Bank Hall
Encyclopedia
Bank Hall is a Jacobean
mansion
south of the village of Bretherton
in Lancashire
, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I
by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th and 19th centuries by descendants of the Banastres. Extensions were built for George Anthony Legh Keck
, in 1832–1833 to the design of architect George Webster
, (1797–1864).
Legh Keck died in 1860 leaving no heir and the estates passed to the third Lord Lilford
. The contents were auctioned in 1861 and the hall used as a holiday home until it was leased to tenants. During the Second World War the Royal Engineers
used the building as a control centre. After the war the estate was returned to the Lilfords whose estate offices moved to the east wing of the house until 1972 when the house was vacated. The building was used as a filming location for the 1969 film The Haunted House of Horror.
The house was vandalised causing rapid deterioration. In 1995 the Bank Hall Action Group
was formed to raise public awareness of the property, raise funds, host events, and clear the overgrown grounds. In 2003 Bank Hall was the first property to feature in the BBC's Restoration
television series and was second in the voting. Since 2006 the action group and Urban Splash
have planned to restore the house as apartments retaining the gardens, entrance hall and clock tower for public access and the Heritage Trust for the North West
(HTNW) plan to renovate the potting sheds and walled gardens.
in Wales in about 1164. In 1167 the Banastres were evicted when Owain Gwynedd
, Prince of North Wales destroyed the castle and the family fled to Cheshire and Lancashire.
A structure from the time of Elizabeth I is recorded on Christopher Saxton
's map from 1579. In 1608 the Banastres built the first phase of the present hall and demolished the old timber building. The new house was constructed to a Jacobean style. The hall was rectangular with two rooms to the east, a room and staircase to the west and a grand hall in the centre containing a screen and fireplace. It is possible that there may have been a timber structure where the east wing stands and other wooden wings that were replaced as the house was extended. Recorded in the 1666 Hearth tax, of the 99 hearths in Bretherton, Bank Hall had twelve.
The last of the Banastres, Christopher, who was High Sheriff of Lancashire
in 1670, died in 1690 leaving two daughters. The property was inherited by the eldest, Anne who married Thomas Fleetwood. He planned to drain the surrounding marsh lands and in 1692, made the first attempt to drain Martin Mere
, with no success. In 1714 the first canal was improved and floodgates kept back the high tides. Their daughter, Henrietta Maria, married Thomas Legh of Lyme Park
and ownership of the estate passed to the Leghs
.
George Anthony Legh Keck moved from Stoughton, Leicestershire
on inheriting the estate. He was the last resident owner and commissioned Kendal
architect, George Webster, to extend the hall in 1832–1833. Legh Keck was known for his collections of stuffed
animals and birds, which included sets of horns from many species of animals from all over the world. He owned a collection of classical style statuettes and casts of figures by the sculptor Antonio Canova
.
In April 1861, a year after Legh Keck's death, the hall's contents were sold at auction. The catalogue survives and lists the items by room. The house and estate passed to Legh Keck's brother-in-law, Thomas Littleton Powys, fourth Baron Lilford
, whose family seat was Lilford Hall
in Northamptonshire
. Bank Hall was used as a holiday home by the Lilfords until 1899. The estate remains part of Lilford Estates and is managed by a land agent, Acland Bracewell & Co.
, was resident in 1891 until his death in February 1892. Sir Harcourt Everard Clare, clerk to Lancashire County Council
moved to the hall with his family who hosted garden parties in the grounds. The cricketer Ranjit Singh visited him during the 1920s. King George V
whilst visiting Lancashire in 1913 stopped at the lodge to greet the Clares and their staff.
Cotton mill owner, Sir Norman Seddon-Brown and his family lived at the hall from the late 1920s until 1938, when they moved to Escowbeck
. The Aga Khan III
is thought to have visited the hall during this time.
During World War II the Royal Engineers were billetted at Bank Hall. The north east wing, a service wing, housed a boiler-house, shed, laundry, dairy and cheese rooms, mangle room, brew house and wash house around a central courtyard. The buildings can be seen on the 1928 Ordnance Survey map which shows two greenhouses and three buildings in the walled garden. A pond was constructed on the site of the courtyard and a concrete drive installed.
