The Aspinall Arms

Clitheroe

About Us

Here is just a little info to let you get to know us better...

History

Here is a little potted history of our pub and the local area... if you have a spare minute or two and maybe a cup of tea (or is that a G&T), we think it's well worth a read.

History of Mitton

The name Mitton derives from the word Mythe, meaning the 'junction of rivers', as the Ribble and its major tributary the Hodder converge nearby.

The Domesday manor of Mitton encompassed both Greater Mitton and Little Mitton, stradling lands on both banks of the River Ribble. The river itself was once the county boundary, with Little Mitton being on the Lancashire side of the river, and Great Mitton being on the Yorkshire side. Since the boundary changes of 1974, both villages are now very solidly in Lancashire.

From the late eleventh century, Mitton fell under the Lordship of Bowland, the Lords of Bowland being lords paramount of the Royal Forest.

Mitton was a mesne manor from the early twelfth century. Its first lord, Radulphus le Rus, may have been a scion of the de Lacy family. Descendants of Radulphus assumed the surname de Mitton. In the late thirteenth century, the family adopted the surname Shireburne by marriage, thereby laying the foundation for the dynasty of Shireburne of Stonyhurst. Stonyhurst was the family seat, two miles from Mitton, and is now Stonyhurst College.

It is the Shireburne family whose tombs are in the Shireburne chapel in All Hallows church, Mitton, which dates from 1270.

The manor passed out of Shireburne ownership in the fourteenth century but was re-acquired in 1665. With the extinction of the Shireburne male line in 1717, the manor passed to the Hawksworth and finally, Aspinall families.

Great Mitton is also the geographic location that Tolkien used in many cases as inspiration for his trilogies about a similar 'Middle Earth' or or from Norse mythology 'midgard' description. Tolkein often walked Great Mitton and was well aware of its definition from ancient times.

All Hallows Church

The first historical record of a church at Mitton comes from 1103 when a man with the name of Ralph the Red was the rector of a church that was probably made of timber.

The oldest surviving portion of the church dates to around 1270, the chancel having been added early in the 14th century. The impressive tower is mentioned in a document dated 1438, and the whole of the interior is an architectural gem: All Hallows is held to be one of the finest Medieval churches in England.

William Turner visited the church and sketched the tombs and the chapel of the Shireburn family.

One of the most notable features of All Hallows - aside from the notable slope of the nave from west to east - is the 15th century chancel screen, which may have been brought here from nearby Sawley Abbey after the abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII. Aside from the screen, which was installed in 1593, much of the impressive interior is due to the efforts of the Shireburne family of nearby Stonyhurst. Memorials to generations of Shireburnes stand within the Shereburne chapel.

When we were refurbishing the pub, Martin Aspinall directed us to the Aspinall coat of arms on the walls of the church, which is the most accurate representation of the crest. It is this that we copied for the coat of arms on the pub's sign, which was painted for us by a heraldic artist in America.

The Leper's Squint

A hole in the outside wall of the church is known as the "hagioscope" or the "Leper's Squint." This allowed the sick to peep into the church and take part in the service without infecting the healthy.

Little Mitton Hall

Little Mitton Hall is just up the road from the Aspinall Arms on the south side of the river, and is not to be confused with Great Mitton Hall on the opposite bank of the river next to All Hallows church.

The present Hall was built in the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). Little Mitton was purchased about 1665 by Alexander Holt, of the Gristlehurst family, and descended to the Beaumonts of Whitley Beaumont, in Yorkshire.

Following the failure of the Beaumont line, Little Mitton Hall was purchased by John Aspinall in about 1857-60, who undertook a great deal of rebuilding and additions to the Hall. The old walls of timber were removed, but the entrance hall was left untouched. From John Aspinall the Hall descended (via his son ?) to his grandson, Ralph John Aspinall who was the owner in 1872.

Little Mitton Hall was sketched by William Turner who travelled extensively in the Ribble Valley in the early 19th century.

The details Turner highlighted are still evident to this day:

Great Mitton Hall

Great Mitton Hall dates to the period between 1374 and 1393 but there have obviously been a number of alterations since that date.

Now privately owned, the hall was built to house a group of priests in training and under the control of the Dean.

This how Great Mitton Hall would have been in the 14th century. The center part was probably where the original manor house was, and would have been just one great room. The cross wings were probably added to make an H configuration. One side would have been for the servants with a cross hall to service the manor lord family. The structure would have been made of wattle and daub with a wood frame. This was confirmed with a recent renovation.

Later, probably in the 17th century, the stone facade was made over the original Tudor style house for fire prevention. During some of its history, Great Mitton Hall has been used as a refectory as well as a hospital. 

With thanks to http://thefamilydemitton.wordpress.com

Mitton Bridge

Mitton bridge, adjacent to the pub, is built over the River Ribble, and probably dates from the early C19th when it replaced the oar-propelled ferry crossing of the river.

It is Grade II listed, and described in the listing text as 'Sandstone ashlar. 3 segmental arches with rounded cutwaters. Solid parapet with string and weathered coping. The southern parapet is inscribed 'LITTLE MITTON LANCASHIRE. GREAT MITTON YORKSHIRE'.

William Turner sketched the bridge on his travels in 1816. Curiously, the pub is not shown in the sketch, presumably because it was just out of the frame: we know this because the pub, then known as the Mitton boat, pre-existed the bridge.

The Aspinall Arms

The Aspinall Arms is a coaching inn believed to date from the 17th century, and was originally known as the Mitton Boat.

