An Introduction
Browsholme Hall, pronounced ‘Brusom’, lies in the Forest of Bowland four miles north-west of Clitheroe. Built in 1507 by Edmund Parker, the Hall overlooks the Hodder Valley. The red sandstone house has a genuine claim to be the oldest surviving family home in Lancashire. Browsholme is an historic house unique in so many ways.
Sixteen generations of continuous occupation has as a result created a remarkable antiquarian collection, representing the accumulation of the personal possessions over the years. Hall tours are available to view this impressive selection of artefacts.
For more information about our tours please visit this link.
History
Origins of the Parker family can be traced to 1381. After the Black Death, Peter de Alcancotes accepted the office of park keeper for the Forest of Bowland from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
The family motto ‘neither wind nor wave shall move us’ perhaps bears witness to the survival of Browsholme through the Reformation, the turbulence of the Civil Wars, the extravagance of the Regency period, through the Napoleonic, Boer and World Wars.
Each period has left its trace … a skull from the Pilgrimage of Grace, a royalist coat worn by Capt. Thomas Whittingham, furniture by Gillow and Hepplewhite, even a fragment of a Zeppelin.
