A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



westward beyond this at different times, but chiefly 

 probably about the year I579, 39 by the addition of 

 a stone gabled wing facing south, which now forms 

 the central portion of the main front. The whole 

 of the building west of this again, with frontages both 

 north and south, is modern work executed within the 

 last twenty-five years, 40 but in harmony with the 

 older parts. 



The original house seems to have been confined to 

 the three sides of the existing quadrangle, there being 

 no indications of buildings having existed on the 

 south side, except that a former gateway which stood 

 at the south end of the west wing would seem to 

 suggest that the courtyard might have been inclosed 

 all round, or was intended to be so. It existed, 

 however, in this position (where the south end of 



and the front is now formed of the remaining three 

 sides.' 



Very little of the black and white work facing the 

 quadrangle is original, and much of it the quatrefoil 

 panel to the great hall and the gable in the north- 

 east corner facing south is paint on plaster. On the 

 west of the quadrangle it is all modern, and only that 

 on the east wing between the chapel and the great 

 hall has any semblance of old work. The walls on 

 the north and east are of stone up to half their height, 

 above which is a wide band of quatrefoils with a 

 cove above under the eaves. The west wing was 

 originally built without any corridor, but in the 

 iyth century a passage was made on the first floor 

 supported on an arcade of oak columns, forming a 

 verandah to the lower rooms. This has been retained, 



the modern drawing-room now is, immediately opposite 

 the west door of the chapel) till a comparatively 

 recent time, and is so shown in old illustrations of the 

 house. 41 



Against this, however, must be quoted Nathaniel 

 Hawthorne's description of the place in his note- 

 books, 25 Aug. 1855, in which he says : 'The house 

 formerly stood around all four sides of a quadrangle, 

 enclosing a court, and with an entrance through an 

 enclosure. One side of this quadrangle was removed 

 in the time of the present Mr. Ainsworth's father, 



and in a reconstructed form is one of the most pic- 

 turesque features of the courtyard. 



The great hall, which is 346. 6 in. long (including 

 the screens) by 25 ft. wide, has been a very fine 

 apartment, but is now much mutilated, though for- 

 tunately the screen and original open-timber roof still 

 remain, and the restoration of the room to its original 

 appearance would not be difficult. Towards the end 

 of the 1 8th century the hall was used as a brewhouse,. 

 and the outer walls are then supposed to have been 

 raised and a new roof of flatter pitch was added above 



89 This date with the initial* R. B. is 

 on a stone in one of the gables. 



40 From designs by George Devey, 

 architect. 



41 A writer in 1824 says : 'The court- 



gate which you observe on entrance 

 exhibits nothing remarkable. .... On 

 entering through this gate I came into a 

 square courtyard partly paved and partly 

 overgrown with moss and weeds. On 



16 



the left hand is the principal entrance to 

 the house, and this part of it is all that 

 has not been altered by the present pro- 

 prietors.' John Brown, Hist, of Great 

 and Little Bo/ton (1824), 289. 