After the war the estates were returned to Lilford Estates, who had an estate office in the east wing until 1972.
The exterior was used as a location for The Haunted House of Horror (1969)
.
built mansion of three storeys with Dutch gables and a square central tower on the south front. Some of the original brickwork in a diaper
(lozenge) flushwork
pattern is visible on one gable. The house was restored and enlarged by architect George Webster in 1832–3. He added a wing to the west elevations, built a porch on the north side, remodelled the 1608 north elevation windows, covered the roofs with blue Cumbrian slate
s and finished the walls with stone details. Webster carried out the alterations sympathetically, in a style corresponding to the 17th century building, but the difference is marked by the colour of the brickwork and sharpness of the detail. Most windows were renewed during the restoration and two Italian style bay windows added to the south front, altering its appearance.
The clock tower which rises to a height of 60 feet (18.3 m), was built between 1660 and 1665 and remodelled in 1832–33. The tower, which contains an original oak cantilever
ed staircase, is the chief architectural feature of the building on the south side. The brick built tower has stone quoins at the corners and the staircase has eight original stone cross-windows with mullions, transom
s and hoodmoulds irregularly spaced at different levels. The tower has a south facing 19th century clock in the top storey, (the north facing clock fell when the north east elevation of the tower collapsed during the 1980s) the cogs and wheels were manufactured by John Alker
and the tower terminates in battlement
s with angle and intermediate ornaments from the 19th century restoration.
Decorative features include lavish stonework design and finials on the west wing bay window and false windows on the kitchen chimney stack wall creating a decorative feature on a plain wall. Other features from the 1832 renovation include Legh Keck's initials "G.A.L.K" and "1833" inscribed above the Italian bay windows. There were once four cast iron
ram's heads holding laurel sprigs and maiden's heads on the building and a coat of arms on the front porch. The lead rain hoppers have the initials "LK", and the porch has two carved green men
on either side of the doors. There are stone statues on the tower battlements. Another architectural feature are the chimney stacks, the oldest having a diamond shaped chimney, while others are square. The chimneys on the west wing are notable for their octagonal shape. The clocks on the tower featured a Fleur-de-lis
at each corner of the clock faces thought to be from the Bannastre family coat of arms.
The Legh Keck coat of arms comprises a ram's head (from the Legh family, which can be seen at Lyme Park
), a maiden's head and three sparrowhawks (from the Atherton coat of arms). and a rampant lion (from the Legh coat of arms, and which features twice). The Legh Keck motto is, "EN DIEU EST MA FOY" which translates to 'In God is my faith'.
Architectural features in the gardens once included a pair of stone lion statues at the front porch, a pair of 12 feet (3.7 m) concrete statues (thought to be of a gothic floral design) near the front porch with the Legh Keck crest symbols, and a sundial
, which have all now disappeared.
, also on the estate. There was a 17th-century fireplace with a peacock carved on the chimney-piece in one of the upstairs bedrooms matching a peacock design on the Delft tiles
of the fireplace. Other delft tiles were found in the rubble inside the house.
Legh Keck collected sculptures and antiques; the floors furnished with Turkish carpets, horns and animal heads from around the world, family portraits dating back to 17th century and oak and mahogany carved furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries. Numerous Wedgwood
items were among the contents sold at auction in 1861 after the death of Legh Keck.
from the roof. In the early 1980s, the Lilford Trust applied unsuccessfully for planning permission to turn the house and grounds into a country club and golf course. A large mural, subject unknown, painted on the wall of the drawing room was destroyed when the west wing roof collapsed in the 1980s.
In 1952 Bank Hall was listed as a Grade II* Listed Building. In 2002 it was identified as one of 22% of buildings in the UK that are deemed to be at immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric. It is currently on the Buildings at Risk Register.
It is on the English Heritage
"Heritage at risk register 2009", described as in very bad condition and priority B for restoration and conservation. As of 2010, the house remains in a ruinous state. The west wing roof and north-east corner of the clock tower collapsed in the early 1980s and has continued to deteriorate, losing a clock face and ¾ of the statues from the battlements. In 2001 listed building consent was granted to carry out structural work to the tower, Three of the corner decorative pinnacles remain but the west elevation has a crack held together by scaffolding installed in 2002 during emergency repairs funded by the action group and English Heritage. At that time, what was left of the clock mechanism was removed from the tower and the fallen statues and clock face parts put into storage awaiting restoration.
