Parlington Hall

Last updated

South elevation of Parlington Hall around the 1880s Parlington Hall Late nineteenth century.jpg
South elevation of Parlington Hall around the 1880s
The Triumphal Arch The Triumphal Arch - geograph.org.uk - 38247.jpg
The Triumphal Arch

Parlington Hall was the seat of the Gascoigne family, Aberford near Leeds in West Yorkshire, England.

Contents

History

Parlington Hall (1911) by Philip Norman Parlington Hall by Philip Norman.jpg
Parlington Hall (1911) by Philip Norman

The Parlington estate was acquired by the Gascoignes from the Wentworth family in 1546[ citation needed ]. The hall was modified by successive family members including Sir Edward Gascoigne (early eighteenth century), his son Sir Thomas Gascoigne, the last baronet (late eighteenth century), Richard Oliver-Gascoigne (early nineteenth century) and lastly Isabella and her husband Frederick in the mid- and late nineteenth century[ citation needed ].

The house therefore consisted of mixture of architectural styles and materials, and was set in landscaped gardens, but it was abandoned in 1905, after which incremental demolition took place until the late 1950s[ citation needed ]. Most (?) of what can be seen in old photographs is later than the seventeenth century [ citation needed ]. Pevsner (1967) does not mention the house at all, implying that nothing substantial survived by that date. [1]

Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th and last Baronet, succeeded his brother in 1762. Sir Thomas was M.P. for Thirsk from 1780 to 1784, for Malton in 1784 and for Arundel in 1795. He was also a keen breeder and trainer of horses and with Sir Thomas Stapleton won the St Leger Stakes in 1778 with Hollandoise and the same race twenty years later with his home-bred colt Symmetry. He supported the cause of American independence and commissioned a triumphal arch celebrating the American victory in the War of Independence which stands at the west end of the avenue leading to the estate. [2] [3] The architect was Thomas Leverton. [4] The inscription is 'LIBERTY IN N.AMERICA TRIUMPHANT.MDCCLXXXIII'. Pevsner describes the lettering as 'very fine'.

The death in February 1810 of Sir Thomas Gascoigne the last baronet, aged 65 came just a few months after his heir and only child Tom had pre-deceased him as a result of an accident whilst hunting. Sir Thomas had a new will prepared and his step-daughter, Mary (second child of Sir Charles Turner and Mary Turner) benefitted with her husband Richard Oliver in a lifetime interest in the estates, a proviso being that the family took on the name of Gascoigne and that they had issue. Thereafter Richard Oliver-Gascoigne, presided over the properties [ citation needed ]. Richard continued the horse-racing tradition of the estate, winning the St Leger in 1811 with Soothsayer and in 1824 with Jerry. He was responsible for building the "Dark Arch" in 1813, a still existent shallow, stone-lined road tunnel which allowed traffic to pass by on Parlington Lane without disturbing the occupants of the house. [5] He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1816–17. Mary died in 1819 having had four children, two sons and two daughters. Both sons pre-deceased Richard Oliver-Gascoigne, and the daughters Isabella and Elizabeth inherited all his estates in 1843[ citation needed ].

Isabella and Elizabeth, two deeply creative women, immediately (?) commissioned the building of schools, almshouses and churches in the region[ citation needed ] and made huge improvements to their estates and to the living conditions of their tenantry [ citation needed ]. The sisters personally fabricated stained glass windows for their various projects [ citation needed ]. One of these survives in the park at Parlington (in which building?). Isabella's particular interest was wood-turning and she installed at least three lathes in her own workshop at Parlington, as well as writing an authoritative book on the subject (called?)[ citation needed ]. In 1850, Isabella married Colonel Frederick Charles Trench of Woodlawn, County Galway, Ireland. In 1852, Elizabeth married Frederick's cousin Frederick Mason Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown, head of the Trench family. Jointly the two sisters had already built the magnificent Castle Oliver on their father's estate in Limerick, Ireland. Elizabeth and her husband lived at Castle Oliver, while Isabella and her husband continued to reside at Parlington Hall until her death in 1891.

