WEDDINGS have been cancelled after a roof at historic Gawthorpe Hall in Padiham started leaking in.

And, as well as the cancellation of five weddings, no marriage ceremonies will be staged at the Elizabethan venue in Padiham for at least two years.

Bosses said around £350,000 worth of repairs were required to the roof of The Great Barn at Gawthorpe Hall.

The wet weather in January is being blamed for the damage, which means the entire roof of the building, which dates back to 1605, will have to be replaced.

Five couples had the news broken to them that their weddings would have to be cancelled and were given their deposits back last week.

The barn, which is a listed building, retains original historic features including the stone-based aisle posts which support the roof timbers and can hold up to 250 people.

It has staged weddings for the past six years.

Nick Brooks, property manager for The National Trust which manages the Great Barn, said: "We will not be taking bookings for weddings for the next few years.

"The wet weather in January caused damage to the roof of The Great Barn.

"The leaking from the roof became worse during the last few months and structural engineers were called in to survey the damage.

"The entire roof needs replacing not just the slates effected.

"And for health and safety reasons we had to take the decision to not take any bookings for at least the next two years.

"We did not want to ruin people's big day by having water dripping onto people on the top table or people slipping on the wet dance floor.

"The building is over 400 years old and we do not know what we will find when the roof comes down.

"With there being such a degree of uncertainty we decided that it would be best to not book any weddings at the moment."

Weddings are held at the hall from May until September and cost around £2,500 for the wedding and reception.