Penwortham Priory
Penwortham Priory
Penwortham Priory is located in the Borough of South Ribble
Penwortham Priory
Location within the Borough of South Ribble
General information
Architectural styleJacobean
Town or cityPenwortham
CountryEngland
Coordinates53°44′55″N 2°43′48″W / 53.7486°N 2.7299°W / 53.7486; -2.7299
Construction started1535
Completed1850s
Demolished1920s
ClientRawathorne Family
Technical details
Structural systemBrick
Design and construction
Architect(s)George Webster

Penwortham Priory was first a Benedictine priory and, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house in the village of Penwortham, near Preston, Lancashire. The house was demolished as the village expanded into a town and a housing estate has replaced the mansion house and its grounds of which no trace remain.

History

Before 1086, William the Conqueror gave this area of Lancashire to his relative, Roger the Poitevin. A small castle was built on the hill in Penwortham overlooking the river crossing and the castle mound (the motte) can still be seen behind St Mary's church. Roger gave land to the Benedictine Evesham Abbey and a small daughter cell was built at Penwortham, starting in 1075.[1] The priory, dedicated to Saint Mary, had no independence from Evesham but functioned until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1535.

Mansion

Once seized, the priory and its lands were sold to the Fleetwood family at a price of £3,088. The Fleetwoods built a mansion on the site which took the name of Penwortham Priory. The family continued to live there until 1749.

Ownership passed to the Rawsthorne family, who lived at the Priory from 1783 and in the mid-19th century they employed the architect George Webster to redesign the house.[2]

The Penwortham Priory house later became a victim of the expansion of Penwortham village, especially after the First World War. Already in 1912 the Lodge had been taken down and rebuilt in Moor Lane, Hutton. The house itself was finally demolished in 1925 to make way for housing.

The priory is still part of Penwortham Golf Club's logo to this day

See also

References

  1. ↑ Farrer, William; Brownbill, J, eds. (1908), "The Priory of Penwortham", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 2, British History Online, pp. 104–106, retrieved 19 November 2010
  2. ↑ Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, p. 352, ISBN 978-0-300-12667-9
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