Soughton Hall

Soughton Hall
Soughton Hall
	Front elevation of Soughton Hall, May 2011
General information
Type	Country house
Location	Sychdyn
Town or city	Flintshire
Country	Wales
Coordinates	53°11′53″N3°07′37″W / 53.197951433888°N 3.1268613718707°W Coordinates: 53°11′53″N3°07′37″W / 53.197951433888°N 3.1268613718707°W
Construction started	1714
Renovated	1820/1880
Client	Edward Conway
Designations	Grade II* listed
Renovating team
Architect(s)	Charles Barry

Last updated February 07, 2023

Soughton Hall is a Grade II* listed country house hotel in Sychdyn, Flintshire, Wales. Notable guests that have stayed include Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Jackson and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. William John Bankes inherited Soughton Hall in the 1815.

Early history

Edward Conway built Soughton Hall in 1714. His family had owned the estate for several generations and he inherited the land when his father John Conway died in 1689. Because of financial difficulties he was forced to sell the house in 1732 to Bishop John Wynne.

Bishop John Wynne was born in 1667. His father was Humphrey Wynne of Maes-y-coed, Caerwys. He was educated at Oxford University and in 1715 was appointed Bishop of Saint Asaph in Denbighshire and in 1727 became Bishop of Bath and Wells. In 1720 he married Anne Pugh, daughter and heiress of Robert Pugh of Pennarth.^[1] The couple had two sons and two daughters.

At the age of 65 in 1732 Bishop Wynne bought Soughton Hall. He was a horticulturist and planted several avenues of lime trees on the estate, many of the trees can be still seen today.^[2] After he died in 1743 his son John inherited the estate and when he died unmarried in 1801 his brother Sir William Wynne became the owner.^[3] Bishop Wynne’s daughter Margaret had married Henry Bankes of Corfe Castle. It was this marriage that brought Soughton Hall indirectly into the Bankes family because when her brother Sir William Wynne died unmarried in 1815 the Hall was inherited by her grandson William John Bankes.

The Bankes family

William John Bankes. WilliamBankes.jpg — William John Bankes.

William John Bankes was born in 1786. His father was Henry Bankes who owned Kingston Lacy. He is described by one historian in the following terms.

"William was a brilliant and eccentric man whose contemporaries feared he would dissipate his talent and very considerable scholarship by the breadth of his interests and his volatile personality. At Cambridge, rich charming and good looking he may have outshone even Byron, who was to remain a lifelong friend, by his conscious adoption of immense style, his wit and pretensions to grandeur. Extremely well read in the classics, including the classical writers of Egypt and Nubia. He left a potential career in Parliament to follow in the steps of Byron and William Beckford to Spain and Portugal to pursue and Bohemian lifestyle among the gypsies of Granada and then for the risk and adventure of travel in the Near East.”"^[4]

William inherited Soughton Hall from his great uncle Sir William Wynne in 1815 at the age of 29. At this stage he owned no other property so he decided to make the house a showpiece. After touring Europe and the Middle East between 1812 and 1820 he commissioned Charles Barry a fellow traveller to redesign the existing Soughton Hall to reflect the style of the buildings he had seen on his travels.^[5] In 1834 on the death of his father he inherited Kingston Lacy and again he commissioned Charles Barry to make major alternations to this property. In 1841 William was involved in a scandal and was forced to live the rest of his life in exile. He transferred his property his brother George Bankes^[6] who inherited it in 1855 when William died. George died in 1856 and Soughton Hall was inherited by his younger brother Reverend Edward Bankes.