In 2006 a water tank crashed through the floors in the Jacobean part of the building causing major damage to the roof, a front gable and the rooms below. On the 26th July 2007 the BBC Breakfast news, chose the building to feature on the morning news, as it is one of sixteen buildings across the UK that is on the updated Buildings at Risk Register and requires emergency work. A cantilevered oak staircase remains in the tower where, in 2008, part of the staircase from the south elevation collapsed, but caused no damage to the balustrade. In 2008, most of the slates were removed due to the fear of more gables collapsing because of pressure on the walls.
Three magnolia trees are growing out of the foundations of the east wing and cover the exterior, which has lost two gables. The east wing contains a ground floor room with no windows, a concrete ceiling and a steel door which remains unopened since the estate offices closed in 1972.
In September 2010, a collapse in the west wing occurred causing further damage to the 1832 stairwell. The rooms above the parlour where destroyed as the roof and wall collapsed and the back wall of the drawing room partially collapsed caused by an unsteady stone window. English Heritage assessed the damage as urgent and structural work was needed to prevent further collapse. In November 2011 contractors for the HTNW dismantled the north wing porch as the gable was at risk of collapse.
was formed in 1995 to raise awareness of the need to restore the hall. The Heritage Trust for the North West plans to have a visitor entrance and heritage garden separate from the house restoration project when the building is restored.
Bank Hall's plight was highlighted when it featured in the first series of BBC's Restoration
programme, on 8 August 2003. It was described as a "beautiful and impressive Jacobean country house" coming second in the voting.
In 2003 the cost of restoring the shell of the building was estimated at £3 million. Urban Splash
was engaged in 2006, with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, to develop a business plan. It envisaged creating 12 housing units within the hall, 23 houses in two courtyards in the former orchard with the action group retaining the entrance hall, clock tower and upper rooms for public access. The project is worth £6 million with proceeds from the sale of the houses and a £1.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
funding the restoration of the building.
A structural report carried out in 2009 by Urban Splash enabled a plan of the building's interior to be developed. It was hoped that work would commence in 2010. After delays, planning permission was granted in February 2011.
is crossed by the River Douglas
and its embankment provides flood protection for the low lying area. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal
crosses close to the river and Grade II listed Bank Bridge carries the A59 road
over river and canal. A Grade II listed warehouse is close to the bridge.
Bank Lodge, situated at a disused access road is owned by the estate, and can be seen on the 1928 Ordnance Survey Map.
Bank Hall Farm, the home farm whose Elizabethan long barn built in the early 17th century is grade II listed. It was extended in the early 19th century and converted into residences in 2004.
Between the fields and the barns was a timber yard. The estate offices, blacksmith's forge and coach house were housed on the farm. The action group use the coach house and offices as a temporary visitor centre.
Along a carriage drive, lined with lime trees, connecting the hall to Bretherton are 'Crossford Lodge', a modern single-story building and Bretherton Lodge (The New Lodge).
Bank Hall Windmill built in 1741, is a Grade II listed building situated between Bank Bridge and Plocks Farm.
Carr House
, built by the Stone family in 1613 was the home of Jeremiah Horrocks
, the first person to predict and observe the Transit of Venus
, in 1639.
created by George Anthony Legh Keck. Bank Hall Gardens
were neglected from 1980-1995 though some plants survived. Snowdrop
carpets which cover much of the gardens in February were uncovered in 2001 when a small area was cleared. There are several varieties of daffodils, bluebells
and primroses
.
The oldest tree, a 550 year old yew, predates the hall, the tallest, a wellingtonia
towers over the woodland. There are numerous coast redwoods and specimens of dawn redwood
, Lebanon cedar
, atlas cedar
, swamp cypress
, lime and magnolia
.
A conservatory was built for Elizabeth Legh Keck in the 1830s. The walled garden, constructed in 1835, has a greenhouse and potting sheds on its north wall and a heated outdoor wall. The Heritage Trust for the North West aims to restore this area into a heritage garden. A cricket field and tennis lawns were situated beyond a ha-ha and accessed via a yew tunnel.
