| Lytham Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Lytham,Lancashire |
| Coordinates | 53°44′39″N2°58′36″W / 53.7441°N 2.9768°W /53.7441; -2.9768 |
| Built | 1757–1764 |
| Architect | John Carr |
| Architectural style(s) | Neo-Palladian |
| Governing body | Heritage Trust for the North West |
| Website | Official website |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 1 December 1965 |
| Reference no. | 1219078 |
  Location of Lytham Hall in Lytham St Annes | |
Lytham Hall is an 18th-centuryGeorgian country house inLytham,Lancashire, 1 mile (1.6 km) from the centre of the town, in 78 acres (32 ha) of wooded parkland. It is recorded in theNational Heritage List for England as a designated Grade Ilisted building, the only one in theBorough of Fylde.[1]
Themanor of Lytham was recorded in theDomesday Book of 1086 asLidun.[2] In the 12th century it was given to theBenedictine monks ofDurham Priory for the foundation of a monastic cell—Lytham Priory. Following theDissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, Lytham Priory came into the possession of SirRichard Molyneux. In 1606 the land was acquired by local landowner Cuthbert Clifton, who built a house there.[3][4] His descendant, Thomas Clifton, partially replaced that house with the current hall, which was built 1757–1764 to the design ofJohn Carr of York.[5] For the next two centuries the Clifton estate, at its largest, comprised 8,000 acres (3,200 ha).
Ownership of the property descended to John Clifton (1764–1832) and thence to his son Thomas Joseph Clifton (1788–1851), who extensively remodelled the estate by extending the surrounding parkland.[6] It passed via ColonelJohn Talbot Clifton (1819–1882), MP forNorth Lancashire, to his 14-year-old grandson, the colourfulJohn Talbot Clifton (1868–1928), during whose stewardship the railway was built along the estate's southern boundary and part of the land sold for housing.[7] During the First World War the house was used as a military hospital,[8] and after the Cliftons had moved to live in Ireland in 1919 and then Scotland in 1922 the house was somewhat neglected. Clifton was a passionate traveller and died in 1928 on an expedition to Timbuktu with his wife,Violet Beauclerk. She later wrote a biography of her husband, published under the titleThe Book of Talbot, which won the 1933James Tait Black Prize,[9] and was the last person to live in the house. Their dilettante film producer son,Henry de Vere Clifton, had squandered much of the family's wealth and the house had to be sold toGuardian Royal Exchange Assurance in 1963 for office accommodation.[10]
On 1 December 1965, Lytham Hall was designated as a Grade Ilisted building.[1] The Grade I designation is the highest of the three grades.[11]
In 1997, Lytham Town Trust bought the building, with help from a donation fromBAE Systems, and subsequently leased it toHeritage Trust for the North West for 99 years.[12]
.jpg)
Lytham Hall is constructed in theNeo-Palladian style of red brick inFlemish bond, with stonedressings andstuccoed features.[3][1] It has three storeys on a rectangular, symmetrical plan and sits on a stoneplinth.[5][1] The front façade lies to the east; it has a centralbay that extends slightly forward and has anIonic pediment.[5] The main entrance is alsopedimented and is flanked byDoric columns.[3] There are fourpilasters between the first floor and roofcornice.[5] The ground floor windows haveGibbs surrounds.[3]
In contrast to traditional Palladian-style houses in which the servants' and utility rooms were on the ground floor (piano rustico) and the important family rooms were on the first floor (piano nobile), Lytham Hall's main rooms are on the ground floor.[5]
The courtyard behind the main Georgian hall and the attached wings were part of the earlier Jacobean hall of 1606.
In the grounds are several Grade II listed structures, including the Gatehouse, a large stable block, a large dovecote, the inner gates, a statue ofDiana in what used to be a formal garden, and a screen wall running south from the west wing. Lytham Hall is described on its website as "the finestGeorgian house in Lancashire."[13]
Citations
Sources
Buildings and structures in theBorough of Fylde | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade I |  | ||||
| Grade II* |
| ||||
| Grade II |
| ||||
| Unlisted |
| ||||
| Demolished | |||||
| Listed in | |||||
