Astley Hall

Susanna Brooke inherited the Astley estates on the death of brother, Peter, in 1767, O.S.P - O bit 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 Susann...

It is my privilege to act as a volunteer room steward in the Long Gallery at Astley Hall which is not only a wonderful survivor of an Elizabethan Manor House but also houses a wonderful collection of paintings gathered by the families that lived there. The art website www.artuk.org depicts most of the collection of paintings held at the Hall including many which are in storage or undergoing conservation. Delving a little into Art History we can discover more about some of the paintings that hang in the public rooms of the Hall. One the west wall of the Great Hall is the painting of King CharlesI  with his wife, Henrietta Maria and their children Prince Charles (later Charles II) and Princess Mary.   Princess Mary was married to William, Prince of Orange, at the age of 9 in1641 when he was 14.  Her only child, born in 1650, became William III of England. Some doubt has been cast on the parentage of Charles II, rumours amongst the couriers at the time ...

Legend has it that, during the reign of Edward II, Adam de Charnock  gave his serf Ulf, and Cockersands Chapter House all his family, to the Abbot of Cockersands Abbey.  However, as serfs were tied to the land on which they laboured it is likely that it was the land that was given and the serfs, inevitably, went with the land.  Adam de Charnock was the great grandfather of Henry de Charnock, the first Charnock named by William Flower,  the Norroy King of Arms in his 'Visitation' in 1567.  Henry married Joanne, the daughter and heiress of Richard Molyneux of Crosby.  Eight generations later Robert Charnock with his wife Cecily, daughter of Sir Henry Farrington of Worden, were living at Old Hall, Charnock Richard when, it is generally thought, that the house suffered a severe fire causing the move to Astley.   The Charnock had coal mines around the area, including some at Braford in Manchester, adding to the wealth of the family in ...

The Story of Astley Hall Photo: John Ball  This history of the Hall takes us from the 12th century to the present day. Families who have taken significant roles in the County Palatine of Lancashire. whose stories will be told in instalments over the months.  Visitors are made welcome at the Hall, on special occasions by members of the 'costume team' bringing the history of this ancient Manor House to life.  Most open days volunteers from the 'Friends of Astley Hall' are on hand to help you imagine life for the families who lived here.  As one young visitor told me, "history at school was never like this'. Astley Hall was gifted to the town of Chorley by the last owner of the Hall, Sir Reginald Arthur Tatton, to provide the town with a memorial to those who fell during the First World War.  The surrounding 108 acres of parkland were bought for the town thanks to donations by the people of Chorley. The Charnock family had  lived in the area fr...