(635) Birch of Failsworth Lodge and Broughton Lodge

It seems likely, as stated by Foster, that this mostly Presbyterian nonconformist family were kin to the Birches of Birch Hall (Lancs), since both lived in the large parish of Manchester, but I have not been able to demonstrate the connection. The genealogy below begins with Josiah Birch (1723-86), a successful yarn manufacturer, who was the eldest son of Thomas Birch (1698-1764) and the grandson of another Thomas Birch (c.1670-1713). Josiah and his children were closely associated with the Cross St. Presbyterian Church in Manchester, and until 1770, Josiah and his wife Elizabeth Scholes lived in the High Street of that city, presumably in the house which he later bequeathed to his unmarried daughters. He then built Failsworth Lodge, a few miles outside the 18th century city (but well within the modern conurbation), which if a villa rather than a true country house, still had ornamental gardens and extensive accommodation. Josiah had a large family of six sons and six daughters, but two of the daughters died young and three more remained unmarried. All six of the sons seem to have pursued mercantile careers, many of them within the cloth industry which formed such an important part of Manchester's regional economy. Josiah's eldest surviving son was John Birch (1756-1828), who moved to the Cartmel district of south Lakeland and established the Backbarrow Cotton Twist Co., from the profits of which he built Broughton Lodge in the 1780s. John, who was unmarried, seems to have shared this house with his brothers and their families, who perhaps all used it as a holiday home. However, in 1808 John and his partners became bankrupt, and the house was sold to help pay his debts.

On the death of Josiah Birch in 1786, Failsworth Lodge and his family business seem to have passed to his fourth son, Samuel Ogden Birch (1765-1804), who also acquired a home at Backbarrow, near his elder brother's business. In 1793 he bought out his father's partners and continued in business as a sole trader, but at some point around 1800 he moved to Sicily with his family, probably for health reasons. In 1804 he died of a fever, which also killed one of his daughters, and the rest of the family returned to England.

Stoney Dale, Field Broughton. Image: C.J.Wright/Historic England

Failsworth Lodge was put on the market soon after his death, but if it was sold it seems to have been bought by Samuel's younger brother, Scholes Birch (1769-1850), who made it his main home until it was finally sold out of the family in 1819. Scholes was brought up as a Presbyterian and his own children were mostly baptised at Cross St., but two of his sons became Anglican clergymen, and one of them was the first Archdeacon of Blackburn, 1877-85. Scholes, who like his brothers was in the cotton industry, spent part of his time at Broughton Lodge until it was sold in 1808, and soon afterwards built a comfortable but modest three-bay house nearby, which he called Stoney Dale. This seems to have become his main home after the sale of Failsworth Lodge in 1819, although shortly before his death he moved south, sharing a house at Leamington (Warks) with his daughter and after her death, living at Brighouse (Yorks WR) with his son. Stoney Dale passed to his eldest son, George Birch (1793-1869), but had apparently been sold by 1859. Charles Birch (1795-1842), the fourth son of Samuel Ogden Birch, settled at Litherland House, a two-storey, five-bay house near Liverpool, in which city he was a merchant and banker. After his death at a comparatively young age his widow moved first to Cheltenham (Glos), then to Heston (Middx), and finally to a house on Putney Hill (Surrey), which she called Broughton Lodge, and where she died in 1883. Her only son, Lt-Col. Charles Birch (1838-99), who qualified as a barrister but did not practice, and was a militia officer, settled at Lympstone Grange (Devon), which like so many of the houses the family were associated with, was a large house in the country, but not a 'country house'; it passed to his widow but had been sold before her death in 1920.

Failsworth Lodge, Lancashire

The remarkable survival of a plain but polite red brick house of five bays and three storeys, with lower two-bay wings set back on either side. The lintel of a doorway at the rear has the initials JEB (for Josiah and Elizabeth Birch), and the date 1770. The central doorway on the entrance front has a broken pediment. The interior has been much altered, but is said to retain the original dog-leg staircase and some doors and overmantels on the upper floors. 

Failsworth Lodge

Failsworth Lodge: the setting of the house in 1849.

The house was already in multiple occupation by the early 19th century, and part of it was in use as a school by 1830. In 1849 it still retained ornamental grounds and an avenue flanking the approach drive, but a dyeworks had been built by the river west of the house, which cannot have improved the amenities of the location. In the 20th century the house became a club for workers at the Avro engineering company, but after this closed it fell into disuse. The surrounding land was developed as a housing estate in the early 21st century and the house, which is now known as Lancaster Lodge, was converted into flats after 2022.

Descent: built 1770 for Josiah Birch (1723-86); to son, Samuel Ogden Birch (1765-1804); sold? to brother, Scholes Birch (1769-1850); sold 1819 to John Heywood (b. 1803).. sold 1936 to Sir Roy Hardy Dobson (1891-1968), who established the Avro Engine Works Club (aka the Lancaster Club) in the house... sold to Bellview Homes. 

Broughton Lodge, Field Broughton, Lancashire

The house is said to have been built around 1780 for John Birch (1756-1828), the eldest surviving son of Josiah Birch of Failsworth Lodge, and there is a superficial resemblance to the slightly earlier Failsworth house: this is again a five bay, three-storey block with a hipped roof and lower wings. 

Broughton Lodge: entrance front in 2012. Image: Karl and Ali. Some rights reserved.

However, at Broughton Lodge, the scale is slightly smaller and the wings have a more sophisticated Palladian treatment, with links leading to pavilions with pediments and Venetian windows under super-arches. There is also a central porch with unfluted Ionic columns. Inside, there is said to be a fine drawing room, with Adam-style plasterwork, fireplaces and doorcases, and an original staircase with stick balusters. When the house was sold in 1808, the accommodation comprised dining and drawing rooms (both 24 x 17.5 ft), a breakfast room, music room (30 x 19 ft) and study, with a billiard room in the west wing and ten principal bedrooms. The house is now in multiple occupation.

Descent: built for John Birch (1756-1828); sold after his bankruptcy in 1808... John Wakefield (fl. 1831-51); sold 1851 to the sitting tenant, John Barker (1797-1869); to son, John Daye Barker, who sold 1901 to C.E.J. Knowles...

Birch family of Failsworth Lodge

Birch, Josiah (1723-86). Eldest son of Thomas Birch (1698-1764) and his wife Susannah (1702-40), daughter of Josiah Jesse of Manchester, born 18 January 1723. Yarn merchant, in partnership with John Rigby as John Birch & Sons. He rose high in Manchester society, serving as Constable, 1763-64, honorary treasurer of the Manchester Infirmary, 1776-83, Vice President of the Manchester Agricultural Society, 1783, and Treasurer of the Manchester Academy. A nonconformist in religion. He married, 27 October 1748 at Prestwich (Lancs), Elizabeth (1725-83), daughter of Thomas Scholes of Prestwich, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Birch (1749-74), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 28 August 1749; probably a partner in his father's business; died unmarried in the lifetime of his father, 14 September 1774;

(2) Susannah Birch (1751-1823), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 27 February 1750/1; lived latterly at Liverpool; died unmarried, 30 January 1823, and was buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester;

(3) Ann Birch (1752-56?), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 1 January 1753; perhaps the person of this name buried at Manchester Collegiate Church (now Cathedral), 1 December 1756;

(4) Elizabeth Birch (1754-1820), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 24 July 1754; married, 23 February 1773 at Manchester Collegiate Church (now Cathedral), John Kennion (c.1748-1827) of Liverpool and London, merchant, and had issue at least two sons and one daughter; lived latterly at Amersham (Bucks); buried at Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, London, 14 January 1820;

(5) John Birch (1756-1828) (q.v.);

(6) Sarah Birch (1758-1833), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 4  July 1758; lived with her elder sister at Liverpool; died unmarried, 20 May, and was buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 23 May 1833;

(7) Mary Birch (b. & d. 1760), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 24 April 1760; died in infancy, 22 May 1760;

(8) Charlotte Birch (1761-91), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 12 November 1761; died unmarried, 16 April and was buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 22 April 1791;

(9) Josiah Birch (d. 1792), of Leyland (Lancs), said to have been born in 1755 or 1763, but no baptism traced; married, 30 April 1789 at Chorley (Lancs), Anne Dawson, but had no issue; buried at Leyland, 20 July 1792;

(10) Samuel Ogden Birch (1765-1804) (q.v.);

(11) George Birch (b. 1768), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 14 February 1768; merchant in St. Petersburg (Russia); married, 7 December 1804 at the British chaplaincy in St Petersburg, Jane Cramp but had no issue; death not traced;

(12) Scholes Birch (1769-1850) (q.v.).

He lived at Failsworth Lodge from 1763 and rebuilt it in 1770.

He died 29 September 1786 and was presumably buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, since he was commemorated by a memorial there; his will was proved in the PCC, 14 February 1787. His wife died 26 May 1783 and was also buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester.

Birch, John (1756-1828). Second, but eldest surviving, son of Josiah Birch (1723-86) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Scholes of Prestwich (Lancs), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 13 October 1756. Educated at Manchester Grammar School. A director of Backbarrow Cotton Twist Co., in partnership with Robert Robinson, Dave Barker and others, but became bankrupt, 1808; the partners were discharged in 1809. He was unmarried and without issue.

He built Broughton Lodge in Cartmel (Lancs) in the 1780s, but it was sold in 1808 after he became bankrupt.

He died 9 March and was buried at Cartmel, 13 March 1828.

