The name Briercliffe probably comes from the
Old English words "
briar" and , a steep slope or declivity. Extwistle may have been named from the junction (O.E. ) of Swinden Water and the
River Don, while the first element could be a corruption of
oxen. The parish contains a number of sites of early human occupation, including: • Burwains Camp prehistoric defended settlement - A circular
univallate (single-walled) defended enclosure across, surrounded by a ditch and bank, with entrances in the east and west. Today the wide ditch is only approximately deep and the bank no more than high and about across. The site is located on Broad Bank Hill, overlooking the valley of
Thursden Brook. Thought to be a
prehistoric settlement, limited
archaeological excavation in 1950 recovered some
Neolithic finds but was insufficient to more accurately date the site. • Small stone circle on Delf Hill - About east of the summit of Delf Hill there is a small
stone circle, thought to date from the late Neolithic to the mid Bronze Age. Seven stones, some of which are still standing, have been arranged in a circle. In the centre is a high, diameter cairn surrounded by a shallow ditch. Limited
archaeological excavation on the cairn was undertaken in 1842, during which three interment urns were discovered. • Pike Low bowl barrow and site of beacon, Bonfire Hill - Located on the summit of Bonfire Hill is a
bowl barrow thought to date from the
Bronze Age. It is a by oval mound of earth and stones up to high. The site was used as part of a system of warning
beacons during the medieval period and the top of the mound has been flattened to create a platform for the bonfire. This is a rare example of such a combination. • Beadle Hill
Romano-British farmstead - Located at the western end of Beadle Hill, with extensive views over the surrounding area. Inner and outer ditches are separated by an earth and stone rampart, around a farmstead enclosure about square, with an entrance on the eastern side. • Twist Castle Romano-British farmstead - Located at the western end of Twist Hill, with extensive views over the surrounding area. An earth and stone rampart surviving up to high, around a rectangular farmstead enclosure about , with an entrance on the eastern side. There would also have been an outer ditch but little trace now remains. Attached to the south eastern side of the enclosure, next to the entrance, is a square annexe also with an earth and stone wall. After the
Norman conquest of England, Briercliffe was part of the
manor of
Ightenhill, itself a part of the
Honour of Clitheroe. Extwistle had been granted as a manor by the 12th century, when the
mesne lord Richard de Malbis gave half of its land to the canons of
Newbo Abbey. The remaining half seems to have come into the possession of the Abbot of
Kirkstall Abbey during the 1300s.
Extwistle Hall Extwistle Hall stands high on Extwistle Moor between Haggate (east of Brierfield) and the village of
Worsthorne. The Hall, built of coursed sandstone on three sides of a courtyard, is now a ruin. It was built in the 16th century in the
Tudor style by the Parker family who were prominent in local affairs. Robert Parker had bought the land, which had previously belonged to Kirkstall Abbey, in 1537 after the
Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Parker family occupied it for some two hundred years before moving to
Cuerden Hall around 1718. John Parker was
High Sheriff of Lancashire for 1653 and Robert Parker for 1710. The house was remodelled in the late 18th century. The
listed Grade II* building, owned by an Isle of Man based property company, has been unoccupied for more than twenty years and is listed in
English Heritage's Heritage at Risk Register. In January 2012, £2million plans were revealed to save and restore the hall to its former glory, then afterwards to be sold off. ==Governance==