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
south of the village of Bretherton
Bretherton
Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. Its name suggests pre-conquest origins and its early history was closely involved with the manor house Bank Hall and the families who lived there...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th and 19th centuries by descendants of the Banastres. Extensions were built for George Anthony Legh Keck
George Anthony Legh Keck
Lt.Col. George Anthony Legh Keck was born in 1784 at Stoughton, Leicestershire and was the son of Anthony James Keck and his wife Elizabeth . George Anthony Legh Keck was a member of the Legh family that lived at Lyme Hall at Lyme Park, Cheshire. His wife Elizabeth from Atherton Hall in Atherton...
, in 1832–1833 to the design of architect George Webster
George Webster (architect)
George Webster was born in Kendal, Westmorland, England in 1797, son to Francis Webster, a prominent local stonemason turned architect...
, (1797–1864).
Legh Keck died in 1860 leaving no heir and the estates passed to the third Lord Lilford
Baron Lilford
Baron Lilford, of Lilford in the County of Northampton, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1797 for Thomas Powys, who had previously represented Northamptonshire in the House of Commons. His grandson, the third Baron, served as a Lord-in-Waiting from 1837 to 1841 in the...
. The contents were auctioned in 1861 and the hall used as a holiday home until it was leased to tenants. During the Second World War the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
used the building as a control centre. After the war the estate was returned to the Lilfords whose estate offices moved to the east wing of the house until 1972 when the house was vacated. The building was used as a filming location for the 1969 film The Haunted House of Horror.
The house was vandalised causing rapid deterioration. In 1995 the Bank Hall Action Group
Bank Hall Action Group
The Bank Hall Action Group is a voluntary group which aims to raise public awareness and secure the future restoration of Bank Hall, a Jacobean mansion house near the banks of the River Douglas, in Bretherton, Lancashire....
was formed to raise public awareness of the property, raise funds, host events, and clear the overgrown grounds. In 2003 Bank Hall was the first property to feature in the BBC's Restoration
Restoration (TV series)
Restoration, Restoration, Restoration is a set of BBC television series where viewers decided on which listed building that was in immediate need of remedial works was to win a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund...
television series and was second in the voting. Since 2006 the action group and Urban Splash
Urban Splash
Urban Splash is a British company which regenerates decaying industrial warehouses, mills, Victorian terraced houses and other buildings. These buildings have mainly been converted into housing...
have planned to restore the house as apartments retaining the gardens, entrance hall and clock tower for public access and the Heritage Trust for the North West
Heritage Trust for the North West
Heritage Trust for the North West / Heritage Trust North West is a registered Building Preservation Trust, established in 1978 as a charity and company....
(HTNW) plan to renovate the potting sheds and walled gardens.
History
For centuries Bank Hall was the manorial home of a branch of the Banastres, the lords of the manor descended from the Norman Roger de Banastre, who built a motte and bailey castle at PrestatynPrestatyn Castle
An earth mound, visible in fields to the south of the Prestatyn railway station, near Nant Hall, marks the site of an early wooden motte and bailey castle. Prestatyn Castle occupies a low-lying position, but still commands a view across much of the flat coastal plain and guarded the coast road...
in Wales in about 1164. In 1167 the Banastres were evicted when Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...
, Prince of North Wales destroyed the castle and the family fled to Cheshire and Lancashire.
A structure from the time of Elizabeth I is recorded on Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton was an English cartographer, probably born in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England around 1540....
's map from 1579. In 1608 the Banastres built the first phase of the present hall and demolished the old timber building. The new house was constructed to a Jacobean style. The hall was rectangular with two rooms to the east, a room and staircase to the west and a grand hall in the centre containing a screen and fireplace. It is possible that there may have been a timber structure where the east wing stands and other wooden wings that were replaced as the house was extended. Recorded in the 1666 Hearth tax, of the 99 hearths in Bretherton, Bank Hall had twelve.
