Dovenby Hall from Historic England
Dovenby Hall description by Tanja Watson on Historic England website
In 1930, Dovenby Hall was purchased by the Joint Committee for Carlisle, Cumberland and Westmorland from Colonel Ballantine Dyke. The Hall was turned into a hospital for people with learning difficulties. Over the years the hospital was slowly expanded and eventually had accommodation for 400 patients, but it closed in 1996 or 7 and the Hall was put up for sale by the health authority. The last three remaining patients, who had spent a combined 163 years at the Hospital, died shortly after being sent to private nursing homes.
The Dovenby railway took the coal to Maryport and Workington; Dovenby Hall had its own private station, complete with tickets and a ticket master. Although the railway line is no longer there today, the old station building still remains. The mine and railway closed around 1930, but the course of the railway can be followed through the countryside near the Hall and so can the footpaths that the miners took.
After the estate was purchased by Malcolm Wilson (rally driver), an extension and restoration project which received a Civic Trust Award was carried out. Part of the hