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Bank Hall is a Jacobean
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in
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. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-c ...
, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
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 who were
lords of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
. The hall was extended during the 18th and 19th centuries. Extensions were built for
George Anthony Legh Keck Colonel George Anthony Legh Keck (15 July 1774 – 4 September 1860), sometimes spelled Legh-Keck, was a British military officer, Tory politician and landowner who sat in the House of Commons representing the parliamentary constituency of Leic ...
in 1832–1833, to the design of the architect George Webster. Legh Keck died in 1860 and the estates passed to Thomas Powys, 3rd Baron Lilford. The contents were auctioned in 1861 and the hall used as a holiday home and later leased to tenants. During the Second World War the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
used it as a control centre. After the war the estate was returned to the Lilfords whose estate offices moved to the east wing of the house until 1972 when the house was vacated. The building was used as a location for the 1969 film ''
The Haunted House of Horror ''The Haunted House of Horror'' (also known as ''Horror House'' and ''The Dark'') is a 1969 British horror film directed by Michael Armstrong and starring Frankie Avalon and Jill Haworth. it was written by Armstrong and Gerry Levy (as Peter ...
''. The house was vandalised causing rapid deterioration. In 1995 the Bank Hall Action Group (now Friends of Bank Hall) was formed to raise public awareness, collect funds, host events and clear the overgrown grounds. In 2003 Bank Hall was the first building to be featured in the BBC's '' Restoration'' television series. Since 2006 the action group and
Urban Splash Urban Splash is a UK-based Real estate development, property development business. It was founded in 1993 by chairman Tom Bloxham and creative director Jonathan Falkingham. Headquartered in Castlefield, Manchester, it also has regional bases in ...
have planned to restore the house as apartments retaining the gardens, entrance hall and clock tower for public access and the Heritage Trust for the North West (HTNW) plans to renovate the potting sheds and walled gardens.


History

For centuries Bank Hall was the manorial home of a branch of the Banastre family, lords of the manor descended from the Norman Robert de Banastre, who built a
motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
castle at
Prestatyn Prestatyn (; ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085. Origin of name The name Prestatyn d ...
in about 1164. In 1167 the Banastres fled when
Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...
, Prince of North Wales, destroyed the castle and the family escaped to Cheshire and Lancashire. In 1315 Sir Adam Banastre, who had extensive landholdings elsewhere in the county, led the
Banastre Rebellion The Banastre Rebellion was an uprising in Lancashire, England, in 1315 against the Earl of Lancaster and his supporters. A group of disaffected knights decided to revenge themselves on the Earl of Lancaster by attacking his chief retainer and t ...
against
Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster ( 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman of the first House of Lancaster of the royal Plantagenet Dynasty. He was Earl of Lancaster, Leicester, and Derby from 1296 to 1322, and Earl of Lincoln and Sa ...
, and was summarily beheaded at
Charnock Richard Charnock Richard is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,748. History The village was named in the early 13th century by the local ...
when the rebellion failed. A structure from the time of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
is recorded on
Christopher Saxton Christopher Saxton (c. 1540 – c. 1610) was an English cartographer who produced the first county maps of England and Wales. Life and family Saxton was probably born in Sowood, Ossett in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire ...
's map from 1579. In 1608 the Banastres built the first phase of the present hall and demolished the old building. The hall was constructed to a Jacobean style, rectangular in plan with two rooms to the east, a room and staircase to the west and a grand hall in the centre containing a screen and fireplace. It is possible that there may have been a timber structure where the east wing stands and other wooden wings that were replaced as the house was extended. Recorded in the 1666
Hearth tax A hearth tax was a property tax in certain countries during the medieval and early modern period, levied on each hearth, thus by proxy on wealth. It was calculated based on the number of hearths, or fireplaces, within a municipal area and is con ...
, of the 99 hearths in Bretherton, Bank Hall had 12. The last of the Banastres, Christopher who was
High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, 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 ...
in 1670, died in 1690 leaving two daughters. The property was inherited by the eldest, Anne who married Thomas Fleetwood. He planned to drain the surrounding marsh lands. He made the first unsuccessful attempt to drain
Martin Mere Martin Mere is a Mere (lake), mere near Burscough, in Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around that was, until it was drained, the largest body of fresh water in England. History Martin Mere ...
in 1692. In 1714 the channel was improved and floodgates kept back the high tides. Their daughter, Henrietta Maria, married Thomas Legh of
Lyme Park Lyme Park is a large Estate (land), estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It is managed by the National Trust and consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a Deer park (England), deer park in the Peak District National ...
and the estate passed to the Leghs. In 1719 Henrietta Maria Legh donated land on which to build
St Mary's Church, Tarleton St Mary's Church is a redundant Anglican church on the A59 road as it passes to the south of the village of Tarleton, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, ...
. George Anthony Legh Keck moved from Stoughton Grange in
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
on inheriting the estate. He was the last resident owner and commissioned a
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
architect, George Webster, to extend the hall in 1832–1833. Legh Keck collected stuffed animals and birds and horns from animal from around the world. He owned a collection of classical style statuettes and casts of figures by the sculptor
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...
. In April 1861, a year after Legh Keck's death, the hall's contents were sold at auction. A catalogue survives and lists the items by room.Bank Hall Action Group, "Bank Hall Auction Catalogue −1861", 2005 The house and estate passed to his brother-in-law, Thomas Littleton Powys, fourth Baron Lilford, whose family seat was
Lilford Hall Lilford Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean stately home in Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. The 100-room house is located in the eastern part of the county, south of Oundle and north of Thrapston. History It was started in 1495 as a Tudor ...
in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
. Bank Hall was used as a holiday home by the Lilfords until 1899. The estate remains part of the Lilford Estates and is managed by a land agent, Acland Bracewell in
Tarleton Tarleton is a village and civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Liverpool and south-west of Preston. The parish includes the village of Mere Brow and the hamlets of ...
. However, in 2017 the hall and gardens and adjoining orchard were signed over to the Heritage Trust for the North West on a 999-year lease so that restoration work could begin.


