Croston Hall

Croston Hall
Location within Lancashire
General information
Architectural style	Gothic
Town or city	Croston
Country	England
Coordinates	53°39′25″N 2°45′58″W / 53.657°N 2.766°W / 53.657; -2.766
Construction started	17th century
Demolished	Mid 1960s
Client	De Trafford
Technical details
Structural system	Brick

Croston Hall was a country mansion house, built in a gothic style architecture, situated in the village of Croston, Lancashire.

History

The original Croston Hall was constructed in the 17th century, for the Ashworth family. The old hall was taken down and a new hall was erected in the 19th century and was occupied by Henry Tempest, a magistrate, following his marriage to Jemima, the daughter of Joseph Thomas Trafford, whose family owned the hall for the rest of its existence.^[1] The last Croston Hall was built by the De Trafford Family in the 19th century to the east of the village of Croston. Thomas de Trafford, who was born at Croston Hall, became 1st Baronet.

The last of the De Trafford family to live at the hall was a man (known locally as "the Squire"), who died in 1960, followed by the death of his sister in 1964. Neither had an heir, so when he died, the small chapel in the grounds along with 2 acres (8,100 m²) of land around it was left for the use of the Catholic people of Croston, and the rest of the land was left to the Archdiocese of Liverpool.^[2] Croston Hall was pulled down in the mid 1960s but the stables and the walled garden buildings were left, as was the lodge and the bridge.

In 1963 Martin Ainscough bought Croston Hall estate from the Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool. Part of the estate was sold in 2007 by the family who still own about 300 acres (1.2 km²) including the site of the demolished hall.^[3]

There are plans to build a Country House Hotel on the site.^[4]

References