The last of the Banastres, Christopher, who was High Sheriff of Lancashire
High Sheriff of Lancashire
The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...
in 1670, died in 1690 leaving two daughters. The property was inherited by the eldest, Anne who married Thomas Fleetwood. He planned to drain the surrounding marsh lands and in 1692, made the first attempt to drain Martin Mere
Martin Mere
Martin Mere is a mere near Burscough, Lancashire, England on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around that, until it was drained, was the largest body of fresh water in England.-History:...
, with no success. In 1714 the first canal was improved and floodgates kept back the high tides. Their daughter, Henrietta Maria, married Thomas Legh of Lyme Park
Lyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
and ownership of the estate passed to the Leghs
Leghs of Lyme
The Leghs of Lyme are a family who owned Lyme Park in Cheshire, England, from 1398 to 1946, when the house and estate were given to the National Trust. In the early days of the family there were variations of both the surname, and the usually-given forename. Variations of the surname include de...
.
George Anthony Legh Keck moved from Stoughton, Leicestershire
Stoughton, Leicestershire
Stoughton is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire.It is just east of Leicester, and sits in countryside between two protusions of the Leicester urban area . The closest part of the city of Leicester is Evington...
on inheriting the estate. He was the last resident owner and commissioned Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
architect, George Webster, to extend the hall in 1832–1833. Legh Keck was known for his collections of stuffed
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
animals and birds, which included sets of horns from many species of animals from all over the world. He owned a collection of classical style statuettes and casts of figures by the sculptor Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...
.
In April 1861, a year after Legh Keck's death, the hall's contents were sold at auction. The catalogue survives and lists the items by room. The house and estate passed to Legh Keck's brother-in-law, Thomas Littleton Powys, fourth Baron Lilford
Baron Lilford
Baron Lilford, of Lilford in the County of Northampton, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1797 for Thomas Powys, who had previously represented Northamptonshire in the House of Commons. His grandson, the third Baron, served as a Lord-in-Waiting from 1837 to 1841 in the...
, whose family seat was Lilford Hall
Lilford Hall
Lilford Hall is a Grade 1 listed stately 100-room home having a Jacobean exterior and Georgian interior with a floor area, located in the eastern part of the County of Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom, south of Oundle and north of Thrapston. A Grade 1 listed building is considered by the UK...
in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. Bank Hall was used as a holiday home by the Lilfords until 1899. The estate remains part of Lilford Estates and is managed by a land agent, Acland Bracewell & Co.
Tenants
Local businessman Edward CrippenEdward Frederick Crippin
Edward Frederick Crippin was an English businessman.Crippin was born at 13 Tonman Street, Manchester, Lancashire. His father William Crippin was a coal agent and his mother Sarah Crippin was a housewife. Edward eventually took over his father's business, Bryn Hall Colliery, Bryn,...
, was resident in 1891 until his death in February 1892. Sir Harcourt Everard Clare, clerk to Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It currently consists of 84 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, who won control of the council in the local council elections in June 2009, ending 28 years of...
moved to the hall with his family who hosted garden parties in the grounds. The cricketer Ranjit Singh visited him during the 1920s. King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
whilst visiting Lancashire in 1913 stopped at the lodge to greet the Clares and their staff.
Cotton mill owner, Sir Norman Seddon-Brown and his family lived at the hall from the late 1920s until 1938, when they moved to Escowbeck
Escowbeck
Escowbeck House a country manor house on Caton Lane in Quernmore near Lancaster, Lancashire was constructed in 1842 in extensive parkland and countryside. It is situated overlooking the Crook of Lune south of the road from Lancaster to Caton and Hornby, near where the Escow Beck from which it takes...
. The Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
is thought to have visited the hall during this time.
During World War II the Royal Engineers were billetted at Bank Hall. The north east wing, a service wing, housed a boiler-house, shed, laundry, dairy and cheese rooms, mangle room, brew house and wash house around a central courtyard. The buildings can be seen on the 1928 Ordnance Survey map which shows two greenhouses and three buildings in the walled garden. A pond was constructed on the site of the courtyard and a concrete drive installed.
After the war the estates were returned to Lilford Estates, who had an estate office in the east wing until 1972.
The exterior was used as a location for The Haunted House of Horror (1969)
The Haunted House of Horror (1969 film)
The Haunted House of Horror, also titled Horror House and The Dark, was an early type of teen "slasher film" set in late 60's England. It starred Frankie Avalon and Jill Haworth as young adults looking for a thrill by spending the night in an old mansion in the English countryside. Although...