Birch, Samuel Ogden (1765-1804). Fourth son of Josiah Birch (1723-86) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Scholes of Prestwich (Lancs), baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 9 June 1765. Educated at Warrington Academy. Yarn merchant in partnership with his father; he took over the debts of the partnership to trade on his own account in 1793, but went to live in Sicily (probably for his health) around 1800. He was a Steward of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and a supporter of the Lancashire Humane Society. A nonconformist in religion. He married, 16 August 1787 at Manchester Collegiate Church (now Cathedral), Mary (1766-97), daughter of Rev. Humphrey Owen, chaplain of the Manchester Collegiate Church, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Birch (1788-1819), born 21 May and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 4 June 1788; married, 23 February 1808 at Acomb (Yorks), Capt. Thomas Gajitan Ragland (d. 1816) of Gibraltar, and had issue two sons (one of whom became a noted missionary in India) and one daughter; died in Gibraltar, 1819; will proved in the PCC, 10 November 1819;

(2) Josiah Birch (1789-1867), born 8 July and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 28 July 1789; merchant in St Petersburg (Russia); married, 14 November 1814 at the British chaplaincy in St Petersburg, Maria (d. 1867), daughter of Noah Cazelet, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died in St Petersburg, 11 April 1868;

(3) John Birch (1791-1806), born 2 February and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 2 March 1791; died young at Broughton Lodge, 25 November 1806;

(4) Thomas Birch (1792-1806?), born 21 February and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 19 March 1792; said to have died in 1806 but burial not traced;

(5) Mary Birch (1793-1804), born 15 September and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 7 November 1793; died young at Messina, Sicily, of the same fever as her father, March 1804;

(6) Charlotte Birch (1794-1812), born 2 November 1794 and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 23 January 1795; died unmarried at Backbarrow (Lancs, now Cumbria), 29 March 1812 and was buried at Cartmel (Lancs), 1 April 1812;

(7) Charles Birch (1795-1842) (q.v.).

He inherited Failsworth Lodge from his father in 1786, and also had a home at Backbarrow. Failsworth Lodge was advertised for sale after his death, and was probably sold to his brother, Scholes Birch (1769-1850).

He died at Messina in Sicily (Italy), 7 March 1804; his will was proved in the PCC, 6 September 1806. His wife is said to have died 1 September 1797, but no corresponding burial can be traced, and a 'Mary Ogden Birch', who was named in Samuel's nuncupative will as his wife, was granted administration of his goods in 1806.

Birch, Scholes (1769-1850). Sixth and youngest son of Josiah Birch (1723-86) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Scholes of Prestwich (Lancs), born 28 October 1769 and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 1 March 1770. Twist merchant and spinner in Manchester, in partnership with Maurice de Jongh and others, as Scholes, Birch & Co. He was an officer in the Newton and Failsworth Volunteers (Maj. and commanding officer, 1803). He was elected a member of the exclusive Manchester Billiard Club in 1800, and largely paid for the building of St Saviour's church, Chorlton-on-Medlock (Lancs), where his son became the first rector, 1835. He married, 2 April 1792 at Halifax (Yorks WR), Caroline (1774-1840), second daughter of Joseph Priestley, merchant, of White Windows, Sowerby, Halifax, and had issue:

(1) George Birch (1793-1869), born 16 November 1793 and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 6 February 1794; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1811; Lt., 1812; retired on half-pay, 1817); married, 10 February 1825 at Rotherham (Yorks WR), Eleanor Lucy (1804-90), daughter of Capt. Thomas Butler HEICS, and had issue five sons and four daughters; died at Cheltenham (Glos), 12 August, and was buried at Leckhampton (Glos), 17 August 1869; will proved 3 September 1869 (effects under £14,000);

(2) Harriet Euphemia Birch (1795-1849), born 26 July and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 14 November 1795; died unmarried at Leamington (Warks), 26 August, and was buried at St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock, 30 August 1849; will proved at York, November 1849 (effects under £3,000);

(3) Henry Birch (1796-1843), born 19 October and baptised at Upper Brook St. Unitarian Church, Manchester, 18 December 1796; in partnership (dissolved 1827) with Maurice de Jongh and his brother Lea Birch, as Birch, de Jongh & Co., merchants and cotton spinners and later a partner in Atkinson, Birch & Saunders of Manchester, attornies (retired 1841); married, 8 February 1832 at St Michael, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, Charlotte (c.1796-1839), daughter of Thomas Downward of Liverpool, and had issue two sons and two daughters; also had an illegitimate son (Edward George Birch of Hamburg (Germany)), who was mentioned in his will; died at Leamington (Warks), 20 October 1843; will proved in the PCC, 14 February 1844;

(4) Lea Birch (1798-1868), born 18 October 1798; in partnership (dissolved 1827) with Maurice de Jongh and his brother Henry Birch, as Birch, de Jongh & Co., merchants and cotton spinners; a trustee of the Cross Street Presbyterian Church, 1840; a leading amateur cricketer with the Lancashire Gentlemen; married, 31 March 1824 at St Philip, Liverpool, Amy (c.1801-68), daughter of Thomas Downward of Liverpool, and had issue four sons and five daughters; lived latterly at Loxley Park, Uttoxeter (Staffs) and Gatcombe House (Devon); died 3 June 1868; will proved 2 September 1868 (effects under £30,000);

(5) Maria Birch (1800-01), born 20 July and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 28 November 1800; died in infancy and was buried at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, 18 May 1801;

(6) Rev. Joseph Birch (1807-71), born 31 March and baptised at Cross St. Presbyterian Church, Manchester, 29 September 1807; educated at Pembroke College, Oxford (matriculated 1827; BA 1831; MA 1837); ordained deacon, 1831, and priest, 1832; vicar of Bywell St Andrew (Northbld), 1841-42; perpetual curate of Brighouse (Yorks WR), 1842-62; chaplain to Mayor of Bristol, 1860-61; vicar of West Teignmouth (Devon), 1862-71; married, 22 May 1833 at Rotherham (Yorks WR), Fanny Lea (1810-68), daughter of Capt. Thomas Butler of Thurcroft Hall (Yorks WR), and had issue three daughters; died 4 May 1871; will proved 16 May 1871 (effects under £4,000);

(7) Ven. Edward Birch (1809-86), born at Broughton Lodge, 17 May 1809 and baptised at St Nicholas Street Presbyterian Church, Lancaster, 1 July 1810; educated at Eton and St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1827; BA 1831; MA 1844) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1827); ordained deacon, 1832, and priest, 1833; rector of St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock, 1836-68; canon of Manchester Cathedral, 1862-78; vicar of Blackburn, 1868-86, and first archdeacon of Blackburn, 1877-85; married 1st, 29 December 1836 at Manchester Collegiate Church (now Cathedral), Marianne (1817-44), eldest daughter of John Lees of Skircoat, Halifax (Yorks WR), and had issue three sons; married 2nd, 8 January 1846 at St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Caroline Isabella (1821-52), eldest surviving daughter of John Sharp JP of Barnfield, Manchester, iron merchant, and had issue one son; married 3rd, 1 March 1855 at St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Eliza Maria (1825-1906), eldest daughter of William James Wilson MD, of Clairville, Manchester, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 9 August 1866 and was buried at St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock; will proved 30 September 1886 (effects £18,108);

(8) Thomas Birch (b. & d. 1813), baptised at Laughton-en-le-Morthern (Yorks WR), 15 May 1813; died in infancy and was buried at Laughton-en-le-Morthern, 17 May 1813.

He lived at Failsworth Lodge and later at Broughton Lodge and Stony Dale (built in 1811) in Field Broughton (Lancs).

He died at Brighouse (Yorks WR), 22 January, and was buried at St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock, 28 January 1850; his will was proved at York, 6 May 1850. His wife died 22 June and was buried at St Saviour, Chorlton-on-Medlock, 27 June 1840.

Birch, Charles (1795-1842). Fourth son of Samuel Ogden Birch (1765-1804) and his wife Mary (1766-97), daughter of Rev. Humphrey Owen, chaplain of the Manchester Collegiate Church, born 27 December 1795 and baptised at Cross Street Presbyterian Chapel, Manchester, 23 May 1796. Educated at Manchester Grammar School. Merchant and director of the Liverpool Royal Bank. JP for Lancashire. He married, 25 March 1837 at Sefton (Lancs), Ellen (c.1801-83), daughter of Francis Rockliff of Liverpool and widow of Robert Blanchard (1781-1834) of Seaforth Vale, Litherland, and had issue:

(1) Lt-Col. Charles Birch (1838-99), of Lympstone Grange (Devon), born 13 March and baptised at Sefton, 11 October 1838; educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1856; BA 1860) and Inner Temple (admitted 1860; called, 1864); barrister-at-law, but did not practise; an officer in 3rd battn, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (Lt., 1860; Capt., 1865; Maj., 1880; hon. Lt-Col., 1885); married, 13 December 1864, Emma Edith Malet (1842-1920), daughter of James Grant Lumsden, and had issue one son (killed in the Boer War, 1900); died 7 July and was buried at Lympstone, 11 July 1899; will proved 26 August 1899 (estate £43,371);

(2) Frances Birch (1840-1919?), baptised at Sefton, 13 February 1840; living, unmarried, in 1902 and probably the woman of this name who died at the Hotel Schweitzerhof, Lucerne (Switzerland), 31 March 1919; her will was proved 10 July 1919 (estate £19,576).

He lived at Litherland House (Lancs); his widow lived for a time in Cheltenham (Glos) and Heston (Middx), but latterly at a house called Broughton Lodge on Putney Hill (Surrey).

He died 2 March, and was buried at St Mary, Edge Hill, Liverpool, 8 March 1842; his will was proved at Lancaster, 22 April 1842. His widow died at Folkestone (Kent), 18 October 1883; her will was proved 7 January 1884 (effects £4,394).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1925, pp. 140-41; J. Foster, The royal lineage of our noble and gentle families, together with their paternal ancestry, 1887, pp. 17-18;

https://100hallsaroundmanchester.wordpress.com/2021/06/26/100-halls-around-manchester-part-51-failsworth-lodge-failsworth/; 

https://www.mueller-humphreys.de/Humphreys/DicksonElizabeth/DicksonGeorge2/BarkerHarriet/BarkerJohn/BarkerJohnE.html

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

None recorded.

Can you help?

• Can anyone show how this family were related to the Birchs of Birch Hall?
• Can anyone provide fuller ownership information for Failsworth Lodge or Broughton Lodge, after their sale by the Birch family?
• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 11 May 2026.

(628) Bindlosse of Borwick Hall, baronets

Bindlosse of Borwick 

The unusual surname Bindlosse can be spelled in a bewildering variety of forms (Bindlos, Bindloss, Bindles and Byndlosse are some of the more common variants). It seems to be a compound by-name from Norman French and Middle English meaning 'wolf hunter', but the family's days as a scourge of the lupine population of the Lake District were over long before they came to prominence as clothiers and merchants in Kendal (Westmorland) in the late 16th century.

