Country House

A day out at Hoghton Tower near Preston today, organised by the bank pensioners club.
There has been a building on the site since c1150 and it has been lived in by the same family ever since. Originally built by a Norman knight, the present building dates from Tudor times, with later Victorian additions. Following a visit by James I in 1611, the Baronetcy was created and it is now the 14th Baronet and his family who reside there.
We were fortunate enough that it was only our group which was there today, and we were given an excellent guided tour, with many fascinating and interesting anecdotes. Apparently, it is the third most haunted house in England, though I saw no ghostly apparitions during our visit!
As part of the “package” we were served a delicious buffet lunch following the tour. After two hours walking around the house, it was also nice to be able to sit down for a bit!
Sadly, we couldn’t go into the gardens as they were setting up for another event, so I had to settle for a picture of the imposing gate house. If you look very closely, you can see Mrs C on the other side of the gate, taking a picture looking out towards me!