.
Architecture
Bank Hall, built in the Jacobean style in 1608, is a brickBrick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
built mansion of three storeys with Dutch gables and a square central tower on the south front. Some of the original brickwork in a diaper
Diapering
Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
(lozenge) flushwork
Flushwork
-Description:In architecture, flushwork is the decorative combination on the same flat plane of flint and ashlar stone. It is characteristic of the external walls of medieval buildings, most of the survivors being churches, in parts of Southern England, but especially East Anglia...
pattern is visible on one gable. The house was restored and enlarged by architect George Webster in 1832–3. He added a wing to the west elevations, built a porch on the north side, remodelled the 1608 north elevation windows, covered the roofs with blue Cumbrian slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
s and finished the walls with stone details. Webster carried out the alterations sympathetically, in a style corresponding to the 17th century building, but the difference is marked by the colour of the brickwork and sharpness of the detail. Most windows were renewed during the restoration and two Italian style bay windows added to the south front, altering its appearance.
The clock tower which rises to a height of 60 feet (18.3 m), was built between 1660 and 1665 and remodelled in 1832–33. The tower, which contains an original oak cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed staircase, is the chief architectural feature of the building on the south side. The brick built tower has stone quoins at the corners and the staircase has eight original stone cross-windows with mullions, transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
s and hoodmoulds irregularly spaced at different levels. The tower has a south facing 19th century clock in the top storey, (the north facing clock fell when the north east elevation of the tower collapsed during the 1980s) the cogs and wheels were manufactured by John Alker
John Alker
John Alker , aka Alker of Wigan, was one of a family of longcase clock makers from Wigan, Lancashire.-Bibliography:*Davies E.: Greater Manchester Clocks and Clockmakers...
and the tower terminates in battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
s with angle and intermediate ornaments from the 19th century restoration.
Decorative features include lavish stonework design and finials on the west wing bay window and false windows on the kitchen chimney stack wall creating a decorative feature on a plain wall. Other features from the 1832 renovation include Legh Keck's initials "G.A.L.K" and "1833" inscribed above the Italian bay windows. There were once four cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
ram's heads holding laurel sprigs and maiden's heads on the building and a coat of arms on the front porch. The lead rain hoppers have the initials "LK", and the porch has two carved green men
Green Man
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
on either side of the doors. There are stone statues on the tower battlements. Another architectural feature are the chimney stacks, the oldest having a diamond shaped chimney, while others are square. The chimneys on the west wing are notable for their octagonal shape. The clocks on the tower featured a Fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
at each corner of the clock faces thought to be from the Bannastre family coat of arms.
The Legh Keck coat of arms comprises a ram's head (from the Legh family, which can be seen at Lyme Park
Lyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
), a maiden's head and three sparrowhawks (from the Atherton coat of arms). and a rampant lion (from the Legh coat of arms, and which features twice). The Legh Keck motto is, "EN DIEU EST MA FOY" which translates to 'In God is my faith'.
Architectural features in the gardens once included a pair of stone lion statues at the front porch, a pair of 12 feet (3.7 m) concrete statues (thought to be of a gothic floral design) near the front porch with the Legh Keck crest symbols, and a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
, which have all now disappeared.
Interiors
Little is known about the interior before the renovations of 1832–1833, which saw the great hall split into an entrance hall with a marble floor and a dining room with a grand fireplace. A ground floor room in the north wing was panelled with oak from Carr HouseCarr House
Carr House, is situated within the Bank Hall Estate, half-way between the villages of Tarleton and Much Hoole at the extreme north-west of the village of Bretherton, Lancashire...
, also on the estate. There was a 17th-century fireplace with a peacock carved on the chimney-piece in one of the upstairs bedrooms matching a peacock design on the Delft tiles
Delftware
Delftware, or Delft pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century....
of the fireplace. Other delft tiles were found in the rubble inside the house.