Following the death of Frederick Charles Trench in June 1905 Parlington Hall was abandoned. His son Col. Frederick Richard Thomas Trench-Gascoigne was already established at another family residence, Lotherton Hall, to the east of the nearby village Aberford, which property he had inherited on the death of his Aunt Elizabeth [ citation needed ]. After 1905, much of the contents and smaller architectural features of Parlington were transferred to Lotherton, which lies on the B1217 road towards Towton and Sherburn-in-Elmet. It is open to the public, [6] and contains many Gascoigne family memorabilia.

Listed buildings

The Parlington estate contains a number of features: the grade II* listed Triumphal Arch, designed by Thomas Leverton and built around the end of the Eighteenth Century, which is unique in commemorating the victory of the American colonialists over the British in the American War of Independence. An inscription on both faces of the arch reads, "Liberty in N.America Triumphant MDCCLXXXIII"; a tunnel known locally as the "Dark Arch", which was built to shield the inhabitants of the hall from traffic passing along Parlington Lane, still intact almost two hundred years later; an underground icehouse, also intact — a testament to Georgian brick construction.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberford</span> Village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Aberford is a village and civil parish on the eastern outskirts of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,059 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,180 at the 2011 Census. It is situated 10 miles (15.5 km) east, north east of Leeds and west of the A1(M) motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotherton Hall</span> Country house in West Yorkshire, England

Lotherton Hall is a country house near Aberford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a short distance from the A1(M) motorway, 200 miles (320 km) equidistant from London and Edinburgh. It is one of nine sites in the Leeds Museums & Galleries group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gascoigne baronets</span> Extinct baronetcy in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia

The Gascoigne Baronetcy, of Barnbow and Parlington in the County of York, was a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 8 June 1635 for John Gascoigne. He had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1604. His daughter, Catherine Gascoigne, went to Cambrai where she became an abbess. Gascoigne's son Sir Thomas, 2nd Baronet, was accused of conspiracy to murder King Charles II as part of the mythical Popish Plot, but acquitted. The eighth Baronet was Member of Parliament for Thirsk, Malton and Arundel. He renounced Catholicism, and was much involved in the Irish Parliament and in horse racing. Sir Thomas died in 1810, the year after his only son died in a hunting accident, upon which the baronetcy became either extinct or dormant.

Frederick Mason Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown DL was an Irish peer and magistrate.

Cosby Godolphin Trench DL, JP, styled The Honourable from 1855, was a British soldier and magistrate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Oliver</span> Victorian castle-style building in County Limerick, Ireland

Castle Oliver is a Victorian castle-style country house in the southern part of County Limerick, Ireland. Built for entertaining rather than for defense, it has a ballroom, drawing room, library, morning room, dining room and hall which feature hand-painted ceilings, decorated ornamental corbels, superbly executed stained glass windows and stencil work. The castle stands on massive terraces and has a commanding view over much of its former 20,000-acre (81 km2) estate. The castle has Ireland's largest wine cellar, said to hold approximately 55,000 bottles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Fowler Jones</span> British architect (1818–1905)

George Fowler Jones was an architect and early amateur photographer who was born in Scotland but based for most of his working life in York.

The Oliver Gascoigne family originated at the point that Richard Oliver, originally of Castle Oliver, Limerick, Ireland, inherited the fortune of Sir Thomas Gascoigne of Parlington Hall, Yorkshire, in 1810. Sir Thomas made it a stipulation of his will that Richard add 'Gascoigne' to his name. Richard had married Sir Thomas's stepdaughter, Mary Turner, in 1804. Richard and Mary had two daughters, Isabella and Elizabeth, who inherited their parents' fortune in 1843. The sisters demolished their ancestral home in Ireland, and built a new Castle Oliver a few hundred yards to the north east. The castle still exists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Gascoigne (businessman)</span> Yorkshire land and coal-owner