Christopher Bindlosse (d. 1581), who was Alderman of Kendal (in this town, the equivalent of mayor) in 1579-80, was described as a dealer in Kendal cottons. His son, Richard Bindlosse (d. 1595), with whom the genealogy below begins, continued his father's business, but also began investing in land, buying the Borwick Hall estate in at least three portions between 1567 and 1590, and then extending the old pele tower at Borwick into a comfortable country house to the designs of the mason, Alexander Brinsmead. He probably also bought extensive lands around Gargrave in the Craven district of Yorkshire, for at his death his estates were divided between his two surviving sons, and it was the younger, Christopher Bindlosse (c.1564-1600), who received Borwick Hall, while the elder received the Yorkshire lands. 

Christopher had been educated as a gentleman at Grays Inn and Queen's College, Oxford, and he seems to have settled at Borwick. Unfortunately, he died young, leaving a widow (who quickly remarried) and a young daughter. Under the terms of his father's will, his property passed to his elder brother, Sir Robert Bindlosse (1559-1630), kt., who had recently remarried to a Yorkshire woman after a turbulent first marriage. Despite his inheritance, Sir Robert evidently remained in Yorkshire for some years. In 1604 he bought Eshton Hall, Gargrave, and certificates of his liability for taxation show that his principal residence remained in Yorkshire until at least 1610. Soon afterwards, and for reasons which are obscure, he moved to Borwick, and created new interiors in some of the principal rooms of the house. By his first wife he had no sons, but in 1600 he married again, and he soon produced an heir, Sir Francis Bindlosse (1603-29), kt., who lived to marry twice and produce a family, but still died in his father's lifetime. Sir Francis derived an income from estates in Yorkshire, which had perhaps been given to him by his father, but he lived in the town at Lancaster. His two marriages were both socially advantageous and presumably reflect the fact that the family was wealthy enough to offer sufficiently generous marriage portions to attract the greater gentry and even the aristocracy.

By his second wife Sir Francis had three sons (one of whom died in infancy) and a daughter, and it was his eldest son, Sir Robert Bindlosse (1625-88), who was heir to both his father and grandfather. Sir Robert was a child of five when his grandfather died, and his wardship was granted first to his mother and after her death in 1638 to her second husband, Sir John Byron (1599-1652), kt., who was later raised to the peerage as Baron Byron of Rochdale. Byron, who became a Royalist commander in the Civil War, did all he could to bind his ward to the Royalist cause, but in 1644 the Parliament-controlled Court of Wards and Liveries stripped Lord Byron of his wardship and transferred it to two leading Parliamentarians. Sir Robert seems to have at least made an outward show of compliance with their influence, but he was never fully trusted by the Parliamentarian authorities, and after Pride's Purge of Parliament he seems - although not among the purged - to have declined to sit in the Rump Parliament. He seems to have run up debts around this time, and was reprimanded by his chaplain for his 'promiscuous hospitality'. In the 1650s he avoided local or national political office but seems to have moved to the right in both religion and politics, and at the Restoration he was rewarded with a slew of appointments which show that he was trusted by Charles II's government. His marriage was negotiated by Lord Byron and if it took place around the same time as the settlement was drawn up, occurred when he was just fifteen and his wife was two years older. For reasons we can only guess at, the couple produced a single daughter, Cecilia Bindlosse (c.1642-1730), but had no further children, and in about 1660 Cecilia was married to William Standish (c.1638-1705), a leading Lancashire Recusant. This seems surprising as there is no suggestion that Bindlosse himself harboured Catholic sympathies; indeed in his activities as a magistrate and deputy lieutenant he was active in suppressing 'dangerous fanatics' of all kinds, although his chief animus seems to have been directed against the Quakers. When he died in 1688 Cecilia inherited his property, which passed to the Standish family and later, again by marriage, to the Stricklands. Borwick Hall ceased to be a favoured residence and the best interiors were removed to Standish Hall, probably before 1705.

Borwick Hall, Lancashire

The earliest part of the house is a rectangular four-storey pele tower with a turret on one corner, probably dating from the 14th or 15th century, although it does not preserve any original features. 

Borwick Hall: entrance front.

Additions were made to the east and north-east of the tower in the 16th century, before the tower was absorbed into a much larger Elizabethan house built for Robert Bindlosse (d. 1595), a Kendal clothier, by the mason Alexander Brinsmead, c.1590-95. Work on fitting out the interior resumed after 1610, when a series of richly-panelled interiors were created at the west end of the house and 'a large and well laid out garden' was created, but after 1688 the estate passed to the Standish family and many of the interiors were removed to Standish Hall in south Lancashire. 

The house survived two centuries of fairly benign neglect and in the 19th century began to be recognised for its picturesque qualities. Some repairs were undertaken in 1812, probably by Francis Webster of Kendal, but a full restoration had to wait until 1911, when a sensitive campaign of repairs and modernisation was undertaken by R.M.F. Huddard for The Times music critic, John Alexander Fuller-Maitland (d. 1936), who had a repairing lease. The house was requisitioned for military use in the Second World War and sold after the war to the Lancashire Youth Clubs Assocation. It now belongs to Lancashire County Council, which uses it as an Outdoor Education Centre.

Borwick Hall: engraving of the entrance front in 1886, from The Building News.

The gabled main front of the house faces south-west onto a balustraded terrace and is built of rubble stone with sandstone dressings, covered in a uniform roughcast. The presence of the earlier tower, with different floor levels, made true symmetry impossible, but the facade is roughly balanced around a three-storey porch tower, with the old tower to its right and the new house of the 1590s, which terminates in a projecting gabled wing, to its left. The earlier 16th century addition on the east side of the tower is treated as a balancing wing, but is narrower than the wing at the west end. 

Plans of the ground and first floors of the house before the 1911 restoration. Image: Country Life.

The porch leads, not into a screens passage as one might expect, but into a small lobby from which there is access to the hall only. Another door from the hall leads down to the buttery in the old tower and the kitchen and pantries in the north-east wing behind it, and also provides access to the staircase, which rises in short straight flights around a solid core. The differing floor levels of the house and the old tower are awkwardly handled, with subsidiary steps providing access to the tower rooms. The first floor room in the old tower is called a chapel on older plans of the house, but there seems to be no justification for this, or for the identification of the rooms beyond it, in the mid 16th century addition south of the tower, as the rooms of a domestic chaplain. The north-east service wing has wings running both east and west from it. That on the east was altered and reduced in size in the 20th century, while that on the west partially encloses a rear courtyard and has a flight of steps leading to a picturesque open gallery which captured the imagination of the romantic artist, Joseph Nash. 

Borwick Hall: a romantic watercolour of the rear courtyard by Joseph Nash, 1873. Note the roughcast walls, which were later stripped.

This so-called 'spinning gallery' is a feature sometimes found in vernacular buildings in the Lake District, but this example is the most southerly known and the only one in a high status building. The Kendal connections of the Bindloss family may account for the form, but what its function here was is unclear. The rear of the main block and the service wings were formerly roughcast like the front of the house, but are now of exposed rubble stone.

Borwick Hall: the hall after restoration in 1911. Image: Country Life.

To the left of the porch lies the great hall, which has a much-restored fireplace in the rear wall and rather plain panelling to picture rail height but is otherwise lacking in many original features. Doorways at the dais end of the hall lead to a parlour and dining room; these are presumably the two of the rooms from which panelling and fireplaces were removed to Standish Hall in the late 17th century. The great chamber is above the hall, and was fitted out by Fuller-Maitland as a library; it retains some of his shelving, complete with some dummy books. The room over the dining room became a billiard room in the early 20th century, and this was probably another room from which the panelling etc. had been moved to Standish Hall. 

Borwick Hall: interior removed from the house and installed at Standish Hall (Lancs); it is now in the USA. Image: Wigan Local History Society.

The interiors which were taken to Standish were again preserved when that house was partially demolished in the 1920s, and were sold, with others created for Standish Hall, into the architectural salvage trade. The most striking overmantel from Borwick, which has the arms of the Bindlosse family impaled with those Eltoft, and the arms of James I, is dated 1613; this found a home in the late 1930s in Lingen Lodge at Terre Haute, Indiana (USA), which now belongs to the Rose-Hulman Institute. Another interior, which may be partly or wholly from Borwick, was installed at Halswell House (Somerset).

Borwick Hall: the stone table at the top of the staircase with the mason's name and date, 1595. Image: Country Life.

The staircase continues beyond the great chamber to give access to the attic floor above it, where close-studded timber-framed partitions divide the space, presumably to create bedroom accommodation for servants or guests. At the top of the stairs, the solid central newel terminates in an unusual stone table supported on short Tuscan columns, which has round its edge the name of the mason, Alexander Brinsmead, and the date 1595.

Borwick Hall: the house from the south, showing the long range of barns and outbuildings between the house and the river. Image: Country Life.

Borwick Hall: gatehouse. Image: © Baz Richardson.

A lane runs past the house on the west down to Borwick Bridge. It is lined by a long row of probably 17th century barns and outbuildings, divided by staircases leading to their upper floors. At the top end of the row is a pretty gatehouse, with a datestone for 1650. The original functions of the remaining buildings are unclear, but one suggestion is that they may have provided commercial storage and stabling for the packhorses used by the Bindlosse family to carry their cloth and other goods to the south. Certainly the scale of the buildings seems well beyond what might have been needed for local farming operations. Sir Robert Bindlosse (1624-88), 1st bt., is said to have built and endowed a chapel at Borwick, but by the early 18th century the chapel had fallen into disuse and was beginning to decay.

Descent: sold by the Redmayne family in two moieties between 1567 and 1590 to Robert Bindlosse (d. 1595); to younger son, Christopher Bindlosse (d. 1600); to elder brother, Sir Robert Bindlosse (d. c.1629), kt.; to grandson, Sir Robert Bindlosse (1624-88), 1st bt.; to daughter, Cecilia (d. 1730), wife of William Standish (d. 1705) of Standish Hall; to son, Ralph Standish (d. 1755); to daughter Cecilia (1714-78), wife of William Towneley (1714-41); to son, Edward Towneley (later Towneley-Standish) (1740-1807); to nephew, Thomas Strickland (later Standish) (1763-1813); to younger son, Thomas Strickland (1793-1835); to son, Walter Charles Strickland (1825-1903), who sold 1854 to Col. George Marton (1801-67) of Capernwray Hall; to son, George Blucher Heneage Marton (1839-1905); to son, George Powys Henry Marton (1869-1942); sold after his death c.1946 to Lancashire Youth Clubs Association; transferred c.1992 to Lancashire County Council. The house was let c.1910-36 to John Alexander Fuller-Maitland (d. 1936).