Tenants

The colliery owner Edward Crippen was resident in 1891 until his death in February 1892. In 1899 Sir Harcourt Everard Clare, clerk to
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashire is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Blackburn with Dar ...
, moved to the hall with his family and hosted garden parties in the grounds. The cricketer
Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...
visited him during the 1920s. King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
whilst visiting Lancashire in 1913 stopped at the lodge to greet the Clares and their staff. Cotton mill owner, Lieutenant Colonel Sir Norman Seddon-Brown and his family lived at the hall from the late 1920s until 1938, when they moved to Escowbeck. The
Aga Khan III Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), known as Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imam of the Nizari Isma'ili, Ism'aili branch of Shia Islam. He was one of the founders and the first permanent president of ...
visited the hall during the Seddon-Brown occupancy, as did King Fuad and Prince Farouk of Egypt during their visit to Lancashire. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
were billetted at Bank Hall. The north east wing, a service wing, housed a boiler-house, shed, laundry, dairy and cheese rooms, mangle room, brew house and wash house around a central courtyard was demolished. The 1928 Ordnance Survey map shows two greenhouses and three buildings in the walled garden. A pond was constructed in the former courtyard and a concrete drive installed. The army constructed
Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...
s in the gardens and parkland, the remains of some are still visible. After the war the estate was returned to the Lilfords who had an estate office in the east wing until 1972. In 1974 a planning application was submitted to convert the house and grounds into a country club but the application was declined due to the disturbance to the historic parkland and architecture. In 1991 an application for listed building consent to demolish parts of the building to make it safe was submitted but was withdrawn.


