Carr House
Encyclopedia
Carr House, is situated within the Bank Hall
Bank Hall
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...

 Estate, half-way between the villages of Tarleton
Tarleton
-Population :-Economy:As a result of soil on the former mossland, a major economic activity in Tarleton is market gardening, particularly growing salad crops....

 and Much Hoole
Much Hoole
Much Hoole is a village and civil parish in the borough of South Ribble, Lancashire, England. The parish of Much Hoole had a population of 1,851 at the time of the 2001 census.-History:...

 at the extreme north-west 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...

, 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...

. The building faces south to the Bretherton road, from which it stands back some distance and has a foreyard inclosed on the west side by farm buildings.

The Stone Family

"Carr House" is the ancestral home of the Stone Family who built the house in 1613 by Thomas Stone, who was a haberdasher
Haberdasher
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions. In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.-Origin and use:The word appears in...

 from London and his brother Andrew, who was a merchant from Amsterdam.

The local church of St. Michael was built in 1628 and was a gift to the people from the local villages of Croston
Croston
-External links:**** chorley.gov.uk....

, Much Hoole
Much Hoole
Much Hoole is a village and civil parish in the borough of South Ribble, Lancashire, England. The parish of Much Hoole had a population of 1,851 at the time of the 2001 census.-History:...

 and 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...

 by Thomas and Andrew, who also built a manor house for the rector of St Michael's. John gave the church its font and his wife donated the silver goblets and plate that are still used in the church today for communion.

Andrew shipped goods to England via Hoole
Hoole
Hoole is a suburb in the east of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.-History:The settlement was first mentioned in the Register of the Abbey of Saint Werburgh in 1119...

 and Richard Stone imported Irish panel boards and timber in 1604 for the Shuttleworth family, who were then building Gawthorpe Hall
Gawthorpe Hall
Gawthorpe Hall, a Lancashire County Council property managed by the National Trust is an Elizabethan house near the town of Padiham, in the borough of Burnley, Lancashire, England...

, with 1,000 pieces, storing them till needed in Hoole's tithe barn.

Architecture

The house was built in 1613 and the lay out of the house compromises of two wings to each side of a central porch. The building is built of red bricks which have weathered over the centuries to give a pleasant warm colour, with a blue-brick diaper pattern similar to work of the same period at Rufford Old Hall
Rufford Old Hall
Rufford Old Hall, a National Trust property and Grade I listed building, was built in the 15th century for Sir Thomas Hesketh in Rufford, Lancashire, England...

, Bank Hall
Bank Hall
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 Hoole Church, and with stone quoins of irregular length. Externally the building has not been altered very much since construction as all the old stone mullioned windows remain as they are therefore the brick work is unaltered. Blue slates cover the roof instead of the usual stone slabs which can be found on most of the old brick houses in Lancashire from this time period.
The porch is the main feature of the front, being centrally situated, and rising to the third story attic space.

There are ten windows on the front facade, four on the ground floor, five on the first, and one in the attic, with hood moulds, all have four panes of leaded glass, except those over the porch, which have five. Between the upper and lower windows are four vertical cuts in the brickwork which are now filled in with plaster/cement, the history behind them is said to have been a partial evasion of the window tax
Window tax
The window tax was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, France and Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some houses from the period can be seen to have bricked-up window-spaces , as a result of the tax.-Details:The tax was introduced in England and Wales under...

, the argement being that the upper and lower windows are connected, therefore counting as one.
An inscription in raised letters on the stone head of the doorway reads:
Thomas Stones of London haberdasher and Andrewe Stones of Amsterdam merchant hath builded this howse of their owne charges and giveth the same unto their brother John Stones: Ano domni 1613. Laus.

The inscription is curiously divided towards the end by the head of the doorway breaking into it. The walls of the upper rooms are stated to have been formerly panelled in oak, but the panelling is said to have been removed to Bank Hall
Bank Hall
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...

 in 1832 when bank hall was renovated.

An important feature of the house is a very rare cage newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...

 staircase, four inner newel posts rise to the full height of the stairwell without interruption.

Jeremiah Horrocks

It is commonly said that 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...

made his observation of the transit of Venus, 24 Nov. 1639, from the room above the porch while living at Carr House as the guest and lodger of Mr. Stone. It is also believed that Jeremiah Horrocks was the tutor to the Stone Family's children.

Dolls Museum

Carr House was once home to a Dolls Museum that housed the Barry Elder's Collection

Today the collection has been moved elsewhere and the building is now a private residence again.
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