Monument record MDR22813 - Thornbridge Hall Park and Gardens, north of Ashford in the Water

Thornbridge was part of the estate of the Longsdon family of Little Longstone and was held by them from the 12th century until 1790, when James Longsdon sold it to his business partner Andrew Morewood, a Manchester merchant. Morewood began to rebuild the house in the Classical style, his son John Morewood continuing the work which he complemented with a modest park. John Morewood was succeeded by his brother, George, and after his death, by his son-in-law, James McConnell, who in 1859 sold it back to the Longsdons. The Longsdon family retained much of the estate but put the Hall and its grounds up for sale, these being purchased by John Sleigh, a Leek manufacturer. In 1871 Sleigh sold the Hall and 185 acres (c. 77ha) of land to Frederick Craven who commissioned the architect J B Mitchell-Withers to rebuild the Hall in the Jacobean style, with stained-glass windows by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. In 1896 the Hall was again sold, this time to George 'Jobson' Marples, who immediately enlarged the estate to over 400 acres (c. 166ha) and then commissioned Charles Hadfield of Sheffield to alter the Hall, add stables and build lodges on the boundary of his new park. He also laid out formal gardens around the Hall to designs by Simeon Marshall of James Backhouse and Son's nursery in York, and in 1903 built the private railway station known as 'Woodlands'. When Marples died in 1929 the estate was sold to Charles Boot of the construction firm Henry Boot. Boot embellished the Hall and gardens with an assortment of artefacts acquired during the course of his business, hence the presence of balustrading, urns and a fountain from Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire, and marble statues which came his way while working on a land reclamation scheme in Greece. See NHLE description for more details. (1)