Legh Keck collected sculptures and antiques; the floors furnished with Turkish carpets, horns and animal heads from around the world, family portraits dating back to 17th century and oak and mahogany carved furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries. Numerous Wedgwood
Wedgwood
Wedgwood, strictly speaking Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, is a pottery firm owned by KPS Capital Partners, a private equity company based in New York City, USA. Wedgwood was founded on May 1, 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and in 1987 merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an...
items were among the contents sold at auction in 1861 after the death of Legh Keck.
Current condition
The building has been subject to vandalism and deterioration, caused by the theft of leadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
from the roof. In the early 1980s, the Lilford Trust applied unsuccessfully for planning permission to turn the house and grounds into a country club and golf course. A large mural, subject unknown, painted on the wall of the drawing room was destroyed when the west wing roof collapsed in the 1980s.
In 1952 Bank Hall was listed as a Grade II* Listed Building. In 2002 it was identified as one of 22% of buildings in the UK that are deemed to be at immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric. It is currently on the Buildings at Risk Register.
It is on the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
"Heritage at risk register 2009", described as in very bad condition and priority B for restoration and conservation. As of 2010, the house remains in a ruinous state. The west wing roof and north-east corner of the clock tower collapsed in the early 1980s and has continued to deteriorate, losing a clock face and ¾ of the statues from the battlements. In 2001 listed building consent was granted to carry out structural work to the tower, Three of the corner decorative pinnacles remain but the west elevation has a crack held together by scaffolding installed in 2002 during emergency repairs funded by the action group and English Heritage. At that time, what was left of the clock mechanism was removed from the tower and the fallen statues and clock face parts put into storage awaiting restoration.
In 2006 a water tank crashed through the floors in the Jacobean part of the building causing major damage to the roof, a front gable and the rooms below. On the 26th July 2007 the BBC Breakfast news, chose the building to feature on the morning news, as it is one of sixteen buildings across the UK that is on the updated Buildings at Risk Register and requires emergency work. A cantilevered oak staircase remains in the tower where, in 2008, part of the staircase from the south elevation collapsed, but caused no damage to the balustrade. In 2008, most of the slates were removed due to the fear of more gables collapsing because of pressure on the walls.
Three magnolia trees are growing out of the foundations of the east wing and cover the exterior, which has lost two gables. The east wing contains a ground floor room with no windows, a concrete ceiling and a steel door which remains unopened since the estate offices closed in 1972.
In September 2010, a collapse in the west wing occurred causing further damage to the 1832 stairwell. The rooms above the parlour where destroyed as the roof and wall collapsed and the back wall of the drawing room partially collapsed caused by an unsteady stone window. English Heritage assessed the damage as urgent and structural work was needed to prevent further collapse. In November 2011 contractors for the HTNW dismantled the north wing porch as the gable was at risk of collapse.
Restoration
Bank Hall Action GroupBank Hall Action Group
The Bank Hall Action Group is a voluntary group which aims to raise public awareness and secure the future restoration of Bank Hall, a Jacobean mansion house near the banks of the River Douglas, in Bretherton, Lancashire....
was formed in 1995 to raise awareness of the need to restore the hall. The Heritage Trust for the North West plans to have a visitor entrance and heritage garden separate from the house restoration project when the building is restored.
Bank Hall's plight was highlighted when it featured in the first series of BBC's Restoration
Restoration (TV series)
Restoration, Restoration, Restoration is a set of BBC television series where viewers decided on which listed building that was in immediate need of remedial works was to win a grant from Heritage Lottery Fund...
programme, on 8 August 2003. It was described as a "beautiful and impressive Jacobean country house" coming second in the voting.
In 2003 the cost of restoring the shell of the building was estimated at £3 million. Urban Splash
Urban Splash
Urban Splash is a British company which regenerates decaying industrial warehouses, mills, Victorian terraced houses and other buildings. These buildings have mainly been converted into housing...
was engaged in 2006, with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, to develop a business plan. It envisaged creating 12 housing units within the hall, 23 houses in two courtyards in the former orchard with the action group retaining the entrance hall, clock tower and upper rooms for public access. The project is worth £6 million with proceeds from the sale of the houses and a £1.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
funding the restoration of the building.
A structural report carried out in 2009 by Urban Splash enabled a plan of the building's interior to be developed. It was hoped that work would commence in 2010. After delays, planning permission was granted in February 2011.
