Description

LATHOM

SD40NW BLYTHE LANE
663-1/4/38 (North West side)
11/08/72 Blythe Hall

II

Large house. Probably late C16 or early C17 in origin but
altered in early C19 and radically altered and enlarged c.1920
for the 3rd Earl of Lathom; and reduced c.1975 by demolition
of the earliest range.
Scored stucco on sandstone rubble, with green slate roof; C20
additions of sandstone ashlar with stone slate roofs.
Irregular plan composed of H-plan original building with
extensive wings attached to rear corner of right-hand wing.
Two storeys and attics, the older portion: 1:5:1 windows,
symmetrical, with a plinth and string course carried round; a
wide single-storey C20 stone porch in the centre, a 2-light
window above this, pairs of 2-light windows on both floors,
those at ground floor with hoodmoulds, and in the gables of
the wings similar casements of 3, 2 and 1 lights on successive
floors, all with hoodmoulds. Two ridge chimneys.
The return side of the left wing has a C20 bay window and
conservatory at ground floor; the return side of the
right-hand wing has (inter alia) a 2-storey canted bay.
The C20 wing, joined to the rear corner by a link, is a
symmetrical composition of 1:3:1 windows, with gabled ends
which have 2-storey 5-sided bays with cross-windows, and a
3-bay centre which has an arcaded loggia at ground floor and
3-light mullioned windows above.
To the rear of this is a C20 wing in simpler style containing
a swimming pool; and there are other C20 rear service wings
(etc).
INTERIOR: the main range of the original house was entirely
remodelled c.1920 as an open hall with a dramatic 2-storey
colonnaded Ionic screen to a staircase occupying most of the
rear wall; the room to the right has elaborate panelling said
to have been removed from Lathom Hall when it was demolished
shortly after the 1st World War; the swimming pool in the rear
wing is in the style of a Roman temple, with mosaic columns;
and at 1st floor are 7 en suite bathrooms with mosaic walls
and early C20 fittings.
HISTORY: remodelled by the 3rd Earl of Lathom as a residence
to replace Lathom Hall, and used in the 1920s for entertaining
his theatrical friends such as Ivor Novello and Noel Coward;
subsequently occupied by Roman Catholic seminary.

Listing NGR: SD4384909990

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Blythe Hall, Lathom at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q4930879

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version