Winmarleigh Hall is a former

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 ...

located to the south of the village of

Winmarleigh Winmarleigh is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 273. The village, which is north-west of Garstang, has an agricultural college, and the Duchy of Lancaster has ...

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, now operated by PGL as an adventure centre.

History

The manor of Winmarleigh was bought in 1744 by Thomas Patten (died 1772) of Bank Hall, Warrington and passed down in turn through his son Thomas Patten (died 1806) and his third son Thomas Wilson-Patten (died 1826) to his second son John Wilson-Patten (1802-1892). Winmarleigh Hall was built in 1871 for the latter, later the 1st Baron Winmarleigh, who had been MP for

North Lancashire North Lancashire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by two Members of Parliament. The constituency was created by the Great Reform Act of 1832 by the splitting of Lancas ...

for 42 years and who moved here from

Bank Hall Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building and is at the centre of a private estate, surrounded by parkland. The hall was built on the site of an older house in 1608 by the Banastres ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

. It was designed by the Lancaster architects

Paley and Austin Sharpe, Paley and Austin are the surnames of architects who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, between 1835 and 1946, working either alone or in partnership. The full names of the principals in their practice, which went under vario ...

. The house was enlarged and altered in 1915–14 by Henry Kirkley of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and altered again following a fire in 1927. Since 1998 it has been used as a children's adventure centre, and is administered by PGL.

Architecture

The hall is constructed in red brick with stone dressings, and is in Jacobean style. It has an L-shaped plan with a tall staircase tower. The tower originally had a pyramidal roof, but now is surmounted by a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

. The interior of the house is decorated with delicate plasterwork, and the windows around the staircase contain stained glass. The former morning room includes a ceiling with pendants.

References

{{Borough of Wyre buildings Country houses in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the Borough of Wyre Paley and Austin buildings Houses completed in 1871 PGL centres

History

Architecture

See also

References