An Illustrated History of Old Sutton in St.Helens
Part 4 (of 58) - History of the Sherdley Estate in Sutton
d) Sherdley Old & New Halls | e) Sherdley Delph | f) Roughley Coat of Arms
a) The Sherdley Estate - Introduction
There was also a Costeth Hall, which for a while was partitioned into two houses and partly demolished about 1804. The estate also included land in Aughton, Eccleston, Great Sankey, Peasley Cross, Fiddlers Ferry and Penketh as well as Sutton properties like Green End House, Leach Hall, Sutton Lodge and houses in streets such as Ditch Hillock / Waterdale Crescent. However this page will concentrate on the four properties that were located within modern-day Sherdley Park, as well as the history of the deadly Sherdley Delph.
The park is named after the Sherdley family who can be traced back to 1303, where they were recorded as freeholders of Sherdley Hall, its orchard and gardens. The Sherdleys took their name from the pasture land that existed then - see here for more on this. In 1543 the Sherdleys sold their estates to Richard Bold and later Richard Roughley paid Sir Henry Byrom of Parr £440 to acquire Sherdley Hall. This was inherited by Thomas Roughley and on his death in 1613, an estate inventory encompassed Sherdley Hall, a garden, orchard, 20 acres of land, 6 acres of meadow, 14 acres of pasture and 2 acres of woods.
In 1798 industrialist Michael Hughes purchased the estate for £3,150 and it remained within the Hughes family for 150 years. However, the Sherdley estate began to break up in the 1930s and Colonel Michael Hughes (III) died in 1938. His nephew Michael Hughes-Young, who became Lord St.Helens in 1964, inherited Sherdley Park and sold it to St.Helens Corporation on June 27th 1949 for £18,700. The long wall surrounding the park was demolished (apart from a small section by the gates) and it became a public park. Former Sherdley land on the other side of Marshalls Cross Road, in between Sutton Park and Eaves Lane, was then sold onto housing developers in 1966 - see here for more. The Sherdley Estates still exist, however, with a small number of properties owned in the district, including Lea Green Farm.
Plan of Sherdley estates taken from the 'Survey with Maps of the Estates belonging to Michael Hughes Esquire in
Townships of Sutton, Eccleston, Great Sankey and Penketh and County of Lancaster 1826'
CLICK IMAGE to Download High Resolution .pdf - contributed by Rory Hughes-Young (Lord St.Helens)
b) Sutton Hall
On February 22nd, 1935 an article by Seth Lewis in the St.Helens Reporter commented on the impending loss of Sutton Hall on the edge of Sherdley Park:
A link with the historic past is being broken by the demolition of Sutton Hall, which with its ancient associations and manorial rights spread over four centuries, make it one of the most interesting of the old Lancashire family homes. 
Sutton Hall was the manor house that was originally occupied by the Hollands and demolished in 1935
However, the demolished building was not the original structure as a fire had struck the first Sutton Hall around 1700 and so it was subsequently knocked down and rebuilt. The old granary with its rough sandstone and mullion windows was all that was retained within the new building and it was believed that debris from the first Sutton Hall was recycled to create a boundary wall by Elton Head Road.
Sutton Hall was a former Roman Catholic study centre and retreat. Underground passages were said to connect it with Sherdley Old Hall and Michael's Mount in Elton Head Road, where the tunnels terminated in the cellar. The Hall was demolished in 1935 although it was still listed on Ordnance Survey maps well into the 1980s. These seemed to be referring to the estate office which was eventually replaced by an office for St.Helens Council Rangers by Pet's Corner.
c) Costeth Hall
In a St.Helens Reporter article dated 27th August, 1976 the newspaper fleetingly mentioned Costeth House, stating "about which nothing is now known". However Dorothy Hughes has since published her research into Costeth in a Lancashire Local Historian essay (no.16 (2003) pp.25-40), which has provided much detail and part of this section is sourced from her investigations.In 1786 William Yates drew what is generally considered to the first accurate map of Lancashire and both Sutton Hall and Costeth House are clearly identified within Sherdley Park. Sixteen years later, industrialist Michael Hughes is often said to have acquired Costeth House for £2,555, only to knock it down in 1804. This was a very high price to pay but the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars had caused considerable inflation. However, as Dorothy Hughes explains, her namesake only initially bought half of Costeth House and had to negotiate the purchase of the remaining half from a Prescot charity.
How Sutton township was represented onYates's map of 1786. Note references to Costeth House, Sutton Hall and Toad Leach
It's unknown when Costeth House was first built but it is recorded that Richard Roughley bought it in 1607 and then it was inherited by members of his family. In 1729 the death of then owner Thomas Roughley put the cat well and truly amongst the pigeons, as he left his estate jointly to both his daughter Mary and granddaughter Esther. As a result of "divers differences and disputes", it was decided to divide the property into two estates that were separately inhabited by Esther with husband Peter Erlam and Mary. The original Costeth House was extended with a 'New End' fronted with stone on the south and west which contrasted with the brick fronted 'Old End' and a Deed of Partition was drawn up by attorney Edward Deane of Prescot.
