Hoghton Tower

Hoghton Tower stands on a hilltop near the village of Hoghton in Lancashire, a fortified manor house with roots in the 12th century. The present building dates from the 1560s, replacing an earlier home for Thomas de Hoghton. It was damaged during the Civil War and later restored in the 19th century. The site includes a Grade I-listed Great Barn from 1692 and two Grade II structures. The house and grounds are open to the public under the care of the Hoghton Tower Preservation Trust. The tower has strong ties to history, hosting King James I in 1617 during a visit that shaped local Sunday laws. A surviving feast menu from the visit inspired the myth that the term ‘sirloin’ comes from the king knighting a cut of beef. The house later became a centre for nonconformist worship in the 17th century, where John and Charles Wesley are said to have preached. Charles Dickens visited in 1867 and used the tower as inspiration for a short story. The restoration in the late 19th century added rooms like a billiards room and ballroom. Visitors find a double courtyard plan with a grand gatehouse topped by a carving of Samson and the Lion. The inner courtyard leads to a great hall, state rooms, and a Tudor well house with a 37-metre-deep well. The ballroom features 19th-century decoration by Gillows of Lancaster, while the banqueting hall holds 4,000 Flemish stained glass panes. The grounds include walled gardens, a Great Barn from 1692, and stables in sandstone. Views stretch across the Pendle range from the hilltop setting.