Duxbury Hall
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Duxbury Hall was a 19th-century
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
in Duxbury Park estate in
Duxbury Woods Duxbury Woods is an area of woodland and parkland situated in Chorley, Lancashire, at the foot of the West Pennine Moors. The area originally existed as a township with the council meeting at the Yarrow Bridge pub; this was absorbed into Chorl ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
that has been demolished. The hall was a plain two-storey building faced in millstone grit ashlar standing in a well-wooded park 1½ miles (2.5 km) south of Chorley. The entrance on the east front was via a Doric portico. In the cellars was evidence of an earlier building, probably a brick-built house enclosing a courtyard on three sides. The later building followed the same plan, having north and south wings extending westward from the east front. The roof was of green slate


History

The manor of Duxbury belonged to the Duxbury family before the 1300s but, after Henry Duxbury's involvement in the abortive
Banastre Rebellion The Banastre Rebellion was an uprising in Lancashire, England in 1315 against the Earl of Lancaster and his supporters. It took place in 1315 when a group of disaffected knights decided to revenge themselves on the Earl of Lancaster by attacking h ...
in 1315 and his subsequent imprisonment in
Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...
, ownership of the Duxbury land transferred to the Standish family around 1335. A
Peel Tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standin ...
was said to have been constructed within the area, during or after
The Great Raid of 1322 The Great Raid of 1322 was a major raid carried out by Robert the Bruce, during the First Scottish War of Independence, on Northern England between 30 September and 2 November 1322, resulting in the Battle of Old Byland. Numerous raids began by ...
when Chorley was raided by Scotland. The first Duxbury Hall was built in 1632 in the Elizabethan style and was home to the Standish family for many decades. It is believed to be the birthplace of ''
Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
'' Pilgrim
Myles Standish Myles Standish (c. 1584 – October 3, 1656) was an English military officer and colonizer. He was hired as military adviser for Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, United States by the Pilgrims. Standish accompanied the Pilgrims on ...
. The family were
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
s and active in politics. Thomas Standish (1594-1642) was MP for
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and Preston. His younger son
Richard Standish Richard Standish (21 October 1621 – March 1662) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660. He was a colonel in the Parliamentarian army in the English Civil War. Standish was the son of Thomas Standish of Dux ...
(1621-1662), who inherited the estate after the death of his elder brother Alexander in 1648, was MP for
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and Preston. His son Richard was created a baronet in 1677 and elected as a Whig for
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
in 1690. His son Thomas was appointed
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. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...
for 1711 and died in 1746, after which the estates passed to his son, another Thomas (1703–1756). After the death of Sir Frank Standish, Bt (MP for Preston in 1768) in 1812, the estate was claimed on behalf of Frank Hall Standish on the grounds that he was the great grandson of Margaret Standish, Sir Frank’s aunt and the house occupied by his, guardian, George Baker. Another claimant, Thomas Standish of Wigan, broke into the house with his supporters and was forcibly ejected by the local militia. It transpired that Thomas Standish's claim was false. In 1823 the hall was substantially rebuilt as a rectangular two-storey building with five reception rooms and cantilevered staircase and the house faced in ashlar in 1828. On 2 March 1859 part of the hall was destroyed by fire but rebuilt in 1861 looking substantially the same from outside. At its peak in the late 1800s Duxbury Manor comprised over 6000 acres. After Frank Hall's death in Cadiz in 1840 the estate passed to his second cousin, William Standish Carr, who changed his surname to Carr-Standish. He served as High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1846 and died in 1856. He left the hall to his son William who died in 1878 and it then passed to William's three sisters, who sold it to the Mayhew family in 1891. In 1932 the property was sold by Constance Mayhew to Chorley Corporation, who demolished it by 1956 because of a defective internal storm water drainage system and general neglect. The coach house and stables survived and are used as business premises. The gardens became Duxbury municipal golf course.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Chorley Chorley is a market town in the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. The town itself is Civil parishes in England, unparished, and this list contains the Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings in the unparished area. Outside th ...


References


External links


Further information
{{Borough of Chorley buildings Country houses in Lancashire Houses completed in 1632 Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley Demolished buildings and structures in England British country houses destroyed in the 20th century 1632 establishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1956