In 1972, television's Steptoe and Son portrayed a divided household in the episode 'Divided We Stand', which even extended to division of the television set. This resulted in some classic dialogue in which Harold said "I've got the law on my side" to which Albert replied with the line "I've got the knobs on mine"! The partition of the enlarged Costeth House wasn't quite to the same extent, however. Essentially they became semi-detached houses, although the deed revealed that it did extend to the gardens and the barn plus the property's rights of way.
Part of the plans for Costeth House which were drawn in 1801 - contributed by Martin Rigby
The Roughley connection with Costeth ended in the late 1760s when Liverpool ironmonger Thomas Greenup acquired the Old End, with the Oliver Lyme Charity of Prescot having been bequeathed the New End in the 1730s. An advertisement had been placed for the sale of the old part of the building in the Manchester Mercury of July 7th 1767. It offered 'One Moiety of a Meffuage or Tenement, called Cofteth Houfe, with about 22 Acres of very good Arable and Pafture Ground'. Moiety means a half or a portion of property. The advert described how the purchaser would automatically acquire a pew in Prescot Parish Church and one in St. Helens Chapel.
Michael Hughes then acquired the Old End from the debt-ridden Greenups. However he had to wait until 1820 until he obtained full possession of the property, swapping an estate in Eccleston for the New End. The Oliver Lyme Charity knew they had Hughes over a barrel and they made it clear in legal documents that they were seeking a "bonus" in exchange for their interest. In the end they made about £2000 on the swap. Hughes paid a considerable price to have sole ownership of all of the Sherdley properties and for the right to demolish the ancient Costeth House. This enabled him to build a new Hall for himself that would truly reflect his social status in life.
A survey and valuation of Costeth House which was drawn up by James Heyes in 1818 - contributed by Martin Rigby
Around 1820 Hughes also built a "good and substantial Messuage or Dwellinghouse of Brick or Stone and Slate", according to a document of that year. This seems to have been the property that was occupied by the Sherdley Estate gamekeeper George Anders and his wife Margaret and their four children and was built from materials from the demolished New End of Costeth House. During the1840s, Ordnance Survey map references to a 'Costeth' or 'Costel' House erroneously refer to the gamekeeper's property.
d) Sherdley Old and New Halls
As stated in this page's introduction, a Sherdley Hall in Sutton can be traced back to the early 14th century. However the building and estate that Michael Hughes acquired in 1798 for £3,150 had only been built in 1671 and that date was carved over its front door. It's not known for certain who built it although it's likely to have been one of the Roughley family. It was constructed in an Elizabethan style with gables and grids of mullioned windows and brick chimneys and built from red and yellow sandstone.
Sherdley Old Hall farmhouse c.1890 - contributed by Rory Hughes-Young (Lord St.Helens)
One interesting feature of Sherdley Old Hall was that a number of its windows were blocked off in order to escape a window tax which was levied intermittently from 1696. The glass tax was introduced under the snazzily-named 'Act of Making Good the Deficiency of the Clipped Money' in King William III's time. No wonder everyone just called it the Window Tax!
Sherdley New Hall photographed by R.G. Brook c.1890 - contributed by Rory Hughes-Young (Lord St.Helens)
Hughes decided to retain the somewhat grim-looking old building, which later became a farmhouse and was known as Sherdley Hall Farm, and between 1805-6 he built a new Hall (or 'House') for himself. Hughes had been forced out of his first residence, Sutton Lodge (initially called 'The Tickles'), by the smoke from a new colliery owned by salt proprietor Nicholas Aston of Woolton Hall. It was located on land adjacent to Hughes's and the fumes were threatening to make Sutton Lodge uninhabitable.
A view of Sherdley New Hall c.1890 in winter time - contributed by Rory Hughes-Young (Lord St.Helens)
After initially considering relocating to North Wales, Michael Hughes elected to build the mansion of his dreams in Sutton and commissioned architect John Harrison. It became Hughes's pride and joy with great care taken in its interior design. The main building work took place between 1805 and 1806 and the builders made quick progress with the master mason discharged in January 1806. The house was insured for the sum of £2000 and the furniture for £500.
In a letter from London dated February 1st, 1805, Hughes was advised by his relative Sir Robert Williams (1764-1830), to make his new home as "snug and comfortable" as possible and to pay more attention to water closets, carpets and fireplaces than "great uniformity in the building...these are luxuries that all the world like." However, Williams implored Michael Hughes not to show his letter to his brother Rev. Edward Hughes {x-1815}, whose Kinmel Park mansion in North Wales was renowned within the Hughes family both for its magnificence and its great discomfort as a residence.