Bindlosse family of Borwick Hall, baronets

Bindlosse, Robert (d. 1595). Probably the son of Christopher Bindlosse (d. 1581) of Kendal (Westmld.), merchant, and his wife Annes (d. 1591), reputedly born at Helsington (Westmld.). Freeman of Kendal. He married Agnes, daughter of [forename unknown] Harrison, and had issue:

(1) Sir Robert Bindlosse (1559-1630) (q.v.);

(3) Thomas Bindlosse; died unmarried;

(4) Barneby Bindlosse (d. 1583); said to have died unmarried, 7 February 1583;

(4) Christopher Bindlosse (c.1564-1600) (q.v.);

(5) Walter Bindlosse; died unmarried;

(6) Alice Bindlosse (fl. 1623); married, about 1573 (post-nuptial settlement 11 January 1574), as his second wife, William Fleming (d. by 1623) of Rydal, and had issue five sons and four daughters;

(7) Dorothy Bindlosse; married Sir Thomas Braithwaite (d. 1610) of Burneside, and had issue two sons and five daughters;

(8) Anne Bindlosse; married Walter Jobson.

He purchased the Borwick Hall estate from the Redmayne family in two portions. The first he acquired from Thomas and Marmaduke Redmayne in 1567; he acquired a further messuage and lands from William Redmayne in 1578; and the manorial rights from Thomas Newton in 1590. He extended the house at Borwick c.1590-95.

He died in 1595; an inquisition post mortem in 1596 found that he held the estate in chief of the Queen as one sixth of a knight's fee. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bindlosse, Christopher (c.1564-1600). Fourth son of Robert Bindlosse (d. 1595) and his wife Agnes Harrison, born about 1564. Probably the 'Christopher Bindlowes' of Westmorland who was educated at Gray's Inn (admitted 1580) and Queen's College, Oxford (matriculated 1582). He married, c.1590, Millicent (d. 1626), daughter of Roger Dalton, and had issue:

(1) Dorothea Bindlosse (b. 1592), baptised at Warton (Lancs), 25 September 1592; evidently died before 1600 as she is not mentioned in her father's will;

(2) Bridget Bindlosse (b. 1594), baptised at Warton, 18 September 1594; married, by 1621, Edward Middleton of Middleton Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale (Westmld) and had issue at least one son;

(3) Christopher Bindlosse (b. 1596), baptised at Warton, 6 October 1596; evidently died before 1600 as he is not mentioned in his father's will*.

He inherited Borwick Hall from his father in 1595.

He died in 1600; his will was proved in the PCY, 11 August 1600. His widow married 2nd, 1601 (licence), Thomas Middleton of Tunstall, and had issue at least one son; she was buried at Cockerham, 4 March 1625/6.

* A man of this name married, 20 July 1617 at Kendal, Annes Danson or Dawson, and is said to have died in 1646, and some Internet sources have identified him with the Christopher born in 1596; however, had he survived his father he would have inherited Borwick under his grandfather's will.

Bindlosse, Sir Robert (1559-1630), kt. Elder son of Robert Bindlosse (d. 1595) and his wife Agnes Harrison, baptised at Kendal (Westmld.), 4 February 1558/9. Clothier and merchant. High Sheriff of Lancashire, 1613-14. He was knighted at Trimdon (Co. Durham) in 1617. His first marriage was disturbed by the repeated infidelity of his wife, first discovered in 1587 when she concealed her lover, James Potter, in the house, so that he could lie with her at night; about four years later she was again caught in flagrante with another man, Richard Warriner, and this time the affair led to an informal separation and, in 1593, to a legal separation which was described as a divorce. He married 1st, perhaps c.1573* (sep. c.1591 and 'divorced', 1593), Alice (c.1557-99?), daughter and co-heir of Lancelot Dockwray (d. 1595) of Dockwray Hall (Westmld.), and 2nd, 1 April 1600 at Kildwick (Yorks WR), Mary (d. 1625), daughter of Edmund Eltoft of Thornhill in Craven (Yorks WR), and had issue:

(1.1) Anne Bindlosse; married, 28 July 1599 at Gargrave (Yorks WR), Henry Denton, possibly of Carlisle (Cumbld.);

(1.2) Alice Bindlosse (c.1580-1602); married, 6 October 1598 at Gargrave, Henry Bank of Bank Newton (Yorks) (who m2, Joanna, daughter of Nicholas Parker of Horrackford (Lancs), and had further issue four sons and two daughters) and had issue one son and one daughter; buried at Gargrave, 2 September 1602;

(2.1) Sir Francis Bindlosse (1603-29), kt. (q.v.);

(2.2) Dorothy Bindlosse (1604-36), baptised at Warton, 19 December 1604; married, 21 June 1623 at Warton (with a portion of £2,000), Charles Middleton (d. 1628) of Belsay (Northbld.), son of Thomas Middleton, and had issue one son and one daughter; as a widow lived at Belshawe, Bolam (Northbld.); will proved at Durham, 3 September 1636;

(2.3) Mary Bindlosse (b. 1606), baptised at Gargrave (Yorks WR), 9 March 1606; married, 5 February 1626, Robert Holt (d. 1658) of Castleton Hall, Rochdale (Lancs) and had issue five sons and four daughters;

(2.4) Jane Bindlosse (b. 1614), baptised at Warton, 24 August 1614; married, c.1633, Sir William Carnaby (c.1593-1645) of Bothal (Northbld.), a Royalist commander, and had issue one son (who died young) and one daughter; death not traced.

He evidently lived at Gargrave (Yorks WR) until about 1610; he inherited the Borwick Hall estate and lands in Westmorland, Yorkshire and Co. Durham from his younger brother in 1600 and bought Eshton Hall, Gargrave about 1604. After c.1610 he moved to Borwick Hall, where he improved the interiors. In 1618 he bought the manor of Trimdon (Co. Durham).

He was buried at Warton, 10 June 1630; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1630. His first wife understood her 'divorce' from Robert to mean that she was free to remarry, and in 1597 she went through a form of marriage with William Carr of Giggleswick (Yorks); the legality of this marriage came before the courts in 1599 but the case may have been terminated prematurely by her death as her legal husband married again soon afterwards. His second wife was buried at Warton, 25 December 1625.

* There is conflicting evidence about the date. In court in 1599 Alice claimed that the marriage had taken place in Robert's father's house when she was fifteen and her husband thirteen, but also that it had taken place around 1586; this date is incompatible with the known facts. If her statement about their respective ages was correct, the true date may have been around 1573.

Bindlosse, Sir Francis (1603-29), kt. Only son of Sir Robert Bindlosse (d. c.1630), kt., and his second wife, Mary, daughter of Edmund Eltoft of Thornhill (Yorks). baptised at Warton (Lancs), 9 April 1603. Educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1617) and Grays Inn (admitted 1620). He was knighted in 1624. MP for Lancaster, 1628-29; Steward of Duchy of Lancaster manor of Warton, 1627-29. He married 1st, Dorothy (d. 1623), daughter of Thomas Charnock of Astley Hall (Lancs), and 2nd, c.1624, Hon. Cecilia (d. 1638), daughter of Thomas West (1577-1618), 3rd Baron De La Warr, and had issue:

(1.1) Mary Bindlosse (b. 1623), baptised at Warton (Lancs), 16 February 1622/3; married [forename unknown] Dene of Mansfield (Notts);

(2.1) Sir Robert Bindlosse (1625-88), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(2.2) Delaware Bindlosse (1626-27), baptised at Lancaster, 23 July 1626; died in infancy and was buried at Warton, 11 April 1627;

(2.3) Dorothy Bindlosse (1627-87), baptised at Lancaster, 15 July 1627; married, 9 August 1648 at St Bartholomew the Less, London, Sir Charles Wheler (c.1620-83), 2nd bt., of Birdingbury Hall (Warks), Governor of the Leeward Islands and Lt-Col. of the guards to King Charles II, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 15 August 1687 and was buried at Leamington Hastings (Warks), where she is commemorated on her husband's monument;

(2.4) Francis Bindlosse (1628-56), of Brock Hall (Lancs), baptised at Lancaster, 14 September 1628; married, 3 February 1648 at Lancaster, his cousin, Hon. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry West (1603-28), 4th Baron De La Warr, but died without issue; will said to have been proved in the Court of Probate, 1656, but not traced.

He owned property in the Craven district of Yorkshire, but lived at Lancaster.

He died in the lifetime of his father, 25 July, and was buried at Warton, 26 July 1629; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1629. His first wife was buried at Chorley (Lancs), May 1623*. His widow married 2nd, Sir John Byron (1599-1652), KB, later 1st Baron Byron of Rochdale, but had no further issue; she died in February 1638.

* The day of the month is illegible in the register.

Bindlosse, Sir Robert (1625-88), 1st bt. Eldest son of Sir Francis Bindlosse (1603-29), kt. and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warre, baptised at Warton (Lancs), 8 May 1625. As he was still a minor on the death of his grandfather, his wardship was granted to his mother, and on her death in 1638 it passed to her second husband, Sir John Byron, who was a Royalist. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1640), and may have travelled abroad in the early 1640s. His stepfather arranged for him to be created a baronet, 16 June 1641, and secured a waiver of the usual fees. He was also appointed a commissioner of array for Lancashire in 1642, in a further attempt to bind him to the Royalist cause. However, his association with Byron led to the sequestration of his estate in 1643, and in 1644 the Court of Wards transferred his wardship to the prominent Parliamentarians Lord Fitzwilliam and Ralph Assheton (c.1606-80). As a result of their influence he for a time favoured the Parliamentarian side, and in 1645 he was added to the Lancashire County Committee and in 1646 elected MP for Lancaster and appointed a JP for Lancashire (to 1650). He was evidently not fully trusted by the Parliamentarian authorities, but he was not excluded from the House at Pride's Purge, although he does seem to have declined to sit in the Rump Parliament. Simultaneously, he was a young man with an 'excessive love of company' who engaged in 'promiscuous hospitality', and ran up debts which led him to sell lands in Yorkshire. In December 1649 he had leave to travel on the continent for six months for his health, and his political sympathies seem to have been shifting at the this time in a Royalist/High Church direction. He avoided political involvement as far as possible during the interregnum, though King Charles II is said to have spent a night at Borwick Hall in 1651 during the campaign leading to the Battle of Worcester. From 1652 he maintained as his chaplain at Borwick the learned ejected divine Dr Richard Sherlock (c.1613-89). His return to public affairs was marked by his appointment as High Sheriff of Lancashire, 1658-59. He clearly welcomed the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660, and the year saw him elected as MP for Lancashire in the Convention Parliament, made a JP and DL for Lancs (serving until his death with a couple of short breaks), and appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, 1660-85. He was a burgess of Lancaster from 1664 and served as bailiff, 1664-65 and mayor, 1665-66 and 1672-73, but had to resign during his second term due to ill health.  In his activities as a magistrate he was active in suppressing 'dangerous fanatics' and particularly the Quakers. In 1678 he was was again in financial difficulties and was outlawed for debt. He married, c.1640 (settlement about May 1640), Rebecca (1623-1708), third and youngest daughter and co-heir of Sir Hugh Perry alias Hunter (d. 1634), kt., mercer and alderman of London, and had issue:

(1) Cecilia Bindlosse (c.1642-1729) (q.v.).