Architecture

Bank Hall, built in the Jacobean style in 1608, is a
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
built mansion of three storeys with
Dutch gables A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and which has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the terminat ...
and a square central tower on the south front. Some of the original brickwork in a
diaper A diaper (, North American English) or a nappy (British English, Australian English, Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to p ...
(lozenge)
flushwork In architecture, flushwork is decorative masonry work which combines on the same flat plane flint and ashlar stone. If the stone projects from a flat flint wall then the term is proudwork, as the stone stands "proud" rather than being "flush" w ...
pattern is visible on one gable. The house was restored and enlarged by architect George Webster in 1832–1833. He added a wing to the west elevations, built a porch on the north side, remodelled the 1608 north elevation windows, covered the roofs with blue
Cumbrian Cumbrian dialect or Cumberland dialect is a local dialect of Northern England in decline, spoken in Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands. Some parts of Cumbria have a more North-East English sound to them. Whilst clear ...
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
s and finished the walls with stone details. Webster carried out the alterations sympathetically, in a style corresponding to the 17th-century building, but the difference is marked by the colour of the brickwork and sharpness of the detail. Most windows were renewed during the restoration and two Italian style
bay windows ''Bay Windows'' is an LGBT newspaper, published weekly on Thursdays and Fridays in Boston, Massachusetts, serving the entire New England region of the United States. The paper is a member of the New England Press Association and the Nationa ...
added to the south front, altering its appearance. The clock tower which rises to a height of , was built between 1660 and 1665 and remodelled in 1832–1833. The tower, which contains an original oak balustraded,
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
ed staircase, is the chief architectural feature of the building on the south side. The brick built tower has stone
quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...
at the corners and the staircase has eight original stone cross-windows with
mullions A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
, transoms and hoodmoulds irregularly spaced at different levels which contained leaded glass in an octagonal pattern. The tower has a south-facing 19th-century clock in the top storey, (the north facing clock fell when the north east elevation of the tower collapsed during the 1980s) the cogs and wheels were manufactured by John Alker and the tower
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
has ornaments from the 19th-century restoration. Decorative features include lavish stonework and finials on the west wing bay window and false windows on the kitchen chimney stack wall creating a decorative feature on a plain wall. The Legh Keck coat of arms is carved in stone above the front porch, with two carved green men on either side of the doors. Other features from the 1832 renovation include Legh Keck's initials "G.A.L.K" and "1833" inscribed above the Italian bay windows. There were once
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
ram's heads holding
laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...
sprigs and maiden's heads on the building. The lead rain hoppers have the initials as above and there are stone statues on the tower
battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
s. Another feature is the chimney stacks, which are diamond shaped, while others are square and the chimneys on the west wing are octagonal. The clocks on the tower feature a
fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
at each corner of their faces, thought to be from the Bannastre family coat of arms. The house once had a pair of concrete statues (thought to be of a gothic floral design, with the Legh Keck symbols on the base) near the front porch that were destroyed and a
sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
, which has been lost. A pair of lion statues from Atherton Hall that stood by the front porch were moved to the Lilford Estate offices in Tarleton.


Interiors

Little is known about the interior before the renovations of 1832–1833, when the great hall was divided into an entrance hall with a marble floor and a dining room with a grand fireplace. A ground floor room in the north wing was panelled with oak from nearby Carr House. There was a 17th-century fireplace with a peacock carved on the chimney-piece in an upstairs bedrooms matching a peacock design on the Delft tiles of the fireplace. Other Delft tiles were found in rubble inside the house. The drawing room had a high ceiling with lavish plaster work (a small portion of which survives today) and a
parquet Parquet (; French for "a small compartment") is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring. Parquet patterns are often entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges—but may contain curves. T ...
floor. The study at the rear of the west wing ground floor, had bookshelves and a grand fireplace buried under the fallen floor from above. Its panelled window shutters survive in their casings. The cellars under the west wing survive. The east wing has cellars, but the whereabouts of the entrance is unknown. The west wing was occupied by the family and the east wing by the servants. Legh Keck collected sculptures and antiques; the hall was furnished with
Turkish carpets Anatolian rug or Turkish carpet ( Turkish: ''Türk Halısı'') is a term of convenience, commonly used today to denote rugs and carpets woven in Anatolia and its adjacent regions. Geographically, its area of production can be compared to the terr ...
and oak and mahogany carved furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries, horns and animal heads from around the world and family portraits from the 17th century hung on the walls. Numerous
Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...
items were sold after Legh Keck's death in 1861 to pay death duties.


