| General History Pages | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brief History of Ordsall Hall | A brief history of the hall from it's first mention in 1177 to the present date ... | |
| Ordsall Hall and Guy Fawkes | Legend has evolved that Ordsall Hall was the location for Guy Fawkes and Robert Catesby to plot the overthrow of King James in what was to become the famous Gunpowder Plot ... | |
| History of the Radclyffes of Ordsall | ||
| Pre Radclyffe History | up to 1354 | Site owned by various families including de Ferrers, Earls of Derby, David & Richard de Hulton, Sir John Blount and various members of the Radclyffe and Legh families ... |
| Sir John de Radclyffe | 1354 to 1362 | Fought for the King in France and awarded one of the most noble family mottos in the land: 'Caen, Crecy, Calais.' Responsible for the introduction of Flemish Weavers and as such commenced England's long association with the textile industry ... |
| Richard de Radclyffe | 1362 to 1380 | Became one of the largest landowners in Lancashire and Cheshire. Drowned in Rossendale Water on official duties ... |
| Sir John de Radclyffe | 1380 to 1421 | When Henry the Fifth succeeded his father, Sir John de Radclyffe was appointed to the personal service of the King, and was given a captaincy in the French war. Though now an elderly man Sir John bore himself with distinction at Agincourt ... |
| Sir John de Radclyffe | 1421 to 1442 | An addict to the extravagant fashions of the day, he was summoned by his brother, Alured, for an offence against the sumptuary laws, which sought to restrain undue expenditure on elaborate and fantastic apparel ... |
| Sir Alexander Radclyffe | 1442 to 1475 | In 1455 the Wars of the Roses began with the first Battle of St. Albans, and the Radclyffes were prominent in their support of the Lancastrian cause ... |
| Sir William Radclyffe | 1475 to 1496 | Gained fame in the wars, and was knighted the year before his succession. He was a devout man esteemed for the nobility of his character, and his generous benefactions made him beloved by the people ... |
| Sir Alexander Radclyffe | 1496 to 1548 | Served the office of High Sheriff of Lancashire on four occasions, in 1523-4, 1528-9, 1538-9 and 1547-8 ... |
| Sir William Radclyffe | 1548 to 1568 | Though still presumably Catholics the Radclyffes of Ordsall held their Queen and the realm entitled to their first loyalty ... |
| Sir John Radclyffe | 1568 to 1591 | As head of the greatest and certainly the most influential landed families of the county, John Radclyffe was called upon to assume a role of natural leadership, in which courage and foresight, wisdom and understanding, must be united with unflinching faith and the loyalty of a true patriot ... |
| Sir Alexander Radclyffe | 1591 to 1599 | On 22nd March 1599 he made his will, and the following day rode forth to Chester, there to join Essex, who sailed from the Dee at the head of the greatest expedition Elizabeth had ever sent abroad ... |
| Margaret Radclyffe | Twin sister of Sir Alexander, Margaret was the favourite Maid of Honour to Elizabeth the First. She was seen at Court in a dress said to have cost one hundred and eighty pounds. Following the death of her brother she died of a broken heart ... | |
| Sir John Radclyffe | 1599 to 1627 | The tragedy of the passing of two young people so popular as his sister and brother had touched a ringing chord of sympathy in a wide circle of hearts, and John was made welcome not only for the fame of his name but also on account of his attractive personality, his proved valour in arms, and his private virtues ... |
| Sir Alexander Radclyffe KB | 1627 to 1654 | Alexander carried the purple robe at the coronation of King Charles the First in 1625, on which occasion he was made a Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, a notable distinction for one so young ... |
| John Radclyffe | 1654 to 1662 | John Radclyffe, the only surviving son and heir, succeeded to his meagre inheritance in his sixteenth year. He died without issue on 7th January 1695. The representation of the Radclyffe family main line thereupon devolved to his cousin, Alexander Radclyffe of Foxdenton ... |