He inherited the Borwick Hall estate and lands in Westmorland, Yorkshire and Co. Durham from his grandfather soon after 1630, and came of age in 1646. His estates were valued at £3,240 a year in 1644. He sold lands in Yorkshire in 1648 for £2,700, and purchased the manor of Capernwray (adjoining Borwick) in 1650. He sold lands at Larbreck (Lancs) in 1652 and the manor of Trimdon (Co. Durham) in 1655.

He was buried at Warton, 15 November 1688, when the baronetcy became extinct*; no will has been found for him. His widow was buried at Warton, 17 June 1708.

* It was, however, assumed many years later by Edward Bindlosse JP (d. 1789) of Westminster, whose grounds for claiming the title are unknown.

Bindlosse, Cecilia (c.1642-1729). Only child of Sir Robert Bindlosse (1625-88), 1st bt., and his wife Rebecca, daughter and co-heir of Sir Hugh Perry alias Hunter, kt., mercer and alderman of London, born about 1642. She married, c.1660*, the leading Lancashire Roman Catholic, William Standish (c.1638-1705) of Standish Hall (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Edward Standish; died in infancy before 1664;

(2) William Standish; died in infancy before 1664;

(3) Ralph Standish (c.1670-1755); convicted of treason for joining the 1715 rebellion and was sentenced to death, but was reprieved; married 1st, c.1697, Lady Philippa (c.1678-1731/2), sixth and youngest daughter of Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, and had issue four sons and five daughters; married 2nd, 1737, Mary, daughter of Albert Hodgson of Leighton Hall (Lancs); buried at Standish, 27 October 1755;

(4) Mary Standish; died unmarried;

(5) Cecilia Standish; died unmarried.

She died 19 January and was buried at Warton, 26 January 1728/9. Her husband died at Woolston, 8 June and was buried at Standish, 12 June 1705; administration of his goods was granted at Chester, 1705.

* Sir Robert Bindlosse authorised representatives to negotiate a marriage settlement on 1 March 1659/60.

Principal sources

Burke's Extinct & Dormant Baronetcies, 2nd edn., 1841, p. 62; W.O. Roper, 'Borwick Hall', Trans. Hist. Soc. of Lancs. and Cheshire, 1895, pp. 21-36; VCH Lancashire, vol. 8, 1914, pp. 170-75; A. Taylor, The Websters of Kendal, 2004, p. 94; J. Harris, Moving Rooms, 2007, p. 241; C. Hartwell & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Lancashire - North, 2nd edn., 2009, pp. 167-68; T. Thornton & K. Carlton, The gentleman's mistress: illegitimate relationships and children, 1450-1640, 2019, pp. 83-84, 90-91; S.K. Roberts (ed.), The House of Commons, 1640-1660, vol. 3, 2023, pp. 506-08;

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/bindloss-sir-robert-1624-88.

Location of archives

Bindlosse of Borwick: Some deeds and family papers survive among the papers of the Standish family of Standish (Lancs) [Wigan & Leigh Archives, D/D St]

Coat of arms

Quarterly per fesse indented or and gules, on a bend azure a cinqfoil between two martlets of the first.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 4 March 2026.

(626) Bigland of Bigland Hall

Bigland of Bigland

As one of the eponymous families of England, it is no great surprise to find that the Biglands are generally supposed to have held their estate in the Furness district of Lancashire (now part of Cumbria) from very ancient times, but it is only possible to construct a coherent genealogy from the early 16th century onwards, and the family were, in fact, leaseholders under Cartmel Priory until the dissolution of the monasteries. The family produced several cadet branches in the 16th and 17th centuries, including a family based in Cheshire and another in Leicestershire (neither of whom owned country houses or indeed stayed in one place for very long); while Sir Ralph Bigland, Garter King of Arms in the late 18th century, was a 4xgreat-grandson of Henry Bigland (d. 1523), with whom the genealogy below begins. There were also numerous other Bigland families established on farms in the south Lakeland area in the 16th and 17th centuries, who can be difficult to distinguish from the senior line of Bigland Hall in the parish registers of Cartmel (Lancs), at least until the parish clerks hit on the idea of distinguishing them by their respective abodes in the early 17th century. The Bigland Hall estate descended from Henry (d. 1523) to his son Edward (d. 1563), who seems to have acquired the freehold, and then to the latter's son, Henry (d. 1616). Only with the latter's son, George Bigland (1581-1644) does it become possible to know more than a bare genealogical outline. Rather surprisingly, since he was a Protestant in religion, he seems never to have been a justice of the peace, and his children's marriage connections imply that his social circle was still entirely local. He was succeeded by his eldest son, James Bigland (c.1609-46), who died unmarried less than eighteen months later, so the estate passed to the next son, John Bigland (1610-80). John had a large family, but only one of his sons seems to have pursued a career outside the Furness district, becoming a London-based Hamburg merchant; it was perhaps his presence in the capital which drew two of his unmarried sisters to live there too.

John's eldest son, George Bigland (1647-85) inherited on his death, but was relatively short-lived and was unmarried; he is notable chiefly for establishing a school on the estate and for endowing it. At his death, Bigland passed to his younger brother, Thomas Bigland (1649-1702). In the next generation the eldest son, John Bigland (1692-1747), was again without issue; this was becoming a bit of a pattern by this time. When he died he was succeeded by his younger brother, George Bigland (1701-52), who had married the daughter of a Whitehaven merchant and may have founded the Low Wood furnace on the estate. George's eldest son was another George Bigland (1750-1831), who certainly operated the furnace in the late 18th century. Perhaps helped by the profits of this enterprise, George embarked on a substantial rebuilding of Bigland Hall in 1781, the year of his first marriage. When his first wife died two years later, he quickly married again, this time to the sister of Wilson Braddyll of Conishead Priory; this was a socially advantageous match, and subsequent generations played a slightly more prominent role in local affairs, although it is noticeable that none of them was ever high sheriff. A further remodelling of Bigland Hall followed in 1809, and was perhaps a strain on the family finances. By the middle of the 1810s the estate was mired in debt, and in 1817 creditors of the furnace operation made George Bigland bankrupt. Happily for the family, the estate was entailed, so it was only George's life tenancy that could be sold for the creditors' benefit, and not the freehold. George moved to a suburban house in York for the remainder of his life, and it is not clear if he was ever released from bankruptcy; dividends were still being paid to the creditors in the early 1820s and I have not found a record of his being discharged. It would seem that his eldest son (the only child of his first marriage), George Bigland (1782-1840), became the creditors' tenant at Bigland Hall until his father's death saw him inherit the property. 

George junior does not seem to have been socially disadvantaged by his father's bankruptcy, for he became an officer in the Lancashire militia, and eventually a Deputy Lieutenant for the county. In the way of elder sons in this family, however, he was unmarried and without issue, and at his death the Bigland estate passed to his half-brother, Vice-Admiral Wilson Braddyll Bigland (1788-1858). Wilson was the second son of his father's second marriage, and it is not clear why he was preferred to his elder brother. By the time of his inheritance in 1840 he had long since retired from active naval service and was settled at Leamington (Warks), and he did not move north to live at Bigland. The Admiral outlived all his three children, and at his death in 1858 the Bigland estate therefore passed to his brother John Bigland (1786-1862), the man who had been overlooked in 1840. John had made his home at Bramham (Yorks WR), but does seem to have moved to Bigland in 1858, although it was probably his eldest son, John Bigland (1829-93), who took on the management of the estate. The younger John, who as a young man had devoted himself to fox-hunting, now developed an interest in forestry, and planted extensively on the Bigland estate. True to family form, he was unmarried, and when he died in 1893 the estate passed to his younger brother, George Bigland (1830-1902), who had emigrated to Canada and later the USA thirty years earlier. He returned to England to take over the family estate, and at his death a decade later was succeeded by his only child, George Braddyll Bigland (1891-1915), then a child of eleven. G.B. Bigland was precisely of the age and class to furnish the British army with the subalterns it needed to fight the First World War, and he joined the Lancashire regiment at the start of the conflict. He married in January 1915 and was killed the following June, two months before his wife gave birth to a daughter, Audrey Braddyll Bigland (1915-34). At the end of 1917, his widow married for a second time, to Horace Davy Pain (1890-1961), and had a second family. During the 1920s and early 1930s, the Pains lived at Bigland Hall, but the property was actually in Audrey's name, and when she died aged just eighteen in 1934, the operation of the entail transferred ownership to her second cousin, John Bigland Tulk-Hart (1909-44), the son of a Brighton physician, who was the grandson of Thomas Bigland (1832-1904), the younger brother of John (d. 1893) and George (d. 1902). John took the additional surname of Bigland by deed poll in 1934, and moved north with his family to take up residence at Bigland Hall. During the Second World War, he served as a navigator with the Royal Air Force, and in 1944 his plane was shot down by German flak over France, and although he baled out, he did not survive. He left a widow, Miza Pauline (1908-86) - variously described as being of Czech or Austrian ancestry - who had no farming knowledge and three young children to raise, but who gamely set about acquiring a working knowledge of farming and eventually built up a herd of pedigree cattle. In about 1968, she handed over the estate to her elder son, Richard John Braddyll Bigland (1938-94), who ran it until 1991 and developed a number of diversified businesses on the estate. In 1991, however, he decided to sell up, bring to an end at least five hundred years of family ownership, and possibly much longer. He moved to the Isle of Man, and in a tragic coda to the family story, was killed in a helicopter accident three years later.

