Memory Lane
New Hall, near Ribchester
This picture, from the collection of Margery Wordsworth, is of New Hall near Ribchester, a house with a lot of history.
Roy Skilbeck, Chairman of the Ribchester Local History Society, says New Hall was built by the Talbot family in 1665 - the dog above the door is the Talbot family crest. An earlier member of the family, Sir John Talbot of Salesbury, had attempted to ambush several parliamentary leaders during the English Civil War. The parliamentarians escaped, though, and returned with reinforcements, killing Sir John and the other plotters and seizing his property.
The man in this picture is George Holden, whose daughter was married to Richard Barnes, who farmed at New Hall in the early 1900s. Later, the house fell into disrepair and was only restored towards the end of the last century.
Colin Hinkley, Ribchester Local History Society
This article was first published in the Memory Lane column of the Longridge News and is reproduced here with permission.