RIVINGTON PIKE

Baron Leverhulme, founder of the 1886 company Lever Brothers (now part of Unilever), bought the Rivington estate to build a country retreat. Rivington Pike stands high above the town of Horwich near Bolton, Lancashire. On its slopes Lord Leverhulme laid out a magical terraced garden and instructed skilled stone masons to construct this inspiring estate.

These buildings and terraced gardens were strongly influenced by Baron Leverhulmes travels across the world and the wonders that he saw made their mark in such a way he simply couldn't resist the opportunity to build a wonderland tucked away below the Rivington Pike Tower, constructed in 1733 by 1729 Rivington Estate owner of the period John Andrews. The Tower was built from the original fire platform and from the bed of the River Douglas. The single internal room was used for shelter in harsh weather conditions whilst Grouse shooting with friends and The Rivington Pike Tower still stands today high above the surrounding towns and villages and is a reknowned local landmark.

Baron Leverhulme purchased the Rivington Estate in 1900 and shortly afterwards began the very long construction of the Baron Leverhulme Estate. You can still walk through the ruins of it today on your way to a great view over the Lancashire landscape situated on the West Pennine Moors. Lord Leverhulme was one of Englands great industrial entrepreneurs and the story of his families rise to success to his sad death from pneumonia in 1925 is an inspiring and captivating story. In March 2009 i had the fantastic opportunity to walk the paths this great man left behind for all to admire, unknowingly, thousands enjoy this sadly decaying historic ruin spread over such a vast space on the side of Rivington Pike.

These images i decided to present in black and white, for absolutely no reason i can explain other than i just love the look and feel of them this way, they somehow expressed the look and feel of this beautiful place. Although some may seem somewhat "sinister" this in no way reflects the overall feeling of the Rivington Estate, non-the-less I hope you enjoy them, i have also included a reference about William Hesketh Lever below my "Rivington Estate Gallery" curtosy of Wikipedia.org and is presented under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

These ruins are amazing to walk around let alone take pictures of. I regularly get the chance to visit the old estate and urge anyone ever in the area to make the effort and walk up Rivington Pike as you truly will get your just rewards when you reach the ruins.