Bowcliffe Hall

Bowcliffe Hall is located at Bramham near Wetherby, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

The building is constructed of ashlar limestone, under a shallow pitched slate roof to a rectangular double pile floor plan. It is mainly built in 2 storeys, although the east wing has been modified to 3 storeys.

History

Construction of Bowcliffe Hall was begun in 1805 by William Robinson, a cotton spinner from Manchester. After completing only the West Wing, Robinson sold the property for £2,000 to John Smyth, who finished the estate. Smyth died in 1840 and the house was put into trust by his daughters pending sale. The entrusted estate was purchased by George Lane-Fox, whose own house, the neighbouring Bramham Park, had been severely fire damaged in 1828.

George Lane-Fox, known as "The Gambler", was the MP for Beverley. He died in 1848 and was succeeded by his only son, also George, known as "The Squire". The latter died in 1896 and was succeeded by his second son George (his eldest son having become a clergyman) who was MP for Barkston Ash. He renovated Bramham Park and moved back there in 1907. Bowcliffe was then purchased by Walter Geoffrey Jackson, the Managing Director of mining company Henry Briggs Son and Company. In 1917, the house was bought by the aviation pioneer Robert Blackburn, the chairman of Blackburn Aircraft who lived there until 1950.