Reverend Edward Bankes married twice and had seven children. Two of his daughters by his second marriage were Emma and Frederica who were twins.^[7] In 1869 when they were 22 years old they had their portrait painted by Henry Tanworth Wells who was a well-known English painter of that time. The painting is shown. They were born in 1847 in Bristol and lived part of their lives at Gloucester College, Oxford where their father was the rector. The family also had a villa at Weymouth where they frequently stayed. The girls were often mentioned in the social pages attending dances and balls in the area. For example, in 1866 they were at the Dorset Hunt Ball^[8] and in 1867 they were at a fancy dress ball in Bristol.^[9] In 1873 the twins were married and they had a double wedding at St Ann’s Church Radipole, Dorset. Frederica married Major John George Skene (later Colonel) of the 77th Regiment of Foot who two years later inherited his father’s estate called Lethenty in Scotland.^[10] Emma married her cousin Edward Alexander Cameron who was a civil engineer and the couple lived in a house called “The Towers” in Buxton.^[11]

When Rev. Edward Bankes died in 1867 his son John Scott Bankes inherited Soughton Hall and made some alterations to the building. He employed John Douglas who refaced the house in red brick, and redesigned the façade.^[12] Bankes died in 1894^[13] and his son Sir John Eldon Bankes who was a Judge of the High Court, became the owner of the Hall. He died in 1946 and his son Robert Wynne Bankes inherited the property. When his wife Mabel died in 1985 the property was sold, and it became a boutique hotel and event venue.^[14]

Related Research Articles

Bylaugh Hall, also known as Bylaugh Park, is a country house situated in the parish of Bylaugh in Norfolk, England.

Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent owners, Sir John Bankes and Dame Mary, had remained loyal to Charles I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bankes family</span>

The Bankes family were prominent landed gentry in Dorset, England, for over 400 years. They owned large portions of land throughout Dorset and made significant contributions to the political history and development of the country.

Close House is a country estate near Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland. The estate contains a Grade II* listed former mansion house, which is currently a private residence, and Close House Golf Club.

John Wynne was Bishop of St Asaph (1715–1727) and of Bath and Wells (1727–1743), having previously been principal of Jesus College, Oxford (1712–1720).

Grantley Hall is a Country house located in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Grantley, about 5 miles (8 km) to the west of Ripon, on the banks of the River Skell. It is listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, and the Japanese garden at the hall is listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Brymbo Hall, one of Britain's lost houses, was a manor house located near Brymbo outside the town of Wrexham, North Wales. The house, reputed to have been partly built to the designs of Inigo Jones, was noted as the residence of 18th-century industrialist and ironmaster John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson.

Walter Baldwyn Yates CBE was an English barrister, member of the London County Council and Crown Umpire under the Unemployment Insurance Scheme of 1911.

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1732 to Wales and its people.

Sir John Eldon Bankes, was a Welsh judge of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, and later the Lord Justice of Appeal.

Sir Roger Mostyn, 5th Baronet was a Welsh landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 38 years from 1758 to 1796.

The Grove is a heritage listed building of historical significance located south of Narberth, Pembrokeshire. It was built by Daniel Poyer in about 1680 shortly after he inherited the property from his father. The house remained in the Poyer family for the next two centuries. Today the Grove is a hotel and restaurant. It caters for special events particularly weddings.

Southover Grange in Lewes, Sussex is a house of historical significance and is Grade II* listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1572 by William Newton and owned by this family for the next three hundred years. After this it was the residence of many notable people until it was bought by the local Council in about 1945. Today it is owned by the East Sussex County Council. It now houses the Lewes Register Office which provides Marriage Ceremony Packages, civil partnerships and citizenship ceremonies. The gardens host events from local theatre to beer an gin festivals.

Merley House in Wimborne, Dorset, England, is a building of historical significance and is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1752 by the bibliophile Ralph Willett and remained in the Willett family until about 1875. For the next century it was the residence of many notable people. It is now a hotel.

Albrighton Hall near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is a house which is Grade II* listed on the National Heritage List for England. It was built in 1630 for the Ireland family and remained in this family for the next five generations until 1804. It was then the home of several notable people until 1953. In the 1990s it was converted into a hotel.

Penyard House, Weston under Penyard near Ross-on-Wye is a building of historical significance. It appears to have been built in about 1821 by a wealthy landowner John Partridge. It was the home of many notable residents for the next century until it was converted to a hotel in the 1930s. Today it is a hotel which provides restaurant services and caters for special events particularly weddings.

Sir John Conway, 2nd Baronet of Bodrhyddan Hall, Rhuddlan, Denbighshire was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1685 and 1721.

