MenuSmithill's Hall, Lancashire
Smithill's Hall is a manor house in Bolton in Lancashire. It stands on the slopes of the West Pennine Moors at a height of 500 feet, three miles north-west of the town centre. One of the oldest manor houses in North West England, its oldest parts, including the great hall, date from the 15th century and it has since been altered and extended. Around 1485, when the last Radcliffe to own the estate died without a male heir, Smithills Hall was passed to the Bartons, a wealthy family of sheep owners. Smithills was home to the Bartons for almost 200 years, until in 1659 the hall and estate was passed by marriage to the Belasyse family. The Belasyses owned many other properties around England and as a result, Smithills entered a period of neglect. In 1801, the hall and estate were sold to the Ainsworth family, and under three generations of Ainsworths, Smithills was extensively rebuilt and modernised. It is grade I listed and a scheduled monument. It is within the council area of Bolton. More...
Historic England Grade I Listed 1388279.
Place Type: Mediæval House
Historic County: Lancashire
Lat, Long: 53.602617,-2.455668
Grid Reference: SD 6994 1188
Council Area: Bolton CA
Strategic Authority Area: Greater Manchester SA
Police Area: Greater Manchester PA
GBPN ID: 304445
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Smithill's_Hall,_Lancashire_304445
Peruse Lancashire on Wikishire
In 1870 Richard Henry Ainsworth inherited the house and employed the prominent Victorian architect George Devey to design the most significant improvements to the Hall. However, changes in the British economy after the First World War had increased costs meant the Hall was sold to Bolton Council for £70,600 in 1938. Parts of it became a residential home and day centre that closed in the 1990s. The oldest parts of the hall opened as a museum in 1963, and in the 1990s the museum was extended into some of the Victorian extensions.
Historic England Grade I Listed 1388279.
Place Type: Mediæval House
Historic County: Lancashire
Lat, Long: 53.602617,-2.455668
Grid Reference: SD 6994 1188
Council Area: Bolton CA
Strategic Authority Area: Greater Manchester SA
Police Area: Greater Manchester PA
GBPN ID: 304445
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Smithill's_Hall,_Lancashire_304445
Peruse Lancashire on WikishireIn 1870 Richard Henry Ainsworth inherited the house and employed the prominent Victorian architect George Devey to design the most significant improvements to the Hall. However, changes in the British economy after the First World War had increased costs meant the Hall was sold to Bolton Council for £70,600 in 1938. Parts of it became a residential home and day centre that closed in the 1990s. The oldest parts of the hall opened as a museum in 1963, and in the 1990s the museum was extended into some of the Victorian extensions.