Peel Tower Conditions Project, Bury
11.01.2026
A selection of news article below about the reopening of Peel Tower in November 1985. The tower was closed in 1947 because of the unsafe iron staircase. A new concrete stairway was installed, and over 500 people turned up in the cold to see the tower open again, and climb to the top!
05.01.2026
A glimpse of some of the artwork created during the second workshop run by Amy Callaghan from Pigs in Mid Art Studios . This time Amy joined the children at Emmanuel Holcombe CE Primary School for a Holcombe Moor wildlife themed session.
Such a talented group! 🐇🐸🦅🦔
15.12. 2025
Reading about Peel Tower today, we discovered that the tower only cost £1,000 to build in 1852. The monies were all raised from public appeal, and the stone used to build the tower was quarried from the hill itself – with the permission of the landowner.
A great price for such an iconic monument!
This picture was taken from the leaflet ‘Peel Tower A Monument and it’s Inspiration’
06.12.2025
Earlier this week artist Amy Callaghan from Pigs in Mid Art Studios joined the children at Emmanuel Holcombe CE Primary School for some Roberts Peel themed art workshops. The children coloured in Victorian coins, found out how much Peel’s workers would have had to spend on bread, and found out more about the Corn Laws – and Peel’s role in this.
They also made finder puppets of themselves as police and discussed the creation of the Metropolitan Police Force. They even shared ideas about what new laws they would like to see made in the future.
It was a really great session, and the artwork is fantastic 👮🏼
Amy is back at the school in a few days – we can’t wait to see what the children come up with next time!
04.12.2025
An interesting newspaper clipping shared with us by Greenmount Village Community group. It tells the story of a fire in Holcombe Tower in 1930, and was published in The Lancashire Evening Post. The nearest water supply was so far away that the fire was left to burn itself out…
28.11.2025
Great to see the Peel Tower project mentioned again in the Greenmount Voice. They’re right… this project is a really great example of the wonderful work that can be done when local partners work together. A huge thank you to the Greenmount volunteers for their support!
For those of you outside of Greenmount, you can read the update here: Peel Tower Greenmount Voice Update
25.11.2005
During the project, we’re finding out lots of interesting facts about Robert Peel and Holcombe. This week, a local resident shared some interesting newspaper articles, books and leaflets. In the file was this amazing photograph of Peel’s birthplace and Family home – Chamber Hall.
After Peel’s birth in 1788, his family remained a further 10 years in the Bury area before departing to Drayton Manor, near Tamworth in Staffordshire.
14.10.2025
Yesterday, the team from The Sunnywood Project were joined by 64 children from 16 different primary schools. They explored the moorlands, learning about the exciting work of the National Trust, marvelled at the views, climbed to the top of Peel Tower, and learnt a little bit more about Sir Robert Peel and when the tower was built.
It was an amazing session – thank you to everyone who came along! 🌳🌳🌳
29.09.2025
A huge thank you to everyone who attended the Lime Mortar Pointing training session at the weekend. The training was funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and delivered by the brilliant Sympathetic Works – an organisation who specialise in the skills needed for the conservation and repair of traditional and historic buildings. It was a great day, and we’ve had some fantastic feedback from the participants ☀️
23.09.2025
We’re delighted that heritage specialist, Courtnay Ives, from Buttress has been on site today. Buttress provides architecture, heritage consultancy, urban design, and conservation architecture expertise. The team won’t complete any physical works on the monument, however, they will provide a detailed report that outlines the current condition of the monument, the extent of the repairs needed, and suggestions on how we can restore the tower back to it’s full glory. We’re excited to be working with them, and look forward to finding out what they discover once their surveys begin.
22.09.2025
Are you interested in historic building techniques? Or planning projects in your own pre-1919 home? Or just interest in trying lime mortar pointing?
If you are, then you can sign up for a FREE lime mortar pointing training session on Saturday, 27th September. The training is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and there are 2 spaces still available available.