Bigland Hall, Haverthwaite, Lancashire (now Cumbria)

The house stands in a splendid position in a bowl of parkland, overlooking a tarn, and with a distant prospect of the Eskdale fells. It is an ancient site which formed part of the estates of Cartmel Priory in the medieval period, though the Biglands were recorded as the priory's tenants from 1508. The rear wing of the house incorporates a good deal of the 16th and 17th century house of the Biglands, but the plan is complex and evidently reflects work of several different periods, which there seems never to have been any systematic archaeological investigation to clarify. One room in this part of the house has a fireplace bressumer carved with the initials BMB NG (with the N reversed); the second set of initials was formerly misinterpreted as a date 1161.

Bigland Hall: the house in its landscape setting in 1991.

Bigland Hall: the long rear wing which incorporates work of the 16th and 17th centuries. Image: Karl and Ali. Some rights reserved.

In 1781 the Kendal carpenter and joiner, John Hird, who worked across the Westmorland and Furness district as an architect, built a plain new five bay range containing three rooms onto the east side of the old house. His designs and estimate were formerly in the house, but have been lost, but the interiors themselves largely survive, as does the round-headed staircase window in the south side elevation. 

Bigland Hall: engraving of the house across the tarn, 1822.

Bigland Hall: entrance front of 1809 attributed to Francis Webster. Image: Angus Taylor/Historic England

In 1809 (datestone) another architect - almost certainly Francis Webster - built on a further range in front of Hird's work, which is higher than the older work behind and is reached internally by three steps up, flanked by Roman Doric columns and pilasters.  Webster's work provided a nicely proportioned new entrance front of five widely-spaced bays, with the central one stepped slightly forward and fronted by a limestone porch with four Tuscan columns. The window over the porch is emphasised with a deep lintel supported on brackets which bears a red lion passant regardant (the crest of the Biglands) in low relief. The sense of connection between the interior and exterior space which the early 19th century appreciated is encouraged by the ground-floor windows to either side of the porch having low sills, although they are not floor-length. Inside, the entrance hall of 1809 has two busts set in niches in the walls.

Descent: Henry Bigland (d. 1523); to son, Edward Bigland (d. 1563); to son, Henry Bigland; to son, George Bigland; to son, John Bigland (b. 1610); to son, George Bigland (1647-85); to brother, Thomas Bigland (b. 1649); to son, John Bigland (1690-1747); to brother, George Bigland (1701-52); to son, George Bigland (1750-1831); to son, George Bigland (b. 1782); to half-brother, Vice-Adm. Wilson Braddyll Bigland (c.1788-1858); to brother, John Bigland (d. 1862); to son, John Bigland (1829-93); to brother, George Bigland (1830-1902); to son, George Bradyll Bigland (1891-1915); to widow, Audrey, later wife of Horace Davy Pain for life... to John Bigland Tulk-Hart (later Bigland) (d. 1945?); to widow, Mrs Miza Pauline Bigland (d. c.1968); to son, Richard John Bigland (c.1938-94), who sold 1991 to Geoffrey Holmes; sold 2000. 

Bigland family of Bigland

Bigland, Henry (d. 1523). Elder son of Edward Bigland of Bigland and his wife. He married Jenett (fl. 1560), daughter of George Preston, and had issue:

(1) Edward Bigland (d. 1563) (q.v.);

(2) George Bigland; married and had issue at least one son;

(3) James Bigland of Bigland.

He inherited a lease of Bigland Hall from his father.

He died in 1523. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bigland, Edward (d. 1563). Eldest son of Henry Bigland (d. 1523) and his wife Jenett, daughter of George Preston. He married [forename unknown], daughter of [forename unknown] Sandys (fl. 1564) of Furness Fell, and had issue:

(1) Henry Bigland (d. 1616) (q.v.);

(2) George Bigland, of Cartmel; married Agnes, daughter of George Denton, and had issue one son (from whom descended Sir Ralph Bigland, Garter King of Arms);

(3) James Bigland (fl. 1563);

(4) Janet Bigland (fl. 1563);

(5) Margaret Bigland (fl. 1563); married, 20 May 1559, at Cartmel, Richard Barrow.

He inherited a lease of Bigland Hall from his father in 1523 and probably purchased the freehold after the dissolution of Cartmel Priory.

He was buried at Cartmel Priory, 14 February 1563; his will was proved 7 July 1564. His widow was living in 1564 but her date of death is unknown.

Bigland, Henry (d. 1616). Eldest son of Edward Bigland (d. 1563) and his wife [forename unknown], daughter of [forename unknown] Sandys of Furness Fell. He married Isobel Bellingham (d. 1622) of Westmorland, and had issue including:

(1) George Bigland (1581-1644) (q.v.);

(2) Henry Bigland, of Cartmel.

(3) James Bigland (d. 1623), of Grange in Cartmel (Lancs); married, 2 June 1599, Jennett, daughter of [forename unknown] Harrison of Cartmel, and had issue one son and five daughters; buried 27 November 1623.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1563.

He was buried at Cartmel, 17 April 1616. His wife was buried 19 January 1622.

Bigland, George (1581-1644). Eldest son of Henry Bigland (d. 1616) and his wife Isobel Bellingham, baptised at Cartmel, 28 December 1581. He married, 15 October 1608 at Cartmel Priory, Isabel (d. 1645), daughter of John Myers of Cartmel (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) James Bigland (c.1609-46), eldest son, born about 1609; inherited the Bigland Hall estate from his father in 1644 but died unmarried, 21 March 1645/6;

(2) John Bigland (1610-80) (q.v.);

(3) Edward Bigland, third son; died unmarried; not named in the will of his father and therefore probably predeceased him, but possibly to be identified with the man of this name buried at Cartmel Priory, 24 January 1647/8;

(4) Anne Bigland (1614-95), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 10 March 1613/4; married, 14 April 1635 at Cartmel Priory, Edward Robinson (c.1600-70) of Newby Bridge (Lancs), and had issue three sons; buried at Cartmel Priory, 24 July 1695;

(5) Sarah Bigland (b. 1616), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 26 February 1615/6; married [forename unknown] Atkinson of Westmorland;

(6) Isabel Bigland (1619-1700), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 15 February 1618/9; married, c.1645, Edward Lightbourne of Biggins, Kirkby Lonsdale (Westmld.) (d. 1689), and had issue; buried at Kirkby Lonsdale, 9 June 1700;

(7) Henry Bigland (1621-46), baptised at Cartmel, 29 October 1621; died unmarried and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 9 August 1646; will proved 22 August 1646;

(8) Thomas Bigland (d. 1646); died unmarried and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 20 September 1646;

(9) Bridget Bigland (b. 1627), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 5 August 1627; married William Kilner, and had issue;

(10) George Bigland (1630-85), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 2 September 1630; died unmarried, 1 August 1685.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father.

He wsa buried at Cartmel Priory, 29 October 1644. His widow was buried 20 April 1645; her will was proved 17 May 1645.

Bigland, John (1610-80). Second son of George Bigland (b. c.1580) and his wife Isabel, daughter of John Myers of Cartmel (Lancs), baptised at Cartmel, 17 June 1610. He married, c.1645, Jane (1626-1713), daughter of Thomas Fletcher of St Andrew Moor, Windermere, and had issue:

(1) George Bigland (1647-85) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bigland (1649-1702) (q.v.);

(3) Henry Bigland (1650-89); Hamburg merchant in city of London; died unmarried and without issue; will proved in the PCC, 25 February 1689/90;

(4) Mary Bigland (d. 1661); buried at Cartmel Priory, 19 August 1661;

(5) John Bigland (1657-81), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 27 February 1656/7; died unmarried and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 1 August 1681;

(6) Isabel Bigland (c.1658-92), born about 1658; called eldest surviving daughter in her father's will in 1670; lived latterly in parish of Christchurch, London; died 1692; will proved in the PCC, 19 October 1992;

(7) Anne Bigland (c.1662-92), born between 1659 and 1666; married, 1 January 1683/4 at Cartmel Priory, Edward Kellet (d. 1692) of Mireside, and had issue four children; buried at Cartmel Priory, 25 February 1691/2;

(8) James Bigland (1664-c.1666), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 29 February 1664; died in or before 1666;

(9) James Bigland (1666-1740), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 5 June 1666; married, 1708 (bond 25 July), at Colton (Lancs), Ruth (c.1670-1742), daughter of [forename unknown] Rigg and widow of James Greenwood (d. 1704), and had issue two sons and three daughters; buried at Torver (Lancs), 22 January 1739/40;

(10) Sarah Bigland (c.1667-93), born about 1667; lived latterly in parish of Christchurch, London; died unmarried; will proved 18 August 1693;

(11) Edward Bigland (1669-1727), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 15 December 1669; married, 4 November 1723, Agnes (1692-1732?), daughter of John Gibson of Dalton in Furness (Lancs) and widow of William Muckalt (1689-1722), and had issue two daughters; buried at Cartmel Priory, 7 September 1727; will proved 20 October 1727;

(12) William Bigland (b. & d. 1671), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 28 December 1671; died in infancy and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 29 December 1671.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his elder brother in 1646.

He was buried at Cartmel Priory, 1 June 1680; his will was proved 4 September 1680. His widow was buried at Cartmel Priory, 26 January 1712/3.

Bigland, George (1647-85). Eldest son of John Bigland (1610-80) and his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Fletcher of Windermere, baptised at Cartmel (Lancs), 3 October 1647. He erected and endowed the Free School at Browedge near Bigland. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1680.

He was buried at Cartmel Priory, 1 August 1685.

