Underley Hall Kirkby Lonsdale - Westmorland
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UNDERLEY HALL KIRKBY LONSDALE - WESTMORLAND * A HISTORY OF HOUSE AND OCCUPANTS Editor: John D. Battle 1969 Underley Hall 1830 A HISTORY OF UNDERLEY HALL AND OCCUPANTS INTRODUCTION This pamphlet sets out to sketch and reconstruct the history of Underley Hall, “one of Westmorland’s finest mansions in the Tudor style”. The first section traces the site of Underley from the Norman Conquest, through the development of Underley Estate, and the two manor houses or large farm houses of Near and Far Underley in the Sixteenth century, up to the early Nineteenth century when Alexander Nowell bought the estate and established a mansion on the site of the present house. This mansion is still standing today in its basic form, although recent alterations, additions and modernisations may have changed parts of the building. Then a second section traces the history of the occupants, from the Wilson Family of the Sixteenth century through the Ashton Family until Alexander Nowell bought the estate in 1807. In 1840 he sold the house to Alderman Thompson, through Thompson’s daughter it passed on to the Bective Family, and then to the daughter of Lord Bective who married Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, who moved into Underley in 1901. The CavendishBentincks lived at Underley until early 1940, when Underley ceased to be a residential manor house as such, and an Evacuee Boys School “Hordle House” moved in. This was replaced by “Oakfleld” a girls school in 1945. In 1959 St. Michael’s College, the junior seminary for the R.C. Lancaster Diocese bought Underley. This section is followed by a short tour of the house, describing the functions of the rooms in the periods of the Cavendish-Bentinck days, and the days of “Hordle House” and “Oakfield” school and of St. Michael’s College, with descriptions of recent additions and extensions. Then a short chapter deals with the grounds. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This pamphlet has required much research and could not have been achieved without the help of many people who have contributed information and helped in numerous other ways. Our grateful acknowledgements are due to: The Staff of St. Michael’s College Rev. P. D. Corbishley Mr. R. Fulford Sir Francis Pearson Mr. T. Howarth Mr. C. Howarth Rev. T. Ledgard Dr. R. G. Mathews Kendal Archivists Mr. F. Ellis Mr. E. Hill Mr. S. Major Mr. A. Henery Mr. R. J. Scriven Mr. Boumphrey Miss M. McEwan Mrs. M. Hutton Mr. E. Willacy and also many others for their assistance 4 CHAPTER I - THE SITE The Manor of Kirkby Lonsdale In 1066, William I defeated King Harold at Hastings and established himself on the English throne. After the conquest he secured control by crushing rebellions and establishing Norman barons over the conquered lands. These barons were bound to William by a feudal oath, and although some English barons were retained, the Normans established and consolidated a feudal society. Then came the final mark of complete control. The whole of England, owned by William was divided between his Norman followers and loyal Saxons, but now he decided to make a complete survey of his newly gained territory, including descriptions of districts and manors and their holders. All this information was written up in the famous Domesday Book, which was completed in 1086. It is here that we find the first reference to the Manor of Kirkby Lonsdale, which was to form the basis of the Underley Estate. All manors and holders in the districts of Kendal and Lonsdale are found in this survey. These two districts were then part of "Euruicscuire", the northernmost English county. The Domesday Book records that Thane Torfln held most of these two districts at the time of the conquest. He was the lord of a group of twelve manors, the chief of which was Austwick, and for our purpose the most important of these is the Manor of Kirkby Lonsdale, "Cherchebi". Thane Torfin, in fact, shared the area before the Conquest with Earl Tostig (brother to King Harold), lord of another group of local manors, including the manors of Barbon and Casterton. However, during the reign of William I, Ivo de Taillebois, one of the great Normans who came with the Conqueror, became the first Baron of Kendal. Thane Torfin died soon after the Conquest, and Earl Tostig was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and so Ivo de Taillebois having received the vast area of Amounderness from William Rufus, took over all the lands that Thane Torfin and Earl Tostig had previously ruled. Between 1090 and 1097, during the reign of William II, Ivo de Taillebois “for the souls of himself and of Lucy his wife granted to Stephen de Whitby the first Abbot of the newlyformed Abbey of St. Mary at York, and the brethren serving there, the church of Kirkby Lonsdale with the associated lands and common rights.” (Kendale ii 3063) 5 At this time, the original manor of Kirkby Lonsdale was comparatively small in size, with relatively few inhabitants, though in the twelfth century its boundaries were extended to include the manor of Thirnby. This enlarged manor was held under the Baron of Kendal by members of the family of de Kirkby, one of whom, John de Kirkby, granted the manor to the Abbey of St. Mary of York, (which already held Kirkby Lonsdale Church and its immediate lands) between 1231 and 1240. The Abbey of St. Mary held this manor area until the dissolution of the monasteries, when it passed into the hands of the Crown. Underlay In 1260 it is believed that the Abbot of York granted to Ughtred de Underlay, son of the Earl of Northumberland, fifteen acres and one rood of land in the town of Kirkby Lonsdale; and the eminent local historian Alexander Pearson suggests that this possibly referred to land around Crow Wood Beck which later became Underley Park. ("Annals of Kirkby Lonsdale"). Here, perhaps, is the first reference to the site on which the present house stands. It is interesting to note that the "Oxford Book of Place Names" records the earliest reference to an "Underlaj" in the district of "Kendaje" in 1282. "Near and Far Underley" However, a break of 240 years separates this from the next reference to this newly formed Underley Estate. The well-known local Wilson family appears to have bought the estate from a descendant of Ughtred in the early sixteenth century, and consolidated the property until 1732, when it was sold to the Ashton Family. To quote the Underley Estates "Title Deeds": "Hugh Ashton of Kirfitt Hall purchased Underley and lands and tenements at Kearswick from Thomas Wilson." In 1593, Henry Wilson extended his small estate by buying lands in Kirkby Lonsdale. At this time there were two houses on the Underley Estate. One was named "Far Underley" and the other "Near Underley". The former was more a combination of manor and farm house, situated approximately where the present Underley stands. "Near Underley" was a combination of a mansion and farm on a site to the south-east of the present hall, a site formerly known as "Crow Wood". The style of architecture which is called "Tudor" began in the reign of Henry VII. House fronts were given a greater amount of decoration and ornament, and houses both in town and country continued 6 to be half timbered. In the country the houses of the wealthier peasant- farmers were becoming much more comfortable. Farm houses were often in storeys with plenty of windows and chimneys. Manor houses were increasingly comfortable and convenent. Whereas earlier most of the life of the house had gone on in the Great Hall, there were now separate parlours, dining rooms and bedrooms all especially designed to suit their purpose. The inside walls were richly decorated with plaster and wood panelling. Windows were much bigger with many small panes of glass set in lead frames. There were bay windows and also the older kind of projecting windows known as “oriels”. Windows opened outwards on hinges at the side, and window curtains of velvet and satin were a popular feature. Walls were covered by oak panelling called wainscoting. At first, these panels were small and were carved to imitate folded material; they were called “linen fold panelling”. Later the panels were either plain or painted with flower patterns, and in the seventeenth century oil paintings decorated the walls. The high ceilings were very ornamental, with designs of fruit and flowers placed in geometrical shapes of circles, octagons and squares. The builders of the country mansions of Elizabethan times loved grand decoration of all kinds and they sometimes built them of brick or stone. These mansions had towers, battlements and parapets, carved stone porches held up by pillars and clusters of tall beautifully shaped chimneys. From this general view of Tudor styles we can see what “Near” and “Far” Underley must have looked like, though, in fact, descriptory evidence and documentation is lacking. Alexander Nowell Though the Ashton Family owned the Underley Estate for seventy two years, the estate and buildings were hardly altered. It was when Alexander Nowell bought the Underley Estate that IJnderley Hall first took on its present form. Nowell bought the estate in 1807 for the sum of £10,560, though it was only a very small property with a rental of £170 a year. To quote the Underley Estate Title Deeds: “All that capital mansion called Underley Hall now used as a farm-house, at Underley in Kirkby Lonsdale Parish with barns, stables, and outbuildings, also several closes etc., called The Hall, barns, stables, gardens, and court containing 1 acre, 2 roods, 8 perches, the Pleasure Ground containing 2 roods 28 perches, the Orchard of 1 acre 37 perches and the surrounding land area amounting to 129 acres (giving a total acreage of 133 acres)”.