Askham Hall | |
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![]() Askham Hall and gardens | |
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General information | |
Type | Country house |
Town or city | Askham |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 54°36′26″N2°45′03″W / 54.6073°N 2.7507°W |
Year(s) built | 14th century (initial), 1575 (expanded) |
Askham Hall is a country house near Askham in Cumbria. It is a Grade I listed building.
A peel tower was built on the site during the 14th century. [1] It passed into the hands of the Sandford family and in 1575 Thomas Sandford had it substantially enlarged. [2] In 1730, with the death of William Sandford without male issue, it was inherited by his grandson, William Tatham. Tatham died childless in 1775, [3] when the house was sold to Edward Bolton, a Preston lawyer. When he died childless in 1803, it was inherited by his great nephew, the infant Edward Bolton King, [4] whose trustees sold it to William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale in 1815. [5] It became a rectory in 1828 and then became a residence of the Lowther family in the 1830s. [6] The 7th Earl of Lonsdale used it as his home after Lowther Castle was dismantled and closed in 1937. [1] Askham Hall became a Grade I listed house in 1968. [7]
Following the death of the 7th Earl in May 2006 the house has been owned by Caroline, Countess of Lonsdale. [8] In 2012 the Countess of Lonsdale and her children, Charles Lowther and Marie-Louisa Raeburn, arranged the conversion of Askham Hall into a boutique hotel. [6]