Bigland, Thomas (1649-1702). Second son of John Bigland (1610-80) and his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Fletcher of Windermere, baptised at Cartmel (Lancs), 22 April 1649. He married, June 1687, Elizabeth (b. 1666), daughter and heir of Rev. William Wilson, rector of Windermere, and had issue including:

(1) Jane Bigland (1688-1712), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 12 December 1688; died unmarried and was buried 27 October 1712 at Kendal (Westmld), where she was commemorated by a monument;

(2) Ann Bigland (1691-1712?), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 5 July 1691; possibly died unmarried and was the woman of this name buried at Cartmel Priory, 17 April 1712;

(3) John Bigland (1692-1747) (q.v.);

(4) Henry Bigland (b. 1693), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 19 April 1693;

(5) Sarah Bigland (1694-1757), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 1 November 1694; died unmarried and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 16 November 1757; will proved 23 November 1757;

(6) Elizabeth Bigland (b. 1696), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 5 May 1696; married, 1714 (licence 4 November, William Stedman of Kendal (Westmld) or Richmond-on-Swale (Yorks NR), pharmacist; death not traced;

(7) Isabel Bigland (b. & d. 1697), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 12 August 1697; died in infancy and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 8 November 1697;

(8) Thomas Bigland (b. 1698), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 6 July 1698;

(9) Dorothy Bigland (1700-68), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 4 November 1700; married, 5 October 1747 at Kirkby Lonsdale (Westmld.), Robert Thornton (1689-1764) of Lancaster, merchant; died without issue and was buried at Kirkby Lonsdale, 25 January 1768, where she was commemorated by a monument;

(10) George Bigland (1701-52) (q.v.).

He inherited Bigland Hall from his elder brother in 1685.

He was buried at Cartmel Priory, 27 April 1702. His wife's death has not been traced, but perhaps occurred before 1711, as she is not named in the will of her husband's aunt.

Bigland, John (1692-1747). Eldest son of Thomas Bigland (1649-1702) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Rev. William Wilson, rector of Windermere, said to have been baptised at Cartmel Priory, 10 March 1691/2. He married, 1714 (bond 13 September), Dorothy (1686-1730), daughter and heir of Rev. William Wells, but had no issue.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father.

He was buried at Cartmel Priory, 25 June 1747. His wife was buried at Cartmel Priory, 12 December 1730.

Bigland, George (1701-52). Fourth and youngest son of Thomas Bigland (1649-1702) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Rev. William Wilson, rector of Windermere, baptised at Cartmel Priory, 30 November 1701. He married, 7 April 1749 at Distington (Cumbld.), Mary* (1726-1811), daughter of John Fox of Whitehaven (Cumbld.), and had issue:

(1) George Bigland (1750-1831) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bigland (1751-1829), baptised at Cartmel Priory, 28 October 1751; farmer on Bigland estate; died at Cartmel, 26 November 1829.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1747.

He died suddenly at Whitehaven 1751/2; his will was proved  in the Archdeaconry of Richmond Probate Court, 7 May 1753. His widow married 2nd, 30 June 1753 at Beetham (Westmld), as his second wife, Thomas Sunderland (c.1723-72) of Low Wood (Lancs), and had further issue three sons and two daughters; she was buried at Cartmel Priory, 1 May 1811.

* Her portrait was painted by Christopher Steele in 1756. 

Bigland, George (1750-1831). Elder son of George Bigland (1701-52) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Fox of Whitehaven (Cumbld.), born 5 May and baptised at Cartmel Priory, 7 May 1750. Ironmaster at Low Wood Furnace (bankrupt, 1817). He married 1st, 9 June 1781 at Whitehaven, Anne (d. 1783), second daughter and co-heir of Robert Watters of Whitehaven; and 2nd, 23 November 1784 at Ulverston (Lancs), Sarah (c.1759-1830), daughter of John Gale of Whitehaven and sister of Wilson Braddyll of Conishead Priory, and had issue:

(1.1) George Bigland (1782-1840) (q.v.);

(2.1) John Bigland (1786-1862) (q.v.);

(2.2) Sarah Bigland (1787-1816), born 19 June and baptised at Cartmel Priory, 22 June 1787; married, 19 September 1808 at Cartmel Priory, Pudsey Dawson jun. (1778-1859) of Liverpool, and had issue at least one son; died 26 December and was buried at St James, Toxteth, Liverpool, 28 December 1816;

(2.3) Vice-Adm. Wilson Braddyll Bigland (1788-1858) (q.v.);

(2.4) Georgiana Bigland (1789-1820), born 12 August and baptised at Cartmel Priory, 15 August 1789; died unmarried and was buried at St Michael-le-Belfry, York, 17 March 1820;

(2.5) Mary Bigland (1790-1812), born 19 June and baptised at Cartmel Priory, 22 June 1790; died unmarried, 26 February and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 29 February 1812;

(2.6) Dorothy Bigland (1794-1813), born 7 June and baptised at Cartmel Priory, 9 June 1794; died unmarried, 13 February, and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 17 February 1813.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1752 and came of age in 1771. He was presumably obliged to hand over his life interest in the estate to his creditors on becoming bankrupt in 1817 and moved to a house at Bootham (sometimes described as Clifton), York, the contents of which were sold after his death.

He died at York, 21 January 1831; his will was proved in the PCY, February 1831 (effects £450). His first wife died 31 January 1783. His second wife died at their house in York, 7 April 1830.

Bigland, George (1782-1840). Only child of George Bigland (1750-1831) and his first wife, Anne, second daughter and co-heir of Robert Watters of Whitehaven (Cumbld.), baptised at Whitehaven, 6 April 1782. An officer in the 2nd Royal Lancashire Militia (Capt. by 1809; Maj., 1812); Mayor of Ulverston (Lancs), 1810; a DL for Lancashire.  He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1831, but seems to have been resident there in the 1820s, presumably as the tenant of his father's creditors.

He died 'after a long and severe indisposition', 3 December, and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 9 December 1840; his will was proved in the Archdeaconry of Richmond probate court, 20 May 1841.

Bigland, Vice-Adm. Wilson Braddyll (1788-1858). Second son of George Bigland (1750-1831) and his second wife, Sarah, daughter of John Gale of Whitehaven and sister of Wilson Braddyll of Conishead Priory, born 20 July and baptised at Cartmel Priory, 22 July 1788. He joined the Royal Navy in 1801 (Midshipman, 1803; Lt., 1808; Cdr., 1814; Capt., 1821; retired 1831; Rear-Adm., 1852; Vice-Adm., 1857); appointed KH, 1836. He was a DL for Lancashire. He married, 8 January 1822 at Havant (Hants), Emily (d. 1873), second daughter of Samuel Leeke of Havant and sister of Capt. Sir Henry Leeke RN, and had issue:

(1) George Selsey Bigland (1822-42), baptised at Havant, 21 October 1822; an officer in the 46th Foot (Ensign, 1839); died unmarried when he was accidentally killed by falling down a hatchway on a troop ship carrying him to Barbados, 23 January 1842;

(2) Wilson Henry John Bigland (1824-55), born 7 January and baptised at Havant, 26 March 1824; died unmarried at his father's house in Leamington, 27 September 1855;

(3) Sophia Georgina Bigland (1826-46), born at Bigland Hall, 20 February 1826 but baptism not traced; married, 10 May 1845 at Cartmel Priory (Lancs), Frank Cartwright Dickson (1815-1907) of Chapel House, Staveley (Westmorld) and Abbots Reading (Lancs), but had no issue; her portrait was painted by Cornelius Bevis Durham; died 26 March and was buried at Fareham, 2 April 1846.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his half-brother in 1840, but lived in retirement at Leamington Spa (Warks). Having outlived all his children, his property passed on his death to his brother, John Bigland (1786-1862). His widow continued to live at Leamington Spa.

He died 18 November and was buried at Leamington Spa, 25 November 1858; his will was proved 4 February 1859 (effects under £3,000). His widow died 23 February and was buried at Leamington Spa, 1 March 1873; her will was proved 24 April 1873 (effects under £3,000).

Bigland, John (1786-1862). Eldest son of George Bigland (1750-1831) and his second wife, Sarah, daughter of John Gale of Whitehaven and sister of Wilson Braddyll of Conishead Priory, said to have been born 3 July 1786. An officer in the 3rd Lancashire militia (Capt.). He married, 25 May 1828 at Aberford (Yorks WR), Mary (1796-1874), daughter of John Marshall of Towton (Yorks), and had issue:

(1) Mary Bigland (c.1828-1906?), born about 1828 in York but baptism not traced; living unmarried with her parents and siblings at Bramham in 1841 and 1851; married, 24 August 1854 at Clifford (Yorks), Christopher Dobson of Hagg Farm, Stearsby (Yorks NR), farmer, and had issue at least five daughters; buried at Barnby-on-the-Moor (Yorks), 14 September 1906;

(2) John Bigland (1829-93) (q.v.);

(3) George Bigland (1830-1902) (q.v.);

(4) Thomas Bigland (1832-1904) (q.v.);

(5) William Henry Gale Bigland (1835-1915), born 27 October and baptised at Bramham, 25 November 1835; probably the father of an illegitimate son by Catherine Crispin who was baptised at Lytham (Lancs), 18 May 1865; lived with Mary Wilson, widow, at Poulton-le-Sands (Lancs) for more than thirty years; died unmarried, Jan-Mar 1915;

(6) Georgiana Bigland (1837-1922), born 7 September and baptised at Bramham, 6 October 1837; acted as housekeeper to her brothers at Bigland Hall and later lived at Barrowbanks, Newby Bridge; died unmarried, 1 March 1922; will proved 7 July 1922 (estate £2,477).

He lived at a house called 'New York' in Bramham (Yorks WR) until he inherited Bigland Hall from his brother in 1858. As the elder brother, it is not clear why he did not inherit the estate from their half-brother in 1840.

He died 7 December and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 12 December 1862; his will was proved 12 June 1863 (effects under £4,000). His widow died 6 October 1874; administration of her goods was granted 20 October 1874 (effects under £200).

Bigland, John (1829-93). Eldest son of John Bigland (1786-1862) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Marshall of Towton (Yorks), born 10 April and baptised at Bramham (Yorks WR), 10 May 1829. As a young man he was devoted to fox-hunting; after taking possession of the Bigland estate in 1858 he developed an interest in forestry and planted many trees and shrubs in his park and wider estate. He was a Conservative in politics. He was unmarried and without issue. 

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1862.

He died 22/23 October, and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 26 October 1893; his will was proved 1 January 1894 (effects £356).

