Venue Type & Location
Overview
Located on a promontory between the Calder River and Sabden Brook near several other Ribble Valley residences.
Little is known of the original house, which was replaced by the present neoclassical residence in the early 19th c.
It was described as 'an interesting house with central hall and projecting end wings, but it had been almost ruined by injudicious alterations carried out by Alexander Nowell prior to 1772' (VCH Lanc 6.505).
Performance History
There is a notice of payment to Sir Thomas Hesketh's minstrel in the executors' accounts for the estate of Robert Nowell of Read (ca. 1518--69). It is not certain where the performance, if any, occurred although Read, located near the Hesketh family's residence at Martholme, is a possibility.
Current Status
History of the Venue
1364 Lawrence Nowell acquired Read Manor via marriage to Katherine, daughter of John del Clough.
1772 Estate sold after the death of Alexander Nowell to James Pennington.
1799 Pennington sold the estate to Oakenshaw Printing Company.
1801 Acquired by one of the partners, Richard Fort.
1818--25 House rebuilt to the design of George Webster of Kendal.
Record Source
REED Lanc 160
Patrons who owned this venue
[No data found.]
Bibliographic Sources
- Fleetwood-Hesketh, Peter. Lancashire Architectural Guide. London: John Murray, 1955
- George, David, ed. Lancashire. Toronto, Buffalo, London: U of Toronto P, 1991
- Pevsner, Nikolaus. Lancashire: The Rural North. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1969
- Robinson, John Martin. A Guide to the Country Houses of the North West. London: Constable, 1991
- The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster. 8 vols. London: Archibald Constable, 1906--14
- Whitaker, Thomas Dunham. An History of the Original Parish of Whalley and Honor of Clitheroe. 2 vols. London: George Routledge & Sons, 1872