Venue Type & Location
Performance Spaces
Overview
On a formerly moated site overlooking the S side of the River Calder near other gentry residences in the Ribble Valley area.
An interesting stone manor house with some sections of the original hall and cross wing buildings incorporated.
Performance History
There is fragmentary evidence that Sir Thomas Hesketh (1526--88) patronized a minstrel and possibly players who may have performed at 1 of his residences. The 1581 will of Alexander Hoghton of the Lea includes the request that Hesketh maintain his 2 players, Fulk Gyllom and William Shakeshafte, if his brother, Thomas Hoghton, does not. No corroborating Hesketh household accounts survive from the period.
A 1587--8 Stanley household account for players at the Christmas season at Knowsley is sometimes interpreted as a reference to Sir Thomas Hesketh's players, but it may instead refer to his visit and the departure of Stanley family players.
Current Status
History of the Venue
ca. 1285 Sir William Hesketh acquired Martholme Manor via marriage to Maud, daughter of Richard Fitton.
14th c. House built with centre hall and end wings, probably moated.
ca. 1561--77 Extensive renovations by Sir Thomas Hesketh, including the addition of the inner gatehouse.
1607 Robert Hesketh added the arched outer gateway.
17th c. House fell into decay by the time of Civil War. Hesketh family leased the property to a succession of tenant farmers.
1818 Sir Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh sold Martholme manor to Richard Grimshaw Lomax.
Record Source
REED Lanc 156, 160, 180, 350
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Hesketh, Thomas | 1527-1588 | Knight |
Bibliographic Sources
- Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
- Fleetwood-Hesketh, Peter. Lancashire Architectural Guide. London: John Murray, 1955
- Garner, Thomas, and Arthur Stratton. The Domestic Architecture of England during the Tudor Period. 2 vols. London: Batsford, 1911
- George, David, ed. Lancashire. Toronto, Buffalo, London: U of Toronto P, 1991
- Pevsner, Nikolaus. Lancashire: The Rural North. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1969
- The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster. 8 vols. London: Archibald Constable, 1906--14