LEYLAND HUNDRED 



inlaid drawing-room and the dining-room, with a 

 corridor on the west side. The inlaid drawing-room 

 is so called from the character of the wainscot, which 

 extends the full height of the walls. The dining- 

 room, which is 3z ft. long by 17 ft. 6 in. wide, is 

 panelled in oak all round to a height of 7 ft. 9 in. and 

 has a plain plaster frieze above on which the family 

 portraits are hung. The room contains a 17th- 

 century oak table 9 ft. 6 in. long and some old chairs, 

 and there is a portion of old panelling over the fire- 

 place, but otherwise everything is modern. The 

 windows are large, being 8 ft. wide and level with 

 the floor, with square heads and three transomed 

 lights. 



At the junction of the great hall with the east wing 

 is an anteroom, which appears to preserve some 

 original features of 17th-century date, though entirely 

 remodelled ^vhen the later buildings were erected. 

 The floor on the south and west sides is flagged like 

 that of the hall and part of the old wall remains on 

 the north side. The original plan of the building 

 north of the hall, however, is now difficult to deter- 

 mine, though some old features remain behind the 

 great chimney. But there have apparently been 

 many alterations, and this part of the building, as well 

 as a good deal of the north wing, is in a somewhat 

 neglected condition. An old staircase leads from 

 immediately behind the hall chimney to the first 

 floor landing, the main approach to which, however, 

 is by the great staircase from the hall. 



On the first floor a corridor runs round the quad- 

 raiigle on the north, east and part of the west sides, 

 while the south side is occupied by landings at different 

 levels divided by partition walls and with windows to 

 the courtyard. The floor of the east wing is level 

 with that in the front part of the house, but the 

 corridors on the north and west, which are part of 

 the old building, are at a considerably lower level, and 

 there is a descent of seven steps at the junction of the 

 new and old work at the north-east corner. Besides 

 the staircases already mentioned there are stairs from 

 the ground floor at both the north-west and north- 

 east parts of the house. 



The west wing contains two interesting rooms 

 situated over the kitchen and scullery. The first, 

 which occupies the full width of the building, is styled 

 ' Cromwell's room,' from the tradition that the 

 victorious general slept here in 1648 after the battle 

 of Preston, but the bed he is supposed to have occupied 

 is in one of the front bedrooms. Cromwell's room is 

 a very interesting apartment, 1 8 ft. by 16 ft. 6 in., 

 lit by two windows of two lights each to the court- 

 yard and a three-light window to the garden on the 

 west. The walls are panelled in oak to within a foot 

 of the ceiling in a series of large moulded panels 

 between fluted Tuscan pilasters, and there is an orna- 

 mental plaster frieze. The ceiling is 8 ft. 9 in. high 

 and has moulded plaster ribs arranged in a simple 

 pattern of squares and curves. Over the fireplace is 

 a large plaster strapwork panel now painted to look 

 like oak, with the Charnock crest in the centre. The 

 room beyond this, now entered from it by a door cut 

 through the panelled wall, but originally approached 

 only from the corridor on the north side, is less in 

 size, being 16 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 6 in., but it has a 

 coved ceiling 1 3 ft. high. It is lit on the west side 

 by a six-light transomed window, and the walls, which 

 are 11 ft. high to the underside of the cove, are 



CHORLEY 



elaborately ornamented in plaster with surbase, fluted 

 Ionic pilasters .ind semicircular-headed panels between. 

 All the plaster work, however, is now painted to 

 represent oak, except the panels, which are coloured 

 red. The mantelpiece is of wood with the Charnock 

 arms, but has a large plaster panel over, and the 

 ceiling is ornamented with moulded plaster ribs in a 

 simple pattern. Both these rooms contain 17th- 

 century four-post oak beds and other old oak 

 furniture. 



In the corridor window west of the quadrangle are 

 four pieces of old yellow glass, two of which have the 

 sacred monogram and another the date 1600 together 

 with the motto ' Cogita tecum.' 



The bedroom over the morning room has been 

 modernized and is without interest, but that over the 

 drawing-room at the south-east corner of the house is 

 a charming room 9 ft. high, the ceiling crossed by 

 two oak beams and the walls panelled in oak their 

 full height. The room is 22 ft. 6 in. by 17 ft. 6 in. 

 and is lit on the south side by low stone muUioned 

 windows of five and two lights respectively,^ and by 

 a three-light window on the east side. It contains 

 the four-poster known as ' Cromwell's bed ' and other 

 17th-century furniture. The first floor rooms in the 

 east wing are modern and without interest. 



From the landing at the junction of the south and 

 east wings stairs lead to the long gallery on the second 

 floor, a fine room which extends the entire length of 

 the house and is lit by a continuous range of muUioned 

 and transomed windows along the south front and at 

 the ends. The gallery is 72 ft. in length by 1 2 ft. 6 In. 

 wide, but its size is increased by the addition of the 

 two great bays which break into it on the south side 

 and round which the windows are continued without 

 interruption, makingin all no less than forty-seven lights 

 exclusive of those in the end windows, which are of 

 five lights each. The north wall is panelled in oak 

 its full height, but the plaster ceiling is quite plain. 

 In front of the stonework of the windows on the 

 south side are six chamfered oak posts with shaped 

 heads carrying the wall above. There is a small 

 angle fireplace in the north-east corner with carved 

 oak mantel and the room contains some good 1 7th- 

 century oak furniture, the most interesting piece 

 being a shovel board table 23 ft. 6 in. long by 

 2 ft. 7 in. wide standing on twenty heavy turned legs. 

 Close to the door of the long gallery is a way on 

 to the roof, the lead gutters of which behind the 

 balustrade are wide and spacious. 



A room in the north wing, now much mutilated, is 

 called the chapel, but there are no actual evidences in 

 the building itself as to whether or not this was its 

 former use. 



The house contains some family portraits, including 

 that of Peter Brooke of Morton, Cheshire (d. 1622), 

 and Sir Peter Brooke of Mere, who was sheriff of 

 Lancashire in 1674. The building is generally in a 

 state of good repair, though uninhabited except by a 

 caretaker, but some parts of the old wings have 

 suffered a good deal from neglect. 



Astley at one time gave a surname to the tenant, 

 for Henry de Astley in 1278 claimed a tenement in 



• These windows are only 3 ft. 6 in. high and -without 

 transoms, in great contrast to the other window openings on 

 this side of the building. Externally the effect is equally good 

 to that inside the room. 



139 



