least three churches have stood on this site. A Norman church is mentioned as early as 1122 but this was replaced in the mid-15th century. As the town grew, a new church was consecrated in 1829 and in 1981 an extensive restoration was needed following a fire.

Clitheroe's market charter dates from 1283 and the market was first held between Church Street and Castle Street.

Some think that the base of the old market cross may be the rounded post near the entry of the White Lion Inn, one of Clitheroe's old coaching inns. The others are the White Swan (now known as the Swan and Royal) and the Rose and Crown (now known as the Starkie Arms).

Clitheroe once had a goodly complement of wells, some of which have long since been filled in. Stocks Well and Heald Well still exist and at one time Clitheroe began to rival Harrogate as a spa town. Sadly, this did not last long.

Limestone has long been important to the town.

The old packhorse routes radiated out of Clitheroe and what a wonderful sound the ponies must have made as they picked their way out of the town loaded with lime and with the bells on their bridles tinkling away.

A stroll through Clitheroe is exciting to the historian and to the shopper.

The museum tells the story of the Ribble Valley, which is such an important part of Lancashire's impressive history.