Condition

The building has been vandalised and deteriorated as a result of the theft of
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
from the roof. In the early 1980s, the Lilford Trust applied for planning permission to turn the house and grounds into a country club and golf course without success. A large mural painted on the wall of the drawing room was destroyed when the west wing roof collapsed in the 1980s. In 1952 Bank Hall was granted Grade II* listed building status. In 2002 it was in the 22% of buildings in the UK at immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric. and is on the Buildings at Risk Register described as in very bad condition and priority B for restoration and conservation. In 2010, the house was in a ruinous state. The west wing roof and north-east corner of the clock tower collapsed in the early 1980s, losing a clock face and three-quarters of the statues from the battlements. In 2001 listed building consent was granted for structural work to the tower, Three of the decorative corner pinnacles remain but the west elevation has a crack held together by scaffolding installed in 2002 during emergency repairs funded by the action group and English Heritage. At that time, the remains of the clock mechanism were removed and the fallen statues and clock face parts put into storage. In 2006 an attic water tank crashed through the floors in the oldest part of the building causing damage to the roof, a front gable and the rooms below. On 26 July 2007 ''
BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is a British television breakfast news programme, produced by BBC News and broadcast on BBC One every morning from 6:00am. It is also broadcast on the UK feed of BBC News channel on weekends. The simulcast is presented live, ...
'' featured the building, as one of sixteen buildings in the UK which require emergency work. A
cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...
ed oak staircase remains in the tower where, in 2008, part of the staircase from the south elevation collapsed, but caused no damage to the balustrade.John Howard, "The Bank Hall Timeline" 2007 In 2008 most of the slates were removed to prevent more gables collapsing from pressure on the walls. Three
magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
trees are growing out of the foundations of the east wing and cover the exterior, which has lost two gables. The east wing contains a ground floor room with no windows, a concrete ceiling and a steel door which remains unopened since the estate offices closed in 1972. In September 2010, a collapse in the west wing caused further damage to the 1832 stairwell. The rooms above the parlour were destroyed as the roof and wall collapsed and the drawing room's rear wall partially collapsed. English Heritage assessed the damage as urgent and structural work was needed to prevent further collapse. In November 2011 contractors for the HTNW dismantled the north wing porch as the gable was at risk of collapse. Decorative masonry was removed for an exhibition that was held in
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
in 2012 by the HTNW.


Restoration

Bank Hall Action Group (from 2012 the Friends of Bank Hall) was formed in 1995 with the ultimate aim of restoring Bank Hall. In 2003 the cost of restoration was estimated to be £3 million.
Urban Splash Urban Splash is a UK-based Real estate development, property development business. It was founded in 1993 by chairman Tom Bloxham and creative director Jonathan Falkingham. Headquartered in Castlefield, Manchester, it also has regional bases in ...
was engaged to develop a business plan with the aid of a
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
grant in 2006. Urban Splash envisaged creating 12 residences within the hall and 23 houses in the old orchard while the action group would retain the entrance hall, clock tower and upper rooms for public access. The project will cost £6 million with proceeds from the sale of houses and a £1.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund funding the restoration. A structural report by Urban Splash in 2009 enabled a plan for the building's interior to be developed. After delays, planning permission was granted in February 2011. On 14 February 2012, a grant of £1.69 million to restore the hall starting in late 2012, was made by the Heritage Lottery Fund to the Heritage Trust for the North West (HTNW). The HTNW has separate plans for a visitor entrance and heritage garden. Planning permission to convert the potting shed and greenhouse into a visitor entrance, funded separately, was granted in December 2011. A further £50,000 was awarded by WREN (a non-profit company) towards the restoration of the tower in September 2013. The project was taken on by the developer Next Big Thing, who began work on the clearing of the property in July 2017, with the view of a completion date of 18 months time. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the project suffered delays, work was finally completed on the restoration of the house exterior in 2020, with the residential area interiors and immediate (residents) gardens to the house completed in 2021. The Prospect Tower and adjoining rooms feature an exhibition which opened to the public in February 2022 and tells the story of the restoration of the house and features numerous items retrieved during its years of dereliction. The Friends of Bank Hall continue to maintain the gardens, hold open days/ tours and are working towards the restoration of the gardens; that will see the potting shed, greenhouse and walled garden restored to provide extra visitor facilities and provide educational opportunities a for all ages. This will be followed by the restoration of the wider grounds.


