![Lathom House from Morris's Country Seats 1880 edited](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Lathom_House_from_Morris%27s_Country_Seats_1880_edited.jpg)
Lathom House was a large country house in the parish of
Lathom
Lathom is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Ormskirk. It is in the district of West Lancashire, and with the parish of Newburgh forms part of Newburgh ward. The population of the civil par ...
in
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 ...
, England. Built between 1725 and 1740, the main block was demolished in 1925.
Early history
![Arms of Latham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Arms_of_Latham.svg)
A wooden castle is believed to have stood on the site in mediaeval times. Sir
John I Stanley of the Isle of Man
Sir John Stanley, KG (–1414) of Lathom, near Ormskirk in Lancashire, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and titular King of Mann, the first of that name. He married a wealthy heiress, Isabel Lathom, which, combined with his own great abilities, ...
(1350–1414),
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...
and
King of Mann
The King of Mann () was the title taken between 1237 and 1504 by the various rulers, both sovereign and suzerain, over the Kingdom of Mann – the Isle of Man which is located in the Irish Sea, at the centre of the British Isles. Since 1504, th ...
married Isabel Latham, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Latham of Latham. The stone-built castle known as Lathom House, built by the
Stanley family in 1496, had eighteen towers, and was surrounded by a wall six foot thick and a moat eight yards wide, its drawbridge defended by a gateway tower. In the centre of the site was a tall tower known as the Eagle Tower.
In 1554,
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
George Marsh, was questioned at Lathom House by
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby
Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby KG (c. 10 May 1509 – 24 October 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. He reigned over the Isle of Mann until his death, and then was succeeded by his son.
Early life
At the age of thirteen, Edwa ...
before being sent to
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 ...
.
Lathom House was the last Royalist stronghold in Lancashire during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
and was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces. During the first
Siege of Lathom House
The siege of Lathom House was a military confrontation between a Parliamentarian army and a Royalist stronghold in Lathom near Ormskirk in Lancashire, during the First English Civil War. The first siege lasted from late February to late Ma ...
by
Sir Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
in 1644, the house was defended by
Charlotte Stanley, Countess of Derby and 300 men who kept possession until Royalist forces under
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
arrived in the area en route to attack
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
. After the siege the countess and her retinue fled to the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
. In 1645 the house was again besieged by General Egerton with 4000 Parliamentarian soldiers, and was surrendered after a protracted siege after which the fortifications were demolished by the Parliamentarians.
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, KG (31 January 160715 October 1651) was an English nobleman, politician, and supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. Before inheriting the title in 1642 he was known as Lord Strange. He was ...
, husband of Charlotte, was beheaded in
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
by the
Parliamentarians in 1651 for treason. The Stanley manors were confiscated by Parliament.
Post Restoration
![Lathom House West Wing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Lathom_House_West_Wing.JPG)
After the
Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Lathom House was returned to the Stanleys and remained with them until 1714 when it passed by the marriage of
Henrietta Stanley to
John Ashburnham, 3rd Baron Ashburnham
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
who sold it.
[
It was subsequently bought by Sir Thomas Bootle, 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 ...
,[ who commissioned ]Giacomo Leoni
Giacomo Leoni (1686 – 8 June 1746), also known as James Leoni, was an Italian architect, born in Venice. He was a devotee of the work of Florentine Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti, who had also been an inspiration for Andrea Pallad ...
to rebuild the house as the finest Palladian house in the county. Built over 15 years from 1725–40, its deer park was designed by renowned landscape gardener Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...
.
It passed through his niece to Richard Wilbraham Bootle and their son, Edward, Lord Skelmersdale.[ The latter's grandson ]Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
inherited and was made Earl of Lathom. Edward's son, the second earl, was accidentally shot and died in 1910. The last resident of Lathom House was Edward Bootle-Wilbraham 3rd Earl of Lathom (and 4th Baron of Skelmersdale). During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the hall was used for military purposes, mainly the training of horses, and after the war the third earl decided not to renovate and reoccupy it but to live instead at nearby Blythe Hall.
The estate was sold in 1920 to a London consortium. After a brief period as a boys’ school, the main block of the house was demolished in 1925. The estate land of 4000 acres was sold piecemeal, mainly to the tenants. The remaining west wing of the house was converted to apartments.
Archaeology
The ruins of Lathom House were excavated by the Historical Council of Northern Lancashire, in its efforts to reconstruct the 18th-century buildings; the team on site came across medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
foundations and have tried to salvage them. While the main buildings became uninhabitable several decades ago, there are almshouse cottages neighbouring the Lathom Park Chapel.
See also
* Listed buildings in Lathom
*
References
Bibliography
*Robinson, John, ''Felling the Ancient Oaks'', Aurum Press, 2011,
External links
*
{{coord, 53.5758, -2.8170, display=title
British country houses destroyed in the 20th century
Country houses in Lancashire
Stanley family
Buildings and structures in the Borough of West Lancashire
Buildings and structures demolished in 1925
Lathom