On the side of Pendle Hill, in the heart of Pendle Witch country, lies a historic remainder of the roots of socialism. What’s more if you happen to be passing by on a Sunday afternoon they will serve you with a cup of tea.
On the side of Pendle Hill, lies the last Clarion House, a historic remainder of the roots of socialism, and connected with the beginning of the struggle for the right for all to enjoy the benefits of the countryside.
Clarion Houses were just one of the spin-offs from The Clarion, a paper that went viral in the early 1890’s.
The Clarion was started by journalist Robert Blatchford when the editor of the Manchester Chronicle pulled his articles because they reported on socialist activities. It went from a start-up sheet to a massive public movement in only a few years. Supporting socialist ideas, the movement later acted as a hub for supporters of the socialist side in the Spanish Civil War, as you can see from the posters displayed in the porch of the last Clarion House. If you want to find out more about Robert Blatchford there is a great play touring the UK called Behold Ye Ramblers.
The Clarion movement encouraged healthy community activities such as cycling, choral singing, handicrafts, and walking. Robert Blatchford and Clarion supporters conducted one of the first footpath access marches, some 30 years before the right-to-roam marches on Kinder Scout. Clarion Scouts used bicycles to distribute the Clarion newspaper far and wide, and Clarion cycle clubs were formed. The movement inspired the collective building of Clarion Houses as rural community centres to provide tea and sustenance. These were a hub for socialist activities and they provided people with a reason to escape the daily grind of work and cramped cities. Some 40 years before the birth of the Youth Hostels the Clarion movement was inspiring people to enjoy healthy outdoor activities in the English countryside. Amazingly there are still around today; Clarion Cycle Clubs, Clarion Choirs, a Clarion Nursery for children and this one last Clarion House.
Of the many Clarion houses, the penultimate one closed down in the 1980’s and that just leaves the Clarion House on Pendle Hill, started by the Nelson Independent Labour Party and built with a loan from the Nelson Weavers.
Call by on a Sunday afternoon and you can buy a cup of tea. You have to walk there, no space for cars, and anyway it’s a tribute to the roots of this movement that believed in the good of activity and fresh air to arrive by bike or on foot. It’s worth a visit just to read the walls, depicting posters and banners ablaze with slogans like “Socliasium – our hope” and “Fellowship is Life”.
It is also a great place to pick up a copy of the Independent Hostel Guide. This is fitting, as the birth of youth hostels, some 40 years after the Clarion Movement began, was closely tied to the right-to-roam movement, healthy outdoor community activities and the heyday of Cycle Touring Clubs. All blossoming in the footsteps of the Clarion Movement.
There is a hostel in Earby (a three-hour ramble from the Clarion House) that was donated to the YHA as a memorial to Katharine Bruce Glasier, a supporter of the early independent labour party and closely aligned with the Clarion movement. This was the final home of Katherine Glazier, and funds were raised to buy the cottage and present it to the YHA after her death. The local council have honoured this commitment over again, purchasing the cottage from the YHA when they put it up for sale. It is currently leased it to a local independent family business that offers hostel accommodation as part of the independent hostel network.
A little closer and much more basic, is Downham Camping Barn, an ex-yha, simple barn that you can hire for the sole use of your group. Downham Barn lies on the skirt of Pendle Hill, an area renowned for Quakers, radicals and witches. It’s a couple of hours walk, up and over Pendle Hill from the Clarion House. Choose a Sunday and you can start your walk from Downham Barn and be in the perfect time for a cup of tea at the Clarion House before your gentle ramble back again. A perfect day’s walk.
You can join “Friends of Clarion House” for £2 and receive their newsletters and a sweet little membership card. There are lots of walks and volunteer opportunities to get involved with too.
The Clarion House is still in easy reach of the industrial areas of Lancashire, Burnley, Bury and Nelson, and less than an hour from Manchester. These cities may not be so grimy anymore, or the work so hard, but there are still great reasons to spend some time in this idyllic peaceful countryside.
