A public road still runs through this gatehouse, raised around 1300 for Whalley's Cistercian abbey, once the second-richest in Lancashire
Open accessfree to visit at any reasonable time
Substantial ruinsruined, but plenty survives above ground
This two-storey gatehouse went up in stages from 1296 to about 1310, the oldest part of Whalley Abbey. Monks used gatehouses like this to control who came and went, and the room above this one is thought to have held a small chapel for the abbey’s guests. Two arched doorways survive at its base, one wide enough for horses and carts, the other for people on foot; the village’s railway viaduct rises just beyond it. You’re free to look through both doorways any time, though the gatehouse itself stays locked. The rest of Whalley Cistercian abbey is a short walk east, alongside St Mary’s Church, Whalley, and Whalley Station is close enough to reach on foot.