Estate

The estate is crossed by the River Douglas and its embankment provides flood protection for the low-lying area. The
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 ...
crosses close to the river and Grade II listed Bank Bridge carries the
A59 road The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseysi ...
over river and canal. A Grade II listed warehouse is close to the bridge. Bank Lodge, situated at a disused access road, is owned by the estate, and can be seen on the 1928 Ordnance Survey Map. Bank Hall Farm, the home farm whose
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
long barn built in the early 17th century, is Grade II listed. It was extended in the early 19th century and converted into residences in 2004. Between the fields and the barns was a timber yard. The estate offices, blacksmith's forge and coach house were housed on the farm. The action group use the coach house and offices as a temporary visitor centre. Along a carriage drive, lined with
lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Great Britain and Irelan ...
s, connecting the hall to Bretherton are the former gardener's house,'Crossford Lodge', a modern single-story building (that replaced the original gamekeepers house) and Bretherton Lodge (The New Lodge). Bank Hall Windmill built in 1741, is a Grade II listed building situated between Bank Bridge and Plocks Farm. Carr House, built by the Stone family in 1613 was the home of
Jeremiah Horrocks Jeremiah Horrocks (16183 January 1641), sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox (the Latinised version that he used on the Emmanuel College register and in his Latin manuscripts), – See footnote 1 was an English astronomer. He was the first perso ...
, the first person to predict and observe the
Transit of Venus A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...
, in 1639.


Gardens

Bank Hall is surrounded by of gardens, parkland and an
arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...
created by George Anthony Legh Keck.
Bank Hall Gardens Bank Hall Gardens comprise of curtilage at Bank Hall, in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. The gardens contain specimen trees including a yew thought to be the oldest in Lancashire. Many architectural features, statues, low garden walls, conser ...
were neglected from 1980 to 1995 though some plants survived.
Snowdrop ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family (biology), family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leav ...
carpets which cover much of the gardens in February were uncovered in 2001 when a small area was cleared. In 2007 the UK's Snowdrop Society visited the gardens which have attracted thousands of visitors each year. There are several varieties of
daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', '' ...
s, bluebells and primroses. The oldest tree, a 550‑year‑old
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...
, predates the hall, and the tallest, a wellingtonia, towers over the woodland. There are numerous coast redwoods and specimens of
dawn redwood ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family Cupressaceae. It now ...
, Lebanon cedar,
atlas cedar ''Cedrus atlantica'', the Atlas cedar, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae, native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco ( Middle Atlas, High Atlas), and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria.Gaussen, H. (1964). Genre ''Cedrus''. Les ...
, swamp cypress, lime and magnolia. A conservatory was built for Elizabeth Legh Keck in the 1830s. The walled garden, constructed in 1835, has a greenhouse and potting sheds on its north wall and a heated outdoor wall. The FBH aims to restore it into a heritage garden as part of a three-phase project. A cricket field and tennis lawns were situated beyond a
ha-ha A ha-ha ( or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view of the lan ...
and accessed via a yew tunnel.


Film and television

The exterior was used as a location for ''The Haunted House of Horror'' (1969). The hall and gardens have featured on local
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. and ITV news reports and
Fred Talbot Frederick Wilson Talbot (born 17 December 1949) is a British former television presenter. He grew up in North West England, north west England. Early life and teaching Born in Edinburgh, Talbot grew up in north west England, where he attended ...
's weather reports since 1995. Its plight was highlighted when it featured in the first series of the BBC Restoration programme, on 8 August 2003 when it came second in the voting. The potting sheds and hall featured in the introduction to BBC
Restoration Home (TV series) ''Restoration Home'' is a BBC television series produced by Endemol who created the BBC series '' Restoration''. The series follows owners of historic buildings as they restore them into 21st-century dream houses. The show is presented by Carolin ...
in 2011.


See also

*
Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire This is a list of Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire, England. Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Burnley Chorley Fylde Hyndburn Lancaster ...
*
Listed buildings in Bretherton Bretherton is a civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. The parish contains 19 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, two are listed at Grade I ...
*
List of works by George Webster George Webster (1797–1864) was an English architect who practised in Kendal, Westmorland. He worked mainly in domestic architecture, designing new houses, and remodelling older houses. His early designs were mainly in Neoclassical (Greek Revi ...


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * *Friends of Bank Hall (2016) ''Bank Hall, Bretherton, Lancashire.'' * * *


External links


The Bank Hall Website

Heritage Trust for the North West


{{Borough of Chorley buildings Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire Grade II* listed houses Country houses in Lancashire Unused buildings in the United Kingdom Houses completed in 1832 Structures on the Heritage at Risk register Manor houses in England Jacobean architecture in the United Kingdom George Webster buildings