Bank Hall - History

History

For centuries Bank Hall was the manorial home of a branch of the Banastres, lords of the manor descended from the Norman Roger de Banastre, who built a motte and bailey castle at Prestatyn in about 1164. In 1167 the Banastres were evicted when Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, destroyed the castle and the family fled to Cheshire and Lancashire. In 1315 Sir Adam Banastre, who had extensive landholdings elsewhere in the county, led the Banastre Rebellion against Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, and was summarily beheaded at Charnock Richard when the rebellion failed.

A structure from the time of Elizabeth I is recorded on Christopher Saxton's map from 1579. In 1608 the Banastres built the first phase of the present hall and demolished the old building. The hall was constructed to a Jacobean style, rectangular in plan with two rooms to the east, a room and staircase to the west and a grand hall in the centre containing a screen and fireplace. It is possible that there may have been a timber structure where the east wing stands and other wooden wings that were replaced as the house was extended. Recorded in the 1666 Hearth tax, of the 99 hearths in Bretherton, Bank Hall had 12.

The last of the Banastres, Christopher who was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1670, died in 1690 leaving two daughters. The property was inherited by the eldest, Anne who married Thomas Fleetwood. He planned to drain the surrounding marsh lands. He made the first unsuccessful attempt to drain Martin Mere in 1692. In 1714 the channel was improved and floodgates kept back the high tides. Their daughter, Henrietta Maria, married Thomas Legh of Lyme Park and the estate passed to the Leghs. In 1719 Henrietta Maria Legh donated land on which to build St Mary's Church, Tarleton.

George Anthony Legh Keck moved from Stoughton Grange in Leicestershire on inheriting the estate. He was the last resident owner and commissioned the Kendal architect, George Webster, to extend the hall in 1832–1833. Legh Keck collected stuffed animals and birds and horns from animal from around the world. He owned a collection of classical style statuettes and casts of figures by the sculptor Antonio Canova.

In April 1861, a year after Legh Keck's death, the hall's contents were sold at auction. A catalogue survives and lists the items by room. The house and estate passed to his brother-in-law, Thomas Littleton Powys, fourth Baron Lilford, whose family seat was Lilford Hall in Northamptonshire. Bank Hall was used as a holiday home by the Lilfords until 1899. The estate remains part of the Lilford Estates and is managed by a land agent, Acland Bracewell in Tarleton.