Leighton Hall is a

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be i ...

to the west of Yealand Conyers,

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. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated 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 ...

History

It was the seat of the 1642–1673 Middleton Baronetcy of Sir George Middleton, 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 ...

for 1661. He was succeeded by his grandson, George Middleton Oldfield, who died at the hall in 1708. It then passed to his son-in-law Albert Hodgson, who had married Oldfield's daughter Dorothy. Hodgson became involved in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

, during which he was taken prisoner, and the house burnt with Hodgson's possessions confiscated. When the hall was sold at public auction in 1722 it was bought by a friend, a Mr Winkley from Preston, who allowed Hodgson to live in the partly ruined house after his eventual release from prison. The estate then came into the possession of wealthy George Towneley of

Towneley Hall Towneley Park is owned and managed by Burnley Borough Council and is the largest and most popular park in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The main entrance to the park is within a mile of the town centre and the park extends to the south east, co ...

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, through his marriage to Hodgson's daughter Mary in the 1750s. The present house was built for Towneley in 1759–61 in Georgian style to a design by John Hird, and the woods replanted and park laid out in 1763. The couple had no children, and the estate was inherited by George's nephew John, who sold it in 1805. In 1822 the property came into the possession of Richard Gillow, the grandson of furniture manufacturer

Robert Gillow Robert Gillow (1704–1772) was an English furniture manufacturer, who founded Gillow & Co. Early life Robert Gillow was born on 2 August 1704 in Singleton, Lancashire to a prominent English recusant Roman Catholic family. He served an apprenti ...

, who Gothicized the façade in 1822–25 using local white

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. In 1870 his son, Richard Thomas Gillow, commissioned the

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

architects

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

to add a three-storey wing containing a billiard room below, and guest rooms above. Richard died in 1906, leaving the hall in a neglected condition and was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Richard Gillow, who died in 1923. Charles' widow continued to live at the hall until her own death in 1966 at the age of 96. The property then passed via her daughter Helen to her grandson, Richard Gillow Reynolds who, with his wife Susan, is the current owner. In October 2021, the building was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million injection into the government's

Culture Recovery Fund The Culture Recovery Fund is a grants programme issued by the UK Government as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund aims to financially support cultural organisations in England (such as theatres, museums, and music venues) which had bec ...

. The hall won the 2023 Sustainability Award of the

Historic Houses Association Historic Houses (formerly, and still for legal purposes, known as the Historic Houses Association or HHA) is a not-for-profit organisation that represents well over a thousand independently owned historic English country house, country houses, ...

. The hall was featured in the 1984 ITV TV adaptation of the

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

story '' The Adventure of the Dancing Men'', as Ridling Thorpe Manor.

Notes

This work has been attributed to

Robert Roper Robert Roper (1757–1838) was an English architect who practised from an office in Preston, Lancashire. His works include at least two new country houses, Claughton Hall, and Leagram Hall, both of which have since been demolished. He designed at ...

References

External links

Leighton Hall – official websiteThe DiCamillo Companion – historyIMDb – movies and TV
{{City of Lancaster buildings Country houses in Lancashire Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire Grade II* listed houses Houses completed in 1761 Houses completed in 1870 Georgian architecture in England Gothic Revival architecture in Lancashire Historic house museums in Lancashire Gardens in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the City of Lancaster Paley and Austin buildings 1761 establishments in England

History

See also

Notes

References

External links