Bolton Hall History
Bolton Hall
1229 - Bolton Hall, in the attractive and ancient village of Bolton-by-Bowland, dated from 1229.
Bolton Hall was set in a 2000 Acre estate, with formal gardens once renowned nationwide which included a heated Orchard houses , Orangery, vineries, tropical house and palm house.
Famous for hunting and shooting the Hall included extensive stables, home to the gentry’s horses and animals for centuries and at the peak would have employed over 100 staff and some 70 horses.
Home of the Pudsay family
1312-1771 - Bolton Hall was the home of the Pudsay family from the fourteenth century until the end of line in 1771. It was with Sir Ralph Pudsay with whom King Henry the 6th stayed after he lost the Battle of Hexham on the 15th May 1464. King Henry the 6th was a scholarly, pious King, who became a pawn in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485).
Sir Ralph Pudsay had the other distinction of having twenty five children from his three wives. His memorial is in the parish church of St. Peter & St. Paul Bolton-by-Bowland. Sir Ralph Pudsay rebuilt & restored the church in the second half of the 15th century.
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Ghost Room
The Hall had many attractions such as a “Ghost Room”, a magnificent old Banqueting Hall, and the Harness room, in which there was a most unusual display of three Skeletons. These were of a horse called Balloon Boy, a hound called Milton Spanker, and a Frenchman.
Before the demolition in the 1950's, they auctioned the contents. The most bizarre and macabre contents of the auction was 3 skeletons. One of a horse called 'Balloon Boy', the skeleton of a unknown man and a dog. They were kept in the harness room.
King Henry VI
1464 - Lancastrian King Henry VI retreated from the Yorkist army during the Wars of the Roses after his defeat at the Battle of Hexham in 1464. He lived at Bolton Hall, sheltered from his enemies by the then Lord of the Manor and House of Lancaster adherent, Sir Ralph Pudsey. Henry lived at the Hall for a year, prior to his capture and eventual execution at the Tower of London in 1471.
CBE Wright
1866 - Deed of 31 May 1866 - Charles Booth Elmsall Wright (1845 – 1924) Master of the Badsworth Hunt.
The Decline
1958 - After the First World War the Hall became too expensive to run. So unfortunately this bizarre, historic place was demolished in the 1958..
Historic Timeline
1229 Hugh de Lacy - Richard de Bolton.
1331 John de Pudsey & Successors
1405-1468 Sir Ralph Pudsey
1455-1485 War of the roses
1464 Battle Of Hexham
1464 King Henry VI (Sheltered at the Hall
1577-1629 William Pudsey.
1771 – Pudsey (Bridget Pudsay, died without heirs)
1804 John Bolton
1833 Mrs Mary Littledale.
1866 CBE Wright.
1939-1945 World War 2, German prisoners of war built a Chapel.
1954 Mrs Assunta Bosonnet (b. Wright) & Family)
1958 Bolton Hall demolished
1997 Development of King Henry Mews
History of the Hall
Bolton Hall was the home of the Pudsay family from the fourteenth century until the end of line in 1771. It waswith Sir Ralph Pudsay with whom King Henry the 6th stayed after he lost the Battle of Hexham on the 15th May 1464. King Henry the 6th was a scholarly, pious King, who became a pawn in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485).
Sir Ralph Pudsay had the other distinction of having twenty five children from his three wives. His memorial is in the parish church of St. Peter & St. Paul Bolton-by-Bowland. Sir Ralph Pudsay rebuilt & restored the church in the second half of the 15th century.
The Hall had many attractions such as a “Ghost Room”, a magnificent old Banqueting Hall, and the Harness room, in which there was a most unusual display of three Skeletons. These were of a horse called Balloon Boy, a hound called Milton Spanker, and a Frenchman.
Perhaps the heyday of the Hall came after 1866 when the Hall was bought by a rich coal mine owner. He kept a staff of almost a hundred & lived in style. He would open the grounds & parts of the house to the public on the long Saturday afternoons of summer when trips would come across the border from Lancashire (Bolton-by-Bowland used to be in the West Riding of Yorkshire) in horse-drawn Charabancs.
The gardens were magnificent, with extensive glass houses where Nectarines, Peaches, Grapes, Figs, & Bananas were grown; there was also an underground Palm house. The stables held over seventy horses & two coaches. After the First World War the Hall became too expensive to run. So unfortunately this bizarre, historic place was demolished in the 1950's. Before the demolition, they auctioned the contents. The most bizarre and macabre contents of the auction was 3 skeletons. One of a horse called 'Balloon Boy', the skeleton of a unknown man and a dog. They were kept in the harness room.
It was occupied for a while during World War Two, when German prisoners of war built a Chapel there.
After the First World War the Hall became too expensive to run. So unfortunately this bizarre, historic place was demolished in the 1950's.
Some declared that it was sacrilege. Others said it was the only option. In the late 1950’s one of the oldest gentleman’s houses in England was demolished. Had it been restored and standing today, it would arguably have been one of the nation’s premier heritage attractions.
The Hall, however, was riddled with dry rot and permission to pull it down was given in 1958.
Private Grounds
The site of the old Bolton Hall and grounds are now known as King Henry’s Mews which are private properties converted in 1997 from the estates remaining outbuildings and stables.
These are now private & not open to the Public, although King Henrys Well and grounds can be seen from the public footpath highlighted on the estate map or from the our video and photographs which allows you to view the former grounds without entering the private grounds.
The residents of the estate would like to thank any visitors in advance in respecting their privacy and remaining on the public footpath.