Gawthorpe Hall

Alex Zawadzki

Visit now

Gawthorpe Hall

Burnley Road, Padiham,, near Burnley,, BB12 8UA
01282771004
  • Wednesday12:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Thursday12:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Friday12:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Saturday12:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Sunday12:00pm - 5:00pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Gawthorpe Hall
National Trust
Book now

A spectacular, brooding Elizabethan manor, Gawthorpe Hall has been referred to as the Downton of the North. A stunning National Trust property with manicured gardens, the star attraction here is its renowned textiles collection with 11,000 pieces painstakingly collected by Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth, which has been grown by the museum to 30,000 pieces.

An avid maker, Rachel was captivated by textiles and techniques, from lace making to embroidery, weaving to print. A step ahead of others, she saw the importance of maintaining these skills, and the joy and sense of well-being making could bring to crafters.

These collections include costumes, clothing, accessories, cloth and fabric samplers curated along with the equipment required to make these creations. This collection documents a beautiful legacy of global textiles and the incredible handiwork of five centuries of craft. This is particularly pertinent in a county that built its industry on textiles manufacturing.

A stunning National Trust property with manicured gardens

Today the hall continues Rachel’s good work, by promoting textile techniques through education programmes, talks and community textiles projects with particular attention to ethical and sustainable textiles. Plan ahead, and you could time your trip to the hall with one of their in-house workshops or talks on the collections.

Gawthorpe Hall is often used as a programme venue for events such as the British Textile Biennial, seeing their converted barn space turned into an exhibition hall for contemporary textiles artists such as Alice Kettle.

Set on the edge of The Stubbins Estate and Holcombe Moor, the gardens allow for some gentle strolls around the property, but more adventurous hikers may venture out into the mass of public access farmlands and moors. The National Trust website offers up a circular walk of about 2 miles which takes in sweeping views of Chatterton and a trip to Tentering Tower, a unique building that was used to dry the cloth woven by the mills below, taking advantage of the hilltop breeze. However, these walks begin a 30 minute drive from the hall across the mass of 436 acres of land it encompasses.

What's on near Gawthorpe Hall

MusicBlackburn
Confessional Festival

Blackburn’s Confessional Festival turns ten, celebrating with two days of live music set beneath the stained glass and vaulted stonework of Holy Trinity Church.

From £20
A large mechanical puppet controlled by multiple people. Encounter Festival in Preston
FestivalsLancashire
Encounter Festival in Preston

Expect a jam-packed day of outdoor performance, live music, family fun – plus Preston’s iconic Torchlight Procession and fireworks finale.

Free entry

Where to go near Gawthorpe Hall

Glassmonkey Studio
Burnley
Gallery
Glassmonkey Studio

Glassmonkey Studio is the largest glass fusing studio in the area. The studio is home to a gallery selling handmade fused glassware jewellery, art and greeting cards. They also host regular workshops for fused glass, soap making, enamelling, and silver clay jewellery making.

The Weavers Triangle
Burnley
Tourist Attraction
The Weavers Triangle

The Weavers Triangle is a modern name for an area on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal that was once at the heart of Burnley’s textile industry. The name was first used in the 1970s, as interest developed in preserving Burnley’s industrial heritage, and refers to the roughly triangular shape of the region.

Thompson Park in Burnley
Burnley
Park
Thompson Park, Burnley

A formal Edwardian urban park in Burnley which retains most its original features including a boating lake and an Italian garden.

Burnley's Singing Ringing Tree
Burnley
Tourist Attraction
Burnley’s Singing Ringing Tree

Burnley’s Panopticon, ‘Singing Ringing Tree’, is a unique musical sculpture which overlooks Burnley from its position high above the town on Crown Point. Constructed from pipes of galvanised steel stacked in layers, this Panopticon takes the form of a tree bending to the winds and harnesses the energy of those winds to produce a low, tuneful song.

Towneley Hall
Event venue
Towneley Hall

Historic house, art gallery and museum. Museum houses a variety of displays, encompassing natural history, Egyptology, local history, textiles, decorative art and regional furniture. Art gallery is focused on Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art, “with some earlier paintings as well”.

Rowley Lake
Blackburn
Park
Rowley Lake

Rowley Lake is on the outskirts of Burnley, with much to offer to the walker who goes out of their way to venture out here. It’s open scope and substantial size lend it vast appeal, while it’s natural activity and beauty make it a pretty picture, with views extending endlessly across the flat plain. 

Lancashire
Restaurant
The White Swan
at Fence

The White Swan at Fence is a gastro-pub with much to brag about. Delicious drinks and fantastic food has got this pub a Michelin Star.

Pendle Hill
Lancashire
Tourist Attraction
Pendle Hill

Most famous for its links to the now notorious witch trials of 1612, Pendle Hill and its surrounding towns and villages are a truly bewitching area of Lancashire. History and legend has woven a spell over Pendle.

Culture Guides

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.

Literature Events in the North

The autumn leaves might be falling already, but the harvest is plentiful as the live literature scene gets back into the swing of things after a summer break...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.