Lathom

"LATHOM, a township in the parish of Ormskirk, hundred of West Derby, county Lancaster, 3 miles N.E. of Ormskirk, its post town. It is situated on the river Douglas and on the Leeds canal, and contains the hamlet of Newbrough, or Newburgh. The village, which is considerable, was once a market town. There are some extensive collieries and stone quarries. The manor formerly belonged to the Lathoms and Stanleys, ancestors of the earls of Derby. Thomas, the first earl, here entertained Henry VII. in his baronial mansion of Lathom House, then in its full splendour. This noble castle, which had eighteen towers, and was surrounded by a fosse 8 yards in breadth, subsequently became famous in history for the successful defence made by Charlotte Countess of Derby, for three months, against the parliamentary forces under General Fairfax. In the following year, 1647, it was again besieged by General Egerton, at the head of 4,000 Parliamentarians, and was finally surrendered for want of ammunition, when, after being plundered, it was dismantled by order of Parliament, and the fortifications demolished. On the Restoration, Lathom House again became the residence of the earls of Derby till 1730, when it was conveyed, by marriage with Henrietta, daughter and heiress of William Earl of Derby, to John the third Earl of Ashburnham, by whom it was sold; and was subsequently purchased by Sir Thomas Bootle, Knt., whose niece marrying Richard Wilbraham, Esq., ancestor of the present Lord Skelmersdale, conveyed it to that family. The present mansion was rebuilt by Leoni on the old site, and though not equal to its predecessor in magnificence or strength, is a stately building, with a frontage of 156 feet, and contains numerous apartments, and a domestic chapel, which has recently been improved, at a cost of £1,200. The park, which is nearly 5 miles in circumference, is tastefully embellished.