Thomas Gascoigne was a Yorkshire land and coal-owner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craignish Castle</span>

Craignish Castle is located on the Craignish peninsula in Argyll, western Scotland and is a category B listed building. The present castle includes a 16th-century tower house, the seat of the Campbell family of Craignish and Jura. In the 19th century it was sold to the Trench-Gascoigne family of Parlington Hall, Yorkshire, who built a large extension to the tower. In the later 20th century the house was restored and parts of the 19th-century extension were demolished. The result of these extensions and styles from various centuries have made the castle a Scottish baronial masterpiece. It has previously been known as Loch Beag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th Baronet</span>

Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th Baronet was born on 7 March 1745 on the Continent into a devout Catholic gentry family based in Yorkshire. Despite receiving a solid Catholic education at institutions in northern France and Italy, Gascoigne would later renounce his religion to become a Foxite Whig Member of Parliament. Prior to his apostasy, he travelled extensively as a Grand Tourist throughout much of Spain, France and Italy in the company of the noted travel writer Henry Swinburne, who would later record their journeys in two popular travel guides Travels through Spain in the Years 1775 and 1776 (1779) and Travels in the Two Sicilies, 1777–1780 (1783–5). Together they gained close access to the leading courts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Naples. An honorary member of the Board of Agriculture, Gascoigne was an important advocate of agricultural reform as well as a considerable coal owner who helped pioneer technological developments in the extractive industries. He is emblematic of how movements within the Enlightenment were having a major influence on the attitudes, activities and outlook of many leading English Catholic gentry families in the period.

Sir Charles Turner, 1st Baronet was a British politician and Lord Mayor of York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvary Gascoigne</span>

Sir Alvary Douglas Frederick Trench-Gascoigne GBE, KCMG was a British diplomat.

Thomas Leverton was an English architect.

Richard Philip Oliver, later known as Richard Oliver Gascoigne, was an Irish landowner at Castle Oliver in County Limerick and Parlington Hall in Yorkshire.

Colonel Frederic Richard Thomas Trench Gascoigne DSO JP was a British soldier and landowner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Gascoigne</span>

Elizabeth Gascoigne was the heiress to the Gascoigne estate, eventually becoming the main owner of Lotherton Hall in Leeds which is now owned by Leeds City Council as part of the Leeds Museums and Galleries. She was a woman of many talents, dabbling in writing books, designing stained glass windows, playing the harp and being a charitable contributor to the community of Leeds, mainly Aberford in Yorkshire and Ashtown in Ireland. Her works in stained glass have been displayed in exhibitions, and many of the buildings her and her sister commissioned are still part of the communities that they lived in.

Laura Gwendolen Douglas Galton Gascoigne CBE DStJ, was a British nurse, writer, and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parlington</span> Civil parish in Leeds, England

Parlington is a civil parish that includes part of Aberford, in the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 87. The parish touches Aberford, Barwick in Elmet and Scholes, Lotherton cum Aberford, Micklefield and Sturton Grange. Aberford & District Parish Council includes Parlington along with Aberford, Lotherton cum Aberford and Sturton Grange. There are plans to build a garden village in Parlington.

The Rt. Hon. Silver Oliver PC was an Irish landowner and Privy Counsellor politician who owned Castle Oliver in County Limerick, Ireland.

References

  1. Pevsner, N. & Radcliffe, E., The Buildings of England: Yorkshire West Riding, 2nd ed., Penguin 1967, p.69
  2. "Article about the Parlington Triumphal Arch" . Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  3. Hewetson, Christopher; Valadier, Luigi (16 August 1778). "Sir Thomas Gasgoine, 8th Baronet of Parlington (1745-1810)" . Retrieved 16 August 2023 via Victoria & Albert Museum.
  4. Pevsner, op cit
  5. "Parlington Hall :: The Dark Arch". parlington.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  6. "Lotherton Hall and Estate". Leeds Museums & Galleries. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

53°49′08″N1°21′35″W / 53.81899°N 1.3597°W / 53.81899; -1.3597