Which castle overlooks Pendle Hill?
Forest of Pendle and Mersey had been granted by William the Conqueror to Roger the Poitevin, and he in turn had granted most of this area to the de Lacy family of Pontefract. It was they who apparently built Clitheroe Castle soon after. The Forest of Pendle was within their manor of Ightenhill. Within the honour of Clitheroe, two sets of forests were administered separately, those of Bowland, and those of Blackburnshire. The Blackburnshire forest had four detached parts: Pendle, Trawden, Accrington and Rossendale. As early as 1311 [the Forest of Pendle] was divided into eleven places of pasture for cows, of which
Pendle Hill preferring the less strenuous 'Under Pendle' route which flanks the eastern aspect of the hill. Both routes would then converge at Under Pendle and return to the village centre via the tarmac track also known as 'Barley Green'. To mark the 400th anniversary, local artist Philippe Handford, created a huge installation by putting '1612' on the side of Pendle Hill using of horticultural fleece. Pendle Hill is separated from the nearby main bulk of the Bowland Fells by the River Ribble. This isolation means that Pendle Hill is in fact the most prominent child summit of Kinder Scout, far away