Before the bridge was built there was a row boat ferry on the site of the Aspinall Arms pub which took travellers across. The old boathouse is reputed to be incorporated into the current structure of the Aspinall Arms.

At that time, the River Ribble enjoyed some of the finest fishing in England...until in the mid 19th century, it suffered from industrial pollution.

In 1880, Mr Ralph John Aspinall, high Sheriff of Lancashire and owner of large estates along the Ribble, and Mr Hick, his wealthy tenant, look the local cotton mill to court for polluting the river and destroying the fish, so that Mt Aspinall's stretch of the river, with the most valuable fishing rights in England, had been destroyed, and the Aspinall Arms, formerly a favourite inn amongst anglers, no longer flourished because the fish were gone. They won the case.

The children's shoes

Concealed shoes - that is, shoes intentionally hidden in wall cavities, chimneys and beneath floorboards, are relatively common throughout England - indeed, over 1,200 examples have been recorded.

The belief was that they were a charm of protection. The local village 'Cunning Man or Woman' would advise householders to conceal a single shoe in the fabric of a house with the intention it would act as a magical decoy and evil spirit or ill intent sent upon the family would be caught in the shoe and dispersed.

This belief harks back to the end of the 13th century when the rector of North Marston in Buckinghamshire is reputed to have cast the devil into a boot.

These ancient shoes, which measure only 7.5cms in length (3 inches), were discovered under floorboards when renovation work was undertaken several years ago. The landlord at the time apparently subsequently returned the shoes to their hiding place.

Rebecca Shawcross, shoe resource officer at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, which has a special boot and shoe section, identified them as 'an interesting example of two individual and well worn children's Latchet shoes from the 17th century'.

If you have any further information on the pub that you think would fit nicely here we would love to hear from you.

If you'd like to put a name to a face, allow us to introduce you to the crew...


Front of house

Sus

Manager

Sus is our own little German and took over the reigns here at the Aspinall in June 2016. She has enormous energy and is always working to make everyone happy. If she isn't buzzing around the pub, Sus enjoys nothing more than going on long walks with her partner Rick, their daughter and our pub dogs, Barnaby & Jasper (as long as there's a G&T at the end of it).

Louis

Deputy Manager

Louis is bit of an adrenaline junkie but has fit right in with the rest of the team here at the Aspinall since joining in 2022. When not at work you can find him (or not) on the ski slopes or supporting the trade, in a local pub with a pint of lager. He has plenty of experience from both sides of the bar and loves anything food related.

Lizzie

Deputy Manager

Lizzie's heart has always been in hospitality, having completed her degree in Travel Operations Management. She enjoys walking her Labrador Bella in her spare time around the Ribble Valley and is into all things food and wine, loving nothing more than chatting and looking after our customers. In her spare time, when she is not travelling the world, she enjoys dining out, exploring new pubs and restaurants.

Christopher

Assistant Manager

OCH NAW we have gained another Scot! Chris joined us in October 2018 and fits into the Aspinall team like a glove. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and is as cool as a cucumber. On his days off Chris manages to somehow end up in a pub, but not before helping his wife, Vicky, at the stables with his beloved dog Floyd. Don't let that dour look fool you, he is smiling on the inside.

Sophie

Trainee Assistant Manager

Sophie started her career as a chef in Milton Keynes, locking in 10 years back of house, but wanted to expand her knowledge so came up north and out front to understand the industry from both sides. She brings with her, big smiles and lots of energy and laughter. Outside of work, Sophie loves going out for food, and spending time with friends and family, or relaxing at home with her 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Nico

Trainee Assistant Manager

Nico is born and bred Whalley and chose to be in hospitality because he gained a lot of self confidence from his first job. His favourite drink is Old J Cherry with pineapple juice and can be described as a Labrador in a human body. Nico hopes to one day visit The Shire in New Zealand as he is a big Lord of the Rings fan.

Andy

Supervisor

Andy is a hard working, honest and ambitious Mancunian who joined us in February 2022. He has a coffee in a morning to power through the day, and boy does he power through - we struggle to keep up, and a single malt whiskey to end it. Although he has a degree in Maths and childcare, his heart has always been in hospitality and bar work.

Maddy

Bar/Waiting

Maddy is a smiley, bubbly and hard working individual who is always raring to help out fellow colleagues and customers. So much so that whilst working part time here at the Aspinall she is also training to become a paramedic and we are very proud of her. When she does have a minute to spare, she is booking flights to travel the globe to be in the sun, and one day would love to dive headfirst out of a plane.


Kitchen

Peter

Senior Sous Chef

Peter or "Pudding" as he is known here at the Aspinall has been here since day one. He started life in our kitchen on puddings and the name stuck! He is now our fantastic Head Chef and the kitchen wouldn't be the same without him. Pud is a chatty man and can talk a glass eye to sleep. He is a key member of our Aspinall family and we are very proud of him.

Arkadiusz

Senior Chef de Partie

Arkadiusz or Arik as we affectionately call him joined us in May 2019 after working up the road for over a decade. He is as steady as they come and we hope he tots up another ten years with us. Arik is possibly one the happiest people we know and has always got a smile on his face. Dobry!


Maintenance

Christina

Gardener/Maintenance Person

Christina is our flower buff, she knows everything and anything to do with plants and flowers. She has a horticultural degree and is married to Colin, who has only recently retired from being a gardener himself. While she has her own garden to look after, Christina came to work for us after taking an early retirement but decided to keep an eye on Colin and the gardens here at the Aspinall.