All details on the poster below, but if you’d like to book or find out more, please email Martin Proffitt
09.09.2025
There’s still chance to book on to the FREE lime mortar pointing training session taking place on 27th September!
All details on the poster below, but if you’d like to book or find out more, please email Martin Proffitt
06.08.2025
Are you interested in historic building techniques? Or planning projects in your own pre-1919 home? Or just interest in trying lime mortar pointing?
If you are, then you can sign up for a FREE lime mortar pointing training session on Saturday, 27th September. The training is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and there are 10 spaces available.
All details on the poster below, but if you’d like to book or find out more, please email Martin Proffitt
30.07.2025
Jemma and Rose, two fantastic TEP ecologists, have now carried out a UK Habitat Condition Assessment and Preliminary Roost Assessment (PRA) for bats at Peel Tower. The visit aimed to understand the ecological value of the surrounding landscape and to assess the tower’s potential to support protected species, particularly bats.
The ecologists recorded several habitat types both around the tower and in adjacent areas. These included modified grassland, upland acid grassland, and upland heath, all of which provide important functions for biodiversity and will inform any future ecological considerations for the site.
Given the tower’s age and traditional stone construction, several features were identified that could also offer suitable roosting opportunities for bats. These included external crevices, gaps in stonework, and potential internal voids.
There’ll be more survey work taking place around the tower in the coming months – these surveys will help ensure any future work at or around Peel Tower can be carried out in line with ecological best practice and regulatory requirements.
15.06.2025
Another heritage hike across the gorgeous Holcombe Moor, led by the amazing team from The Sunnywood Project.
This week, the group ventured to the Ellen Strange memorial and listened to the gruesome tale that led to her tragic death. They also saw the sensitive grasslands and peatlands protected by The National Trust and went inside the iconic Peel Tower. Thank you to everyone who came along – it was a great day, and a great opportunity to find out more about the heritage so close to home.
Tenders for the main survey and heritage works, ecology works, and artists have now been shared by Bury Council. As soon as we have experts and contractors in place, we’ll let you know when activity at the tower will begin!
If you’d like to know more about these roles, you can contact Martin Proffitt for more information.
30.04.2025
To kickstart the project, a group set off exploring the heritage of Holcombe Moor and Peel Tower, on Easter Sunday. They passed by key historical features on the moor including Pilgrim’s Cross and Ellen Strange’s memorial. Much of the recent fantastic work conducted by the National Trust to protect the sensitive grasslands and peatland on the moor were also highlighted to the group.
The group ended the hike with climbing to the very of top of the iconic Peel Tower to marvel at the views across Greater Manchester and beyond. Huge thanks to The Sunnywood Project team for leading ☀️🌳☀️
24.02.2025
We’re delighted to be working alongside Bury Council and Greenmount Village Community on a project to assess the condition of the iconic landmark – Peel Tower, Bury.
The monument stands at the top of Holcombe Hill overlooking Ramsbottom, and was built after the death of Bury born Prime Minister, and founder of the Metropolitan Police Force, Sir Robert Peel. It was unveiled in 1852, and it has since attracted thousands of visitors.
In recent years, concerns about the condition of the monument have been raised. These include water ingress issues, broken windows, and damaged external mortar.
This project, funded by the amazing team at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will involve completing the surveys needed to help us determine the current physical condition of the tower. This is needed in order to get a clear idea of the works needed to preserve the structure.
As well as surveying the monument, the project team will also work with ecologists who will survey (and make recommendations for improving) the upland grass / moorland and wildlife habitats surrounding the tower.
Alongside the survey works, there will be lots of Peel Tower themed community activities running too. There’ll be bat walks, heritage talks, heritage skills workshops, educational research projects, art projects to design new interpretation panels, and even the opportunity to share wildlife and ecology details directly with the survey teams – so lots to look forward to!
As always, we’ll keep you updated here, so do check back for more news and information soon.
