Lady Susanna

Susanna Brooke inherited the Astley estates on the death of brother, Peter, in 1767, O.S.P - Obit Sine Prole, or died without issue as the legal documents would have put it.  

Her great grandmother had been born Margaret Charnock, the last of Charnock’s who had moved to Astley when their old home in Charnock Richard had been ruined by fire in the mid 17th century.  

Thomas Townley Parker and Susanna Brooke

The ladies of the Brooke family were always considered beauties and Susanna soon caught the eye of Thomas Townley Parker of Cuerden.

They had three children, including Robert Townley Parker who later moved to Cuerden Hall. 

Robert
Townley Parker

He was Guild Mayor of Preston in 1861 and a prominent Freemason having two masonic lodges named after him in Chorley and Manchester.

He was Unionist Member of Parliament for Preston in 1837

  

Lady de Hoghton

Following the death of Susanna’s husband in 1794 she married Sir Henry Phillip Hoghton, 7^th Baronet.  He was educated at Charterhouse School in London, and St Johns College, Cambridge. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1794. 

Sir Ηenry was a notorious gambler and legend has it that he lost half of the family’s estates in Liverpool to the Earl of Derby in a card game.   

His portrait can be seen in the Great Hall at Hoghton Tower.  Their son, Henry Bold-Hoghton, inherited the title as 8^th Baronet.

Hoghton Tower

At the time of their marriage the de Hoghton’s had abandoned their ancestral home of Hoghton Tower to live at Walton Hall, on the banks of the Ribble south of Preston, as it was no longer considered fashionable to live in a fortified house.   

The Tower fell into disrepair and was occupied by weavers with many of the rooms letting in rainwater, panelling becoming damaged and birds nesting in the rooms.

It was not until Charles Dickens visited Hoghton Towers and wrote about it’s dilapidated state in his short story, ‘George Silverman’s Explanation’ – published in 1868 -  that the family returned and set about restoring the Towers to its former glory.

In 1922 Lady de Hoghton officially opened the new Park Road, built by soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars, for the Wigan and Preston Turnpike Trust.  

She was attending the Preston Guild ceremonies, part of 
the Merchant Guild that has been held since 1179.

Sir  Henry died in 1835 and during 1845 Susanna donated £100 to a charity supporting Liverpool’s Indigent Blind School, this would have purchasing power of around £11,000 today.  

She also donated the stone from her quarries to build  St Peter’s church was built on Harpers Lane in 1850.  

She attended services at the Parish Church of St Lawrence which lay opposite the gates to her estate having a footman push her wheelchair though the park.

Astley Hall will reopen for visitors after the completion of the conservation project to remove the stucco rendering and replace the ageing window frames.

You can support the work of the Friends of Astley Hall by making a donation

from your phone:

Text Astley 1 to 70085 to donate £1

Text Astley 2 to 70085 to donate £2

Text Astley 5 to 70085 to donate £5

or any amount you may choose

Thank you so much for your help

Talks are available on Astley Hall, its Park and its People for local community groups.  Please enquire for details via the contact form by clicking the three bars at the top left of the screen or the arrow and then the three bars.