Built in 1733 from the remains of a beacon platform and pit and from local stone from the River Douglas and wood from the surrounding hills, Grade 2 listed Rivington Pike Tower was formerly used as a hunting lodge by Squire John Andrews, sheltering shooting parties out on a jolly from Rivington Hall. After decades of disrepair and vandalism the castellated top has been renovated, the roof and chimney replaced, and the door and windows bricked up. Inside, and now unable to be seen, are a fireplace and a small stone-flagged cellar. Due to erosion the doorway now stands a good forty inches above the soil rendering the Tower’s foundations clearly visible.
The roof of the Pike tower has been missing for many years, originally it had a sloping roof with a chimney. In its place is a rusted mesh that is meant to either stop litter falling into the tower or stop climbers falling in and getting stuck.
There is supposed to be a door in the floor of the Pike tower that leads to a small cellar but as can be seen from these photographs, the floor is covered with rubble and litter and is overgrown with plants.
All about Rivington Pike, a prominent hill above the town of Horwich in Lancashire, topped by an easily recognizable tower on site of an ancient beacon fire.