I do flatter myself that your two rooms will be the neatest and most tasteful in your neighbourhood. I have ordered a neat Lantern for the dining room which will light the room sufficiently without the nuisance of candles on the table to obscure the view of your opposite neighbour...It occurs to me that you have never mentioned how your bells pull. Inform me of this and tell me also whether you want grate and fenders Will and fire irons for the two rooms. 
I derive great pleasure from knowing that your furniture meets with your and your friends approbation, and tho' I allow the cost will be considerable, yet I hope you will find it compensated in the comfort you will derive from it...the drawing room will of course include some articles of unnecessary adornment to a man, but as I know you will like your female visitants to enjoy every comfort and luxury you can afford them. 
Standing outside the farmhouse, formerly Sherdley Hall, c.1890- contributed by Rory Hughes-Young
The 1901 census provides a snapshot of the downstairs life in the new Sherdley Hall with nine servants recorded. There was a cook, valet, kitchen maid, scullery maid, ladies maid, footman and two housemaids. Plus a hall boy as well as a head gardener who lived in a separate cottage. Part of the gardener's responsibility - which for many years was Thomas Holland - was the growing of grapes in a vinery. These don't appear to have been used to make wine but many were instead despatched to the two hospitals in St.Helens.
Mosquitoes were endemic at Sherdley during the early years of the 20th century and in 1911 advice on killing them was taken from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
In the St.Helens Reporter's obituary of Michael Hughes, published on August 26th, 1938, they wrote more favourably of the old Sherdley Hall than the more recently-built property:
The present Sherdley Hall is a somewhat plain building in the Georgian style, and only about a century old, but the old hall now serves as a picturesque farmhouse of Sherdley Hall Farm where Mr. H. Done, the occupier (and himself of ancient lineage), is particularly interested in its antiquity. The old house with its gables and string courses, its mullioned windows, its porch with a nail-studded door on iron hinges, seats on either side, and the date 1671 over the lintel, is all too picturesque to be taken as a farmhouse here within sight of colliery wheels. In his farmhouse of many doors and low-timbered ceilings, Mr. Done has assembled furniture and ornaments pleasantly appropriate to the hall. The bedrooms have old doors obviously fashioned by the adze, and a recess over the porch is the ancient powder-closet, where in times gone by the inhabitants used to powder their wigs. 
The old Sherdley Hall farmhouse photographed around 1990 - contributed by Jim Lamb
"Many fine beeches" were said to occupy the gardens but special mention was made of an old chestnut tree which had its top cut off and which the article claimed "suggested Royalist leaning" in the Civil War days. Apparently many Royalist landowners decapitated a tree when King Charles was executed.
Like Sutton Hall, the Sherdley Halls were said to have secret underground passages which led to Loyola Hall and also inter-connected with a tunnel from Phoenix House and one from Sutton Monastery. The Sherdley tunnel was filled in and capped with a flat oblong of concrete during the early 1970s. Susan Jones lived in the old servants' quarters in the park during the late 1970s and recalls being shown the cap by park manager Norman Clarke:
Norman showed me the cap, which is at the top end of the first garden in the centre of the park. The first garden was allocated to my flat, so I asked if I could put a greenhouse on the concrete and was told no and why. Norman said that originally it had been stables and the entrance would in his opinion have been disguised in one of the stalls or inside the building's cellar. 
e) Sherdley Delph
The Sherdley Delph was an old water-filled pit and woodland located to the north-east of the parkland by Green End Lane and modern-day Scorecross. Sometimes spelt 'delf', it developed an ignominious reputation in the late 19th century as a popular place to commit suicide.Bill Bate, now living in Western Australia, recalls regularly "wandering around Sherdley" during his childhood days of the late 1930s and the 1940s and writes that access to the Delph was:
Along Green End Lane, which had about six houses, and then a track of about 300 yards long leading to the Score path. At each side of this track was farmland with the Delph in the field on the left of the track. 
The roll call of suicides who ended their days in the Delph, include 20-years-old Patrick Burke, who drowned himself in February 1890 because his mother wouldn't give him 1½d. He was “stupid drunk” said his father at the inquest. Then there was 15-years-old Ann Makin, a deeply unhappy child who was expected to keep house for her widowed brute of a father and also cook and clean for her four siblings. Ann had told friend Ellen Lynan whilst in Sutton Churchyard, that if her father "beat her or sauced her again", she would drown herself. She did the deed four days later after her father had scolded her and it took several days of dragging the waters of the Delph before her body was recovered. (Read more here)
There were many others who died in the Delph, including 68-years-old John Curley, whose residence was Back Appleton Street in Sutton. At his inquest held in June 1892, he was said to have been "somewhat strange in his manner for a considerable time past", before jumping into the Delph. Curley's inquest was held at the Griffin Inn in Peasley Cross, as was the inquiry into the death of Reuben Southward in May 1895. The 43-years-old from Appleton Street was described as being "peculiar and a little deranged" for some time prior to entering the waters of the Delph.