Estate
The estateBank Hall Estate
The Bank Hall Estate is the demesne of the jacobean mansion house of Bank Hall, including much of land around the village of Bretherton, which is owned by the Lilford Trust.-History:...
is crossed by the River Douglas
River Douglas
The River Douglas, also known as the River Asland or Astland, is a river that flows through Lancashire and Greater Manchester in the north-west of England...
and its embankment provides flood protection for the low lying area. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
crosses close to the river and Grade II listed Bank Bridge carries the A59 road
A59 road
The A59 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Liverpool in Merseyside, to York in North Yorkshire.-Merseyside:The A59 begins in the centre of Liverpool at the mouth of the Birkenhead Tunnel, and heads north out of the city, first as Scotland Road in Vauxhall, then Kirkdale Road,...
over river and canal. A Grade II listed warehouse is close to the bridge.
Bank Lodge, situated at a disused access road is owned by the estate, and can be seen on the 1928 Ordnance Survey Map.
Bank Hall Farm, the home farm whose Elizabethan long barn built in the early 17th century is grade II listed. It was extended in the early 19th century and converted into residences in 2004.
Between the fields and the barns was a timber yard. The estate offices, blacksmith's forge and coach house were housed on the farm. The action group use the coach house and offices as a temporary visitor centre.
Along a carriage drive, lined with lime trees, connecting the hall to Bretherton are 'Crossford Lodge', a modern single-story building and Bretherton Lodge (The New Lodge).
Bank Hall Windmill built in 1741, is a Grade II listed building situated between Bank Bridge and Plocks Farm.
Carr House
Carr House
Carr House, is situated within the Bank Hall Estate, half-way between the villages of Tarleton and Much Hoole at the extreme north-west of the village of Bretherton, Lancashire...
, built by the Stone family in 1613 was the home of Jeremiah Horrocks
Jeremiah Horrocks
Jeremiah Horrocks , sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox , was an English astronomer who was the only person to predict, and one of only two people to observe and record, the transit of Venus of 1639.- Life and work :Horrocks was born in Lower Lodge, in...
, the first person to predict and observe the Transit of Venus
Transit of Venus
A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...
, in 1639.
Gardens
Bank Hall is surrounded by 18 acres (7.3 ha) of gardens, parkland and an arboretumArboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
created by George Anthony Legh Keck. Bank Hall Gardens
Bank Hall Gardens
Bank Hall Gardens comprise of land around Bank Hall, in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. The gardens contain specimen trees including a yew thought to be the oldest in Lancashire. Many architectural features, statues, low garden walls, conservatory and greenhouses have gone but there are plans to...
were neglected from 1980-1995 though some plants survived. Snowdrop
Snowdrop
Galanthus is a small genus of about 20 species of bulbous herbaceous plants in the Amaryllis family, subfamily Amaryllidoideae...
carpets which cover much of the gardens in February were uncovered in 2001 when a small area was cleared. There are several varieties of daffodils, bluebells
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
and primroses
Primula vulgaris
Primula vulgaris is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe , northwest Africa , and southwest Asia...
.
The oldest tree, a 550 year old yew, predates the hall, the tallest, a wellingtonia
Sequoiadendron
Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...
towers over the woodland. There are numerous coast redwoods and specimens of dawn redwood
Metasequoia
Metasequoia is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, and the sole living species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. Although the least tall of the redwoods, it grows to at least 200 feet in height...
, Lebanon cedar
Lebanon Cedar
Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.There are two distinct types that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties. Lebanon cedar or Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean...
, atlas cedar
Atlas Cedar
Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas Cedar, is a cedar native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco . A majority of the modern sources treat it as a distinct species Cedrus atlantica, but some sources consider it a subspecies of Lebanon Cedar Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas Cedar, is a cedar native to...
, swamp cypress
Taxodium
Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
, lime and magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
.
A conservatory was built for Elizabeth Legh Keck in the 1830s. The walled garden, constructed in 1835, has a greenhouse and potting sheds on its north wall and a heated outdoor wall. The Heritage Trust for the North West aims to restore this area into a heritage garden. A cricket field and tennis lawns were situated beyond a ha-ha and accessed via a yew tunnel.