Knowsley Hall

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Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

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17th c. view
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Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Knowsley Hall
Location: near Prescot
County: Lancashire
Location Type: Town - near town at determined location
http://knowsleyhallvenue.co.uk

Overview

Situated in a park on high ground 1.5 miles from Prescot and 7miles NE of Liverpool. The present L-shaped residence is mostly 18th and 20th c. but incorporates fabric from the earlier Tudor house in the S wing. The 2 red sandstone turrets and some fabric in the N facade of the S wing may be original.

Performance History

Stanley household accounts for Knowsley survive for only a short time in the later 16th c. (1586--90) when Henry, the 13th Earl of Derby, and his family were periodically in residence.

Current Status

Knowsley continues to be the Stanley family's private residence.

History of the Venue

ca. 1385 Sir John Stanley I acquired Knowsley via marriage to Isabel, daughter of Sir Thomas Lathom.

late 15th c. Existing house remodelled and enlarged in stone by Thomas, 10th Earl of Derby, in anticipation of the visit of his stepson, Henry VII.

mid-16th c. Additions made by Edward, 12th Earl of Derby.

1645 Stanley estates sequestered by the parliamentarians. Knowsley was dilapidated by the end of the Civil War but became the family's principal residence.

Early 18th c. Tudor wing refurbished with new sash windows.

1731--6 The architect Henry Sephton designed a new 3-storey red brick E wing for the 19th Earl of Derby.

ca. 1820 Castellation, double colonnade and square tower with State Dining Room added to S facade by John Foster of Liverpool for Edward, 22nd Earl of Derby.

19th c. More rebuilding with the addition of extra storeys for bedrooms and Gothic features.

ca. 1860 William Burn employed to extend the N wing and build a classical block for libraries and conservatories; outer hall added to the entrance front.

late 19th c. Chapel demolished. Vast central tower with new principal staircase added, further extension of the original Tudor wing.

1905--12 Remodelling of later additions in Georgian style by architects Romaine-Walker and Besant.

1953--4 Further neo-Georgian remodelling by Claud Phillimore.

1960s--97 Much of the house let to the Liverpool Metropolitan Police for their headquarters.

1997 Renovations made when the family resumed residence.

Record Source

REED Lanc 179--82

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Beaufort, Margaret 1443-1509 Duchess of , Countess of
Hastings, Anne 0-1550 Countess of
Stanley, Edward 1509-1572 Lord , 11th Baron , 4th Baron , 12th Earl of , Lord of the , Knight of the
Stanley, Ferdinando 1559-1594 13th Baron , 6th Baron , 14th Earl of , Lord of the
Stanley, Henry 1531-1593 Lord , 12th Baron , 5th Baron , 13th Earl of , Lord of the , Knight of the
Stanley, James 1607-1651 1st Baron , 16th Earl of , Lord of the
Stanley, Thomas 1433-1504 2nd Baron , Lord of the , Knight of the , 10th Earl of
Stanley, Thomas 1485-1521 3rd Baron , 11th Earl of , Lord of the , 10th Baron
Stanley, William 1561-1642 15th Earl of , Knight of the , Lord of the

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Chapman, Margaret G. Lancashire Halls. Newcastle upon Tyne: Frank Graham, 1971.
  • Churchill, Randolph S. Fifteen Famous English Homes. London: Derek Verschoyle, 1954.
  • Fleetwood-Hesketh, Peter. Lancashire Architectural Guide. London: John Murray, 1955.
  • George, David, ed. Lancashire. Records of Early English Drama (REED). Toronto, Buffalo, London: U of Toronto P, 1991.
  • Hoult, James. The Vill, Manor and Township of Knowsley.
  • Hussey, Christopher. 'Knowsley Hall, Lancashire: A Seat of the Earl of Derby.' Country Life 83 (13 March 1937): 276–81.
  • Lewis, Jennifer. The Medieval Earthworks of the Hundred of West Derby: Tenurial Evidence and Physical Structure. British Archaeological Reports, British ser 310. Oxford: John & Erica Hedges, 2000.
  • MacLean, Sally-Beth. 'A Family Tradition: Dramatic Patronage by the Earls of Derby.' . Region, Religion and Patronage: Lancastrian Shakespeare. Dutton, Richard, Alison Findlay and Richard Wilson, eds. Manchester and New York: Manchester UP, 2003.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. Lancashire: I. The Industrial and Commercial South. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1969.
  • Pollard, William. The Stanleys of Knowsley: A History of that Noble Family. London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1869.
  • Raines, F.R. The Stanley Papers. Part III: Private Devotions and Miscellanies of James, seventh Earl of Derby, K.G.. Remains Historical & Literary connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester os 66. 2 vols. Manchester: Chetham Society, 1867.
  • Robinson, John Martin. A Guide to the Country Houses of the North West. London: Constable, 1991.
  • The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster. The Victoria History of the Counties of England. 8 vols. London: Archibald Constable, 1906–14.