Bigland, George (1830-1902). Second son of John Bigland (1786-1862) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Marshall of Towton (Yorks), born 18 December 1830 and baptised at Bramham (Yorks WR), 19 February 1831. He emigrated to Canada, where he at first became a fish merchant; he then moved to St Louis, Missouri (USA), where his occupation is rather enigmatically recorded as 'drummer'; but he returned to England on the death of his brother in 1893. He married 1st, 1 February 1860 at Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario (Canada), Alice Maud Mary Proud (c.1836-83), youngest daughter of John Dowker of Terrington (Yorks); and 2nd, 28 August 1886, Edith Blanche Hinde (1852-1926), daughter of Peter Fox Andre of London, and had issue:

(2.1) George Bradyll Bigland (1891-1915) (q.v.).

He inherited Bigland Hall from his elder brother in 1893.

He died 7 February and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 11 February 1902; his will was proved 18 April 1902 (estate £2,802). His first wife died 19 January 1883 and was buried at Cambridge Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario. His widow died 8 July 1926; her will was proved 26 November 1926 (estate £1,314).

George Braddyll Bigland (1891-1915)  

Bigland, George Braddyll (1891-1915). Only child of George Bigland (1830-1902) and his second wife, Edith Blanche Hinde, daughter of Peter Fox Andre of London, born at St Louis, Missouri (USA), 4 November 1891. Educated at Charney Hall School, Grange (Lancs). An officer in the Kings Own Royal Lancashire Regiment (2nd Lt., 1914). He married, 2 January 1915 at Aspley Guise (Beds), Audrey (1893-1980), third and youngest daughter of Sir Robert Alfred Hampson, kt. of Brown Howe, Ulverston (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Audrey Braddyll Bigland (1915-34), born posthumously, 16 August 1915; died 28 January, and was buried at Haverthwaite, 30 January 1934; administration of goods granted to her mother, 29 March 1934 (estate £1,502).

He inherited Bigland Hall from his father in 1902 and came of age in 1912. On his death it passed to his daughter, and on her death to her second cousin, John Bigland Tulk-Hart (later Bigland) (1909-44). His widow lived at Bigland Hall with her second husband until the death of her daughter, and later at Thwaite Bridge Cottage, Rusland (Lancs).

He was killed in action, 16 June 1915; his will was proved 29 March 1916 (estate £25,054). His widow married 2nd, 27 December 1917 at St Michael, Toxteth Park, Liverpool (Lancs), Horace Davy Pain (1890-1961), and had further issue two sons and one daughter; she died 20 April 1980 and was buried at Rusland; her will was proved 27 May 1980 (estate £47,553).

Bigland, Thomas (1832-1904). Third son of John Bigland (1786-1862) and his wife Mary, daughter of John Marshall of Towton (Yorks), born 18 February and baptised at Bramham (Yorks WR), 15 September 1832. Trained as a surgeon under William D. Husband of York (MRCS 1857; Lic. Soc. Apothecaries, 1858). Medical superintendent of Kensington House Asylum (Middx) by 1861 and later of The Priory, Roehampton (Surrey), but retired and lived with his brother at Bigland Hall before 1891. He married, 5 September 1867 at St Philip, Kensington (Middx), Helen (1839-1919), daughter of Augustus Leycester Barwell of Stansted Park (Sussex), and had issue:

(1) Wilson John Braddyll Bigland (1868-1920), born 31 March 1868; educated at Heversham Grammar School; may have gone abroad as he does not feature in 1901 or 1911 census; died unmarried, Jan-Mar 1920;

(2) George Selsey Bigland (1869-1923), born 17 May and baptised at St Philip, Kensington, 30 July 1869; educated at Heversham Grammar School; occupation given in 1911 as 'plaster agent'; lived in Bromley (Kent); died unmarried, 9 December 1923; will proved 19 March 1924 (estate £3,347);

(3) Charles Augustus Leycester Bigland (1870-1904), born 3 July and baptised at St Philip, Kensington, 29 July 1870; educated at Heversham Grammar School (Westmld) and St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1889); prevented by a gun accident in 1890, in which he lost part of his foot, from pursuing a military career, he emigrated to New Zealand where he became a freemason in 1896; volunteered to serve in the Matabeleland Mounted Police, 1901-02; he later returned to England and pursued a business career until his health broke down; died unmarried and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 26 February 1904;

(4) Blanche Madeline Bigland (1873-1961) (q.v.).

He lived on site at the asylums to which he was attached until he retired to Bigland Hall c.1890.

He died 8 May, and was buried at Cartmel Priory, 13 May 1904. His widow died at Bromley, Jan-Mar 1919.

Bigland, Blanche Madeline (1873-1961). Only daughter of Thomas Bigland (1832-1904) and his wife Helen, daughter of Augustus Leycester Barwell of Stansted Park, born 4 September and baptised at St Philip, Kensington (Middx), 17 October 1873. A registered nurse (registered 1898). She married, 29 April 1901 at Staveley (Westmld), Dr. Thomas John Augustus Tulk-Hart (1872-1930), physician, son of Dr Eugene John Hart MRCS (1846-1920), and had issue:

(1) Joan Madeline Tulk-Hart (1904-94), born 23 April and baptised at Chapel Royal, Brighton, 3 June 1904; married 1st, 27 December 1924 at St Peter, Brighton (div.), as the first of his three wives, Cdr. William Richard Campbell Steele (1895-1987), and 2nd, Jan-Mar 1947 at Totnes (Devon), as his second wife, Charles Henry Philip Jackson (c.1897-1978), mining engineer, son of Cyril Frank Jackson; died 3 March 1994; will proved 6 July 1994 (estate £167,349);

(2) Una Eugenie Tulk-Hart (1906-66), born 9 February and baptised at Chapel Royal, Brighton, 2 March 1906; married, Oct-Dec 1932 (sep. by 1939; div. by 1942), Wing Cdr. Hugh de Lainé Standley (1899-1967); died 10 December 1966; will proved 2 March 1967 (estate £12,683);

(3) John Bigland Tulk-Hart (later Bigland) (1909-44) (q.v.);

(4) Richard Braddyll Tulk-Hart (1913-96), born 19 October and baptised at Chapel Royal, Brighton, 7 December 1913; physician and surgeon (MRCS, 1940; LRCP, 1940); served in Second World War as a medical officer with the Royal Air Force (Flying Offr, 1943); married, 11 March 1944 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), Pamela May Johnsen (1918-2010), a ferry pilot with Air Transport Auxiliary Service, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 7 April 1996; will proved 21 June 1996.

She lived in Brighton (Sussex).

She died 16 December 1961; her will was proved 2 April 1962 (estate £16,281). Her husband died 17 March 1930; his will was proved 8 July 1930 (estate £26,540).

Tulk-Hart (later Bigland), John Bigland (1909-44). Elder son of Thomas John Augustus Tulk-Hart and his wife Blanche Madeline, only daughter of Thomas Bigland, born 20 August 1909 and baptised at the Chapel Royal, Brighton (Sussex), 10 November 1909. Solicitor. He took the surname of Bigland by deed poll on inheriting Bigland Hall, 13 April 1934. He served in the Second World War as a navigator in the Royal Air Force (Flying Officer). He married, 27 July 1935 at Fletching (Sussex), Miza Pauline (1908-86), daughter of Richard Jaschke of Fletching, gent., and had issue:

(1) Sarah Anne Guinevere Bigland (1936-2021), born 15 May and baptised at Haverthwaite, 28 June 1936; married, April 1960, William Victor Gubbins (1937-2022) of Eden Lacy, Great Salkeld, High Sheriff of Cumbria, 1987-88, son of Maj. Bill Gubbins, and had issue three sons; died 11 September 2021; will proved 21 June 2022;

(2) Richard John Braddyll Bigland (1938-94) (q.v.);

(3) Anthony John Bigland (1942-2000), born 31 October 1942; married, 14 August 1965, Kathryn Anne (b. 1943), daughter of Charles Joseph Basil Radcliffe (1900-83), and had issue one son and two daughters; died 20 December and was buried at Haverthwaite, 28 December 2000; administration of goods granted 20 December 2000.

He inherited Bigland Hall from his second cousin in 1934. After his death it passed to his widow, who handed it over to her eldest son in about 1968.

He was shot down by flak over Condé, Normandy (France) during a night reconnaissance, and baled out but died, 8 August 1944; he was buried at Breel (France). His widow died 7 October 1986; her will was proved 31 December 1986 (estate £75,785).

Bigland, Richard John Braddyll (1938-94). Elder son of John Bigland Tulk-Hart (later Bigland) (1909-44) and his wife Miza Pauline, daughter of Richard Jaschke of Fletching (Sussex), born 18 December 1938 and baptised at Haverthwaite, 1 July 1939. He married 1st, 30 November 1968 (div.) at Melling (Lancs), Carol Morley, daughter of Tim Saunders of Wennington Hall (Lancs) and Melbourne (Australia), and 2nd, Apr-Jun 1982, Catherine (k/a Kate) M. (b. 1946), artist, daughter of [forename unknown] Waller and formerly wife of Peter Rosson, and had issue:

(2.1) Daniel James Braddyll Tulk-Hart Bigland (b. 1982), born September 1982; guitarist, bandleader, and founder of the Musicians Community;

(2.2) Matthew Sebastian Braddyll Bigland (b. 1985), born July 1985; musician and songwriter.

He took over Bigland Hall on the retirement of his mother in 1968, but sold it in 1991. He lived subsequently on the Isle of Man.

He was killed in a plane crash at Walsall (Staffs) while returning to the Isle of Man, 20 January 1994; buried at Braddan (IoM), 4 February 1994 but reburied at Haverthwaite, 3 October 1997. His first wife married 2nd, 1977, Frederick L. Barnes. His widow is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1925, pp. 136-37; J. Foster, Pedigrees of the county families of England: vol 1, Lancashire, 1873, unpaginated pedigree of Bigland family; J. Stockdale, Annals of Cartmel, 1874, pp. 498-504; J.M. Robinson, A guide to the country houses of the north-west, 1991, p. 159; A. Taylor, The Websters of Kendal, 2004, p. 134; Sir H.M. Colvin, A biographical dictionary of British architects, 4th edn., 2008, pp. 523-24; M. Hyde & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Cumbria, 2010, pp. 395-96.

Location of archives

Bigland of Bigland: deeds, estate and family papers, 1554-1964 [Cumbria Archive Service, Kendal WD BGLD]

Coat of arms

Azure, two ears of big wheat in pale couped and bladed or.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 8 February 2026 and updated 9 February 2026.