The Landmark Trust is opening their Grade II* property, The Ruin (Mowbray Point), at Hackfall Woods for free entry to all visitors as part of the national celebration of Heritage Open Day events.  The Ruin is part of a wider 18th century designed landscape at Hackfall Woods, which is owned by the Woodland Trust.  Hackfall Woods is open to the public free of charge at all times, and further information about the woods is given below.

 

The 18th century folly, The Ruin, also known as Mowbray Point, was restored by the Landmark Trust in 2005 with the help of grant aid from the AONB's Built Environment Intiative fund, and subsequently opened as a popular holiday rental property.  The public are being given a rare opportunity to view the interior of this fantastic building, free of charge, on the 13th and 14th September as part of the national series of Heritage Open Days events.

 

Further information about the opening arrangements for The Ruin can be found on the Heritage Open Days website at:

 

 

 

The Ruin (Mowbray Point) was built by the Aislabie family (of Studley Royal fame) as part of their grand landscaping of Hackfall Woods during the 18th century.  It is one of a series of follies built in the woods, many of which are still surviving.  The woods with its paths, views and follies, is currently undergoing restoration, managed by the Hackfall Trust with the aid of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.  Hackfall Woods are owned by the Woodland Trust, who allow permanent public access, also free of charge, to the woods.  Hackfall Woods are designated as a Grade I Registered Historic Park and Garden, a Conservation Area and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

 

Further information about Hackfall Woods and access arrangements can be found at:

The Friends of Pateley Bridge Cemetery and St Mary's Churchyard arrange for the tower of St Mary's church to be opened to the public once a year, free of charge, for Heritage Open Day.  The body of the church is open to the public free of charge all year round, however, except for these two days in September, the seventeenth century tower is closed to visitors. Access to the tower is by a spiral stone staircase.

 

St Mary's church is a Scheduled Monument.  The site has a long history of use as a place of worship, with the first mention of a parochial chapel on the site in 1320.  The building was partially remodelled in the 17th century, with the tower added in 1691.  Even after the church was closed in the 1826, the site came back into use as a chapel of rest for burial services, though this ceased in the 1880s.  The neighbouring Pateley Bridge cemetery and chapel now continue this ancient tradition. 

 

 

St Mary's Church rests within St Mary's Churchyard.  There are 231 memorials in St Mary's churchyard, two of which are designated as Grade II listed buildings.  The oldest grave markers date to 1684 and 1697 and the oldest grave occupant, Mary Mayers, was apparently 120 years old when she died!  The memorials all provide a fascinating testimony to the historic residents of Pateley Bridge, with interesting inscriptions describing their lives and trades, interspersed with attractive lettering and designs.  The churchyard also contains more than 20 yews, some of which are centuries old.  The churchyard is open free of charge all year round.