Bank Hall

Bank Hall
The Daffodils on the Tower Lawn at Bank Hall
General information
Architectural style	Jacobean
Town or city	Bretherton
Country	England
Construction started	1608
Completed	1833
Client	George Anthony Legh Keck
Technical details
Structural system	Brick
Design and construction
Architect(s)	George Webster (Architect) 1832 [Renovation]

Bank Hall is a Grade II* Listed Building, Jacobean mansion house situated to the south of the village of Bretherton, Lancashire. The present building of Bank Hall was first built in 1608 by the Bannister Family who where evicted from their family seat at Prestatyn Castle in Wales in 1240. There is believed to have been a timber structure on the site prior to the 1608 construction.

Bank Hall was extended during the 18th and 19th century by the many descendants throughout the family tree which included the Bannister's, Fleetwood's, Legh's and the Keck's (later becoming Legh-Keck). The main extensions being in 1832-1833 to the design of the architect George Webster (1797-1864) (who was also the architect for the since demolished Penwortham Priory.)

History

The 1832-1933 extensions where ordered by George Anthony Legh Keck, who was the last resident owner of Bank Hall. After the death of his wife Elizabeth (who was also his first cousin) in 1837 and himself in 1860, Legh-Keck left no heir, so Bank Hall then passed to Legh-Keck's Sister-in-law and her husband who was Thomas Powys, 3rd Lord Lilford. Bank Hall is still in the Lilford Estates today and the current Lord Lilford resides in South Africa and Jersey. After the death of Legh-Keck Bank Hall was used as a holiday home by the Lilford Family until the late 1800's and was then leased out by Lord Lilford to Sir Harcourt Clare and his family. Sir Harcourt was the second ever Clerk to Lancashire County Council. The Second tenant was Edward Fredrick Crippen who was a rich businessman from Wigan who died a year later at the hall after his tenancy began. The next tenants where the Seddon-Brown family, Lieutenant Cornel Sir Norman Seddon-Brown was the owner of a very successful Cotton Mill business in Lancashire which had mills scattered across the county.

After the departure of the Seddon-Brown family in 1938 the hall lay vacant yet again. The outbreak of war saw the army billited at Bank Hall and they manned all the movement of the ports between Barrow-in-Furness in the North and Holyhead in Wales. This included Liverpool which was the main port to Europe of its time due to the Trans-Atlantic Route. After the War Bank Hall was handed back to the Lilford Estates who kept their estate office in the East Wing of the House until 1961 when the house was vacated.

Bank Hall Action Group

In 1995 the Bank Hall Action Group are a 100% voluntary group who formed with the purpose to raise the public awareness of Bank Hall and aim for Restoration. They have been working to the present day to raise funds by holding events throughout the year and also by raise awareness of the buildings importance and condition and the urgency for action to save the building. The Heritage Trust for the North West have played a vital part of helping the Bank Hall Action Group raise the awareness of Bank Hall and shall also run a visitor centre from Bank Hall when the building is restored.

Bank Hall in the media

Bank Hall featured on the first series of the BBC's Restoration series in 2003. Bank Hall was the first building to open the first heat of the program which asked the public to vote for a listed building they thought should be restored. Bank Hall was in the North West category against Bracken Hill Tower, near Carlisle and The Victoria Baths in Manchester. Despite being knocked out this heat by the Victoria Baths who went on to win this series, Bank Hall came overall second on votes compared to the rest of the buildings in the rest of the series.

Bank Hall was also a filming location in The Haunted House of Horror (1969) that was produced by Tigon British Film Productions

Future plans

In 2006 the Bank Hall Action Group confirmed that property developers Urban Splash where taken on board to help restore Bank Hall and develop a business plan to restore Bank Hall. The Heritage Trust for the North West are also keen to develop the old Potting Sheds, Greenhouse and Walled Kitchen Garden to a heritage kitchen garden that shall also be open to the public with the rest of the leisure grounds that are home to the many specimen trees and flowers.

Trees

• Atlas Cedar

• Beech

• Cherry Tree

• Coast Redwood

• Common Yew

• Deodar Cedar

• Dawn Redwood

• Hawthorn

• Holly

• Hornbeam

• Horse Chestnut

• Irish Yew

• Lebanon Cedar

• Lime Tree

• Oak

• Scots pine

• Silver Birch

• Sycamore

• Wellingtonia

Gallery

• 
  Daffodils at Bank Hall
• 
  Tower Lawn at Bank Hall
• 
  Snowdrops on the Vista
• 
  Daffodils on the Vista
• 
  Snowdrop Carpets by the West Wing
• 
  Snowdrops and Tower Lawn
• 
  Snowdrops at the front of Bank Hall
• 
  Front of Bank Hall
• 
  A View of the Grade II* Listed Clock Tower that contains the Oak cantilevered staircase
• 
  View of the North West Wing from the 1930's Swimming Pool Area
• The Bank Hall Leisure Grounds and Parkland Aerial View
  The Bank Hall Leisure Grounds and Parkland Aerial View

Trivia

• Bank Hall was a Film location for the The Haunted House of Horror along with the near by since demolished Southport Palace Hotel.
• Local Maps from 1845 show "Bank Mill" which was the old windmill, and is situated between Bank Bridge and Plocks Farm. The windmill was converted into private housing in the 1950's, the kneen family lived in the north west wing of Bank Hall while the work was in progress.
• The Bank Hall Action Group was formed by Patricia and Jack Curren and their daughter Diana, after stumbling across Bank Hall by luck whilst out walking.
• Bank Hall has over 100 Yew Trees in its grounds and many more specimen trees
• The tallest specimen tree at Bank Hall is the Wellingtonia that towers over the woodland at the back of the house.
• The oldest specimen tree at Bank Hall is the English Yew which is over 550 years old, pre dating the present house!
• In March 2008 a member of the Bank Hall Action Group found a date stamp, which still bares the date from when it was last used which was "6th August 1945" This item along with many others which have yet to be found will have been 'disposed' in the grounds of Bank Hall when the war ended in 1945.

External links

• Bank Hall Events and Fundraising website
• The Bank Hall Website
• Heritage Trust for the North West