Northaw Place is a Grade II* listed former mansion house, later a school and children's home, in Northaw and Cuffley, Hertfordshire, England. Northaw Place was built circa 1690 by Sir George Hutchins, King's Serjeant and one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal. Cussans describes the Northaw estate as having once formed part of the manorial estate but it became detached from it in circa 1690 when Sir William Leman, second Baronet, and Lord of the Manor of Northaw, gave it to his daughter Sarah, on her marriage to Sir George Hutchins. It remained in private hands until the late 19th century, when it was converted into a school. It reverted to private ownership again in 1927, only to be purchased by Middlesex County Council after World War II and converted into a children's home. With the 1974 re-organisation of UK local government it passed to the London Borough of Haringey who used it as a Children's Assessment Centre until late 1979. In 1980 a planning application was made to convert Northaw Place to 10 dwellings. Permission was granted but the scheme was not implemented due to outstanding conditions of consent. A subsequent application to convert Northaw Place to offices was refused in 1982 (S6/0120/82). Another application was submitted in 1985 to convert Northaw Place to six dwellings (S6/0368/LB), and permission was granted. In 1986 Northaw Place was bought by Hitchins (Hatfield) Ltd, and a new planning application was submitted. This contained minor amendments from the previous application. As part of the conversion work the main house was divided from the stables / coach house to the west by the demolition of a link building. It has since been converted to residential accommodation.

Sir George Wynne, 1st Baronet, of Leeswood Hall, Flintshire, was a Welsh land owner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1742.

Barton Hall Hotel in Barton Seagrave near Kettering is a building of historical significance and is listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in about 1550 and was the home of many notable residents over the next five centuries. Today it is a hotel which provides accommodation, restaurant facilities and caters for special events.

References

↑ Dictionary of Welsh Biography John Wynne (1667-1743). Online reference
↑ Parks and Gardens “Soughton Hall”. Online reference
↑ Robert Williams, “A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen”, p. 550. Online reference
↑ Paul Starkey et al, “Travellers In Egypt”, p. 51. Online reference
↑ John Harris, “Moving Rooms”, p. 53. Online reference
↑ The History of Parliament website “William John Bankes”. Online reference
↑ Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register, 14 June 1873, p. 4. Online reference
↑ Dorset County Chronicle - Thursday 12 April 1866, p. 4
↑ Bristol Times and Mirror - Friday 25 January 1867, p. 3.
↑ Walford, Edward 1919 “The county families of the United Kingdom”, Online reference
↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar for Emma Cameron, 1901.
↑ Cadw. "Soughton Hall (Grade II*) (547)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 23 January 2020.
↑ "Northop. Death of Mr. John Scott Bankes". James Davies and Edward Jones Davies. The Flintshire Obserer. September 20, 1894. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
↑ Hughes, Owen (February 26, 2016). "Historic Soughton Hall sold to Manchester leisure group". Daily Post Business. Retrieved 5 April 2017.

External links

Soughton Hall Hotel website

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Dictionary of Welsh Biography John Wynne (1667-1743). Online reference

[2] Parks and Gardens “Soughton Hall”. Online reference

[3] Robert Williams, “A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Welshmen”, p. 550. Online reference

[4] Paul Starkey et al, “Travellers In Egypt”, p. 51. Online reference

[5] John Harris, “Moving Rooms”, p. 53. Online reference

[6] The History of Parliament website “William John Bankes”. Online reference

[7] Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register, 14 June 1873, p. 4. Online reference

[8] Dorset County Chronicle - Thursday 12 April 1866, p. 4

[9] Bristol Times and Mirror - Friday 25 January 1867, p. 3.

[10] Walford, Edward 1919 “The county families of the United Kingdom”, Online reference

[11] England & Wales, National Probate Calendar for Emma Cameron, 1901.

[12] Cadw. "Soughton Hall (Grade II*) (547)". National Historic Assets of Wales . Retrieved 23 January 2020.

[13] "Northop. Death of Mr. John Scott Bankes". James Davies and Edward Jones Davies. The Flintshire Obserer. September 20, 1894. Retrieved 5 April 2017.

[14] Hughes, Owen (February 26, 2016). "Historic Soughton Hall sold to Manchester leisure group". Daily Post Business. Retrieved 5 April 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]