Samlesbury Hall

Samlesbury Hall is a 14th Century Manor House. Over the years there have been many changes. The first hall was built by the D'Ewyas family and situated on the bank of the river Ribble. This was destroyed by Robert the Bruce, after the Battle of Bannockburn, when the Scots ransacked and pillaged homes along the banks of the river, from Preston to Clitheroe. Gilbert de Southworth from Warrington married Alice D'Ewyas in the early 1320's, and five years later built the Great Hall, the oldest part of the building.

John Cooper bought the Hall in 1850 and leased it as a boarding school for girls. In 1862, Joseph Harrison, a wealthy Blackburn man, was the next buyer who carried out much renovation and restoration. Unfortunately, he was a lavish entertainer and spent way beyond his means. He shot and killed himself in 1878. A local J.P. lived here until 1909 when the Hall, now looking shabby from lack of care, was left to be demolished.

Fortunately, in 1924, an appeal was launched and a group of trustees formed Samlesbury Hall Trust to rescue and preserve the Hall for future generations. The Hall is now in good repair attracting 50,000 visitors each year. Samlesbury Hall has been independently owned and administrated since 1925 by a registered Charitable Trust known as The Samlesbury Hall Trust.

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