William Sutton (1752 – 1840 in North Meols, Lancashire), also known as The Mad Duke or The Old Duke) was an entrepreneur from

North Meols North Meols is a civil parish and electoral ward in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers the village of Banks and the hamlet of Hundred End. The population of the parish/ward at the 2011 census was 4,146. His ...

(North of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

). In 1792, Sutton took advantage of the fashionable new trend of

sea bathing The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

by building a bathing house at South Hawes (2 miles kmsouth of Churchtown). Realizing the importance and opportunity presented by the newly created canal systems, he gambled on the idea of constructing a hotel by the seaside. His hotel was just 4 miles kmaway from the newly constructed

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 , crossing the Pennines, and including 91 locks on the main line. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal has several small branc ...

, to and from which he arranged transport for potential guests. Born in 1752, he was originally the landlord of the Black Bull Inn in Churchtown (now the Hesketh Arms) and known as a good-natured, jovial gentleman who entertained his regulars by playing the fiddle. He constructed his "Original Hotel" at the southern end of what is now the mile-long and much-admired Lord Street, but was nothing of the sort at the time. Rather, the project became a source of disbelief and amusement to the folk of Churchtown and Meols, who referred to William Sutton as "The Mad Duke" and the hotel as "Duke's Folly". The hotel was described as being 'in the southern hawes of nowhere' at the time. Over time Lord Street grew, with the hotel anchoring the southern end, helping to create its own more respectable address. Nowadays, the town of 93,000 still pays tribute to its founder with a notable plaque set in a cornerstone at Duke Street/Lord Street, along with a hotel just off the corner which bears the name Dukes Folly Hotel. His own later life is uncertain. It is understood that William "Duke" Sutton, who died on May 22, 1840, aged 88, actually ended his life in Lancaster gaol for debtors – "on the fiddle or just fiddling?", as someone supposedly expressed it at the time. He is buried in

St Cuthberts Church, (Churchtown) St Cuthbert's Church is an Anglican church in Churchtown, Merseyside, a village that is now a suburb of Southport in the English county of Merseyside. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool and the archdeaconry of Warrington. ...

References

External links

SeftonandWestLancs.co.uk
- Southport's greatest men.
Lord-Street.com
- The history of the street with dates
Dukesfolly.co.uk
- A present-day hotel located close to the Original Hotel's site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, William 1752 births 1840 deaths Southport People from Southport