Blythe Hall is a large grade II listed country house in

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 civi ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England, some 3 miles (5 km) north-east of

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is located north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, Merseyside, St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Ormski ...

. It is a two-storey building of rendered sandstone rubble with stone slate roofs to an originally H-shaped plan with added wings.

History

Blythe Hall was probably built in the late 16th century or early 17th century and altered in early 19th century. The hall was once the property of Evan Blackledge, who died in 1612, after which it passed through several generations of the Blackledge family. It was sold to the Hill family of Burscough in 1698 and then to Thomas Langton in 1800, who never moved in but instead leased it to Edward Clifton. In 1826 it was sold to

Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale (7 March 1771 – 3 April 1853), was a British landowner and politician. Life Bootle-Wilbraham was the son of Richard Wilbraham-Bootle and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Bootle. He inherited L ...

. whose eldest son and his wife Jessy lived there.

Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom (12 December 1837 – 19 November 1898) known as The Lord Skelmersdale between 1853 and 1880, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He was a member of every Conservative admi ...

was born in the house in 1837 and his sister, Rose Bootle-Wilbraham, was born there in 1842. Lady Alice's Drive, opposite Blythe Hall, is named after Lady Alice Villiers, wife of the first Earl. Lady Skelmersdale died there in 1892, leaving it in the possession of Rose, who never married and died in 1918. It was radically altered and enlarged c.1918–21, at a cost of £60,000, by Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 3rd Earl of Lathom (1895–1930), who was reluctant to restore and re-occupy the family seat at Lathom House after the First World War. Many of the materials used at Blythe Hall were salvaged from Lathom Hall. The third earl was a spendthrift with a passion for the London theatre and in the 1920s Blythe entertained theatrical celebrities such as

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

. The house was advertised, along with the rest of the Lathom estates, in 1923, and was sold to a cotton merchant named Taylor. After the Earl's early death from tuberculosis in 1930, the earldom was extinguished. Blythe Hall - Lancashire

In 1933 it became a Catholic Seminary for training Passionist priests and called St Gabriel's Retreat. In 1973 it was bought by ex-footballer David Whelan for £80,000 and in 1980 by hoteliers John and Diana Craig. It was reduced in size in c.1975 by demolition of the oldest parts. In 2010 it is undergoing a further makeover by new owners Andy and Tracey Bell from Rufford.

References

{{Buildings and structures in West Lancashire Country houses in Lancashire Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the Borough of West Lancashire Grade II listed houses Lathom

History

See also

References