Formby Hall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Formby Hall is located to the North East of Formby in secluded woodland adjoining the Formby Hall Golf and Country Club. The present house, built for William Formby, dates back to 1523 but it is believed that the Formby family has occupied the site since the 12th century.

Over the years the hall has seen many owners and occupants. Many modifications and additions have been made to the original building. For example the battlements were added in the 18th Century by John Formby who took inspiration from the Gothic Style architecture of Horace Walpole’s home in London. In 1896 the hall was modernised by Colonel John Formby who added the West Wing drawing room.

Throughout the years the hall had been inherited down the generations to the sons of the Lord of the Manor. Unfortunately this chain was ended in 1958 upon the death of Colonel John Frederick Lonsdale Formby whose sons had both died during the Second World War.

The estate was inherited to an Australian Nephew but the fell into disrepair and much of the land was sold of for property development. In the 1970’s John Moores Junior acquired the hall and used it as a home to house children from the crowded areas of inner city Liverpool. In the 1980’s the hall was once again left to elements and fell into dereliction.

In the early 1990’s local businessman Mike McComb bought the Hall as ‘site as seen’ without even conducting a survey and has restored the hall to its former glory.