Since the break up of the Sherdley estate, the old Delph pit where many Suttoners ended their lives, has been drained. However, the name continues in the woodland and nearby street Delph Hollow Way.
f) Roughley Coat of Arms
Visitors to Sherdley Park are often intrigued by the coat of arms on a stone at the rear of the Walled Garden. It is believed to be that of Thomas Roughley and family, former owners of the Sherdley Hall estate prior to the arrival of Michael Hughes. It bears the date 1698, although this can easily missed with the fading numerals '16' on its left and '98' on the right.
The Roughley coat of arms at the rear of the Walled Garden in Sherdley Park
The coat of arms was almost certainly sited on Costeth House, or possibly Sherdley Hall. Interestingly, another Thomas Roughley tried to reclaim the Sherdley estate from the Hughes family upon the death of the first Michael Hughes. In December 1825, Roughley returned to Sutton after having lived as a sugar planter in Jamaica for about twenty years. Perhaps the change of climate was too much for him, as on December 14th he suddenly died, aged only 46 years. The Liverpool Mercury of December 30th, 1825 reported that Roughley, who was the author of 'The Jamaica Planter's Guide', had:
...resided many years in the West Indies, and about three weeks ago came over for the purpose of claiming the estate belonging to Sherdley-hall, the seat of the late Michael Hughes, Esq. 
Other Sherdley pages and articles in Sutton Beauty & Heritage:
Sherdley Park; Michael Hughes; Enjoying the Parks of Sutton; Sherdley & Ell Bess;
Being Sick in Sherdley Park & Walisdale Cottage; The Last To Live in Sherdley Park;
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Wolverhampton House on Raven Street, now Church Street, was built by John 'Bally' Whittaker of Sutton. RGB took the famous picture of 31-stone Whittaker - who also ran the Oak Tree Inn in Gerrards Lane - sitting with other St.Helens corpulent characters in Lymm. He also created a photograph album of Speke Hall. Brook at different times became a councillor for West Sutton and Hardshaw and in his election leaflets styled himself the "working man's friend".
RGB also claimed that he'd established the first picture exhibition in St.Helens and had been the first to advocate baths in the town. Also he'd given the "little museum to the park", had provided a "useful and ornamental" lamp in Church Street and "led the way to technical education".
R.G. Brook's photograph of builder John 'Bally' Whittaker (31 stone - left), wheelwright Joseph Jackson (22 stone - centre - Jackson Street was named after him), glass flattener Charles Rigby (18 stone - right) plus builder J. Roughsedge & W. Gardiner
A full view of the remarkable slideshow portrait of R.G. Brook at Niagara Falls in 1884 which was glued into his journal with a notation at the bottom right which reveals that he thought he looked "seedy" - contributed by Bob Brook
RGB was a juror in the sensational trial of Florence Maybrick, who was found guilty of murdering her husband James by poisoning him. RGB and G. H. Welsby, a fellow juror from St.Helens, were interviewed by the press about their verdict in the trial which had become a Victorian cause célèbre. During the 1990s, James Maybrick was named as a prime suspect in the "Jack the Ripper" killings.
Pictured right is a photograph by Bob Brook of a silver-plated cup, which was given by RGB to his grandson, who was also named Robert Goldthorpe Brook, on the occasion of his birth in St. Helens in 1891. This cup was then given to Bob by his grandfather and he believes that it was made and engraved by RGB.
R.G. Brook's remarkable 1884 photo of Indian Chief Crowfoot and his three wives and six other Native Americans
(displayed with permission of The National Archives)
A portrait of R.G. Brook taken by Jos. Frank Cooper, 16 George Street, St. Helens plus his
signature taken from an original IOU found in his journals - contributed by Bob Brook
Sutton Beauty & Heritage strives for factual accuracy at all times. Please do also get in touch if you believe that there are any errors, with details of any corrections contained within the site's update history page, which also details the regular updates. Many individuals from all over the world have kindly contributed Sutton information and photographs. If you would like to participate in this project, I would be delighted to hear from you and this website always credits any assistance given. Do also consider contributing any recollections of old Sutton that you might have for the Sutton Memories pages, which are proving very popular. I respond quickly to emails and if you haven't received a response within 12 hours, do check your junk mail folder or send your message again. Thank you! SRW
