Admiring the vibrant new Assheton Arms sign, recreated faithfully from the Assheton family crest, it was tempting to pop in for a pint, sample chef Lee Unthank’s specials menu and admire the view of Pendle Hill.
The pub had been closed for three years before Clitheroe-based James’ Places added it to their stable of venues and it has proved a popular addition. The bar and dining areas – inside and out – are packed with people happily tucking into their lunch, some of it made with ingredients from just over the road.
Lancashire Life writer Olivia Assheton had turned up that morning with a huge basketful of rhubarb, as well as herbs and greens from her kitchen garden at Downham Hall.
It’s a new Estate venture which sees supplies of fresh produce delivered to the pub on a regular basis and a further diversification includes selling cut flowers and foliage to six local florists – particularly the Flower Shop in Clitheroe – who take one or two deliveries every week.
‘It’s the latest chapter in the Estate’s long-standing philosophy of sustainability,’ says Olivia whose husband Ralph is a former High Sherrif of Lancashire whose family took ownership of the Downham estate in 1558 and it has been in their hands ever since.
‘The more we can encourage good use of everything we have here, the better it is for the environment and the local economy. It’s gone down so well that I’m now angling for a little delivery van.’
Downham is famous for its lack of outward signs of technology. There are no overhead wires, no road signs, no television aerials and were it not for the cars parked along the main street, the scene could be from any time in the last couple of centuries. But although the village has retained its traditional charms, it has not stood still - far from it.
A walk down the road from the pub brings us to the charming Ice Cream Shop on Hare Green near the village’s popular ‘duck feeding’ brook and local sourcing is important here as well.
Downham tenant Michelle Brown had the idea nine years ago of opening a shop in a tiny space that was a butcher’s shop during World War One. Popular with locals, walkers and cyclists, it is open from 10-5 in the summer, serving ice cream sourced from Longridge, cakes from Padiham, and sandwiches made each day by Kate Hewetson from neighbouring Rimington.
Easy access to lunchtime sandwiches and the odd sneaky ice cream is (I suspect) popular with the staff of some new tenants too. Ingham and Yorke, the area’s leading land agents, who manage significant areas of agricultural land and property in Lancashire and the North West, moved their Clitheroe office into Brookside Barn in April.
Externally, Brookside looks just like a traditional barn, but it has a modern interior, high speed broadband and is heated by an air source heat pump. It also has specially created nesting places for a variety of bird species and a ‘hibernaculum’ for bats.
Ingham and Yorke were instrumental in helping the Estate convert the barn into offices from a derelict building. Partner Charlie Yorke says: ‘It is a perfect fit: modern inside, but absolutely in keeping with the local area. We needed a more efficient space as there are new partners, increasing business and a new generation of clients. We were closely involved with transforming this building from something redundant to something new and profitable – so it’s a real showcase for what we do.’
The community’s pride and joy, though, is Downham’s newly refurbished and re-opened (and also re-roofed and re-wired) village hall – a hub for community activity, but also available to hire for weddings, parties, celebrations, business meetings and training events. Community fundraising for the £80,000 project was matched by grants from Lancashire Environment Fund, Ribble Valley Borough Council, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Downham Trust.
A wedding fair in conjunction with Downham St Leonards church and a host of enthusiastic local suppliers proved a very successful showcase and income from new bookings will go towards future improvements. Already, the refurbished space has attracted new users, including a personal trainer and experienced yoga practitioner Ainsley Harris who runs sessions there.
Bowland Bioenergy have also reinvigorated a redundant farm building complex. They produce 4,000 tonnes of woodchip a year, as well as wood pellets, for biomass boilers. Supplying 18 schools across Lancashire, as well as farmers, private customers, hotels and offices, the products are made with 100% local virgin timber and meet all British Standards. During Covid, the company acquired Wood Fuel Testing Ltd which tests any producer’s fuel to ensure it complies with legislation. Bowland Bioenergy has also diversified into affordable logs, briquettes, kindling and natural firelighters for the public to buy, with demand now sometimes outstripping supply.
Manager Anne Seed says: ‘We’re passionate about keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible so all the wood comes from within a 25 mile radius – either from Downham Estate or, currently, Dunsop Bridge and Halton West. It is all hardwood for the logs as it burns longer and doesn’t spit embers like softwood. The briquettes are made in the UK and burn really hot with minimal ash and waste and both are great for open fires or woodburners.’
Not far from Bowland Bioenergy is New Hey Camping Barn which has recently been taken back into management by the Estate from the Youth Hostel Association. It sleeps 12 people with no mains electricity, but has wonderful views, a shower, toilet and small woodburner.
OIivia says: ‘It’s basically a stone tent with a few extras but, again, it has turned a redundant building into something useful and we’re now accredited by Visit Britain. It’s a good lower budget option for group and family overnight stays in the area.’
Newly based in Downham is the recently launched Connecting People and Nature project. This is a three-year collaboration between national education charity The Ernest Cook Trust and the Forest of Bowland AONB, supported by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust and National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It will promote nature, wellbeing and outdoor learning, and outreach work will cover the Forest of Bowland and the urban fringes of Preston and Lancaster. The Ernest Cook Trust devises and delivers programmes that promote outdoor learning for young people, families and communities. It also supports other organisations in the field of outdoor learning and awards around £2m in grants each year.
Find out more
downhamvillage.org.uk
inghamandyorke.co.uk
ainsleyharrisyoga.com
bowlandbioenergy.co.uk
asshetonarms.co.uk
downhamchurch.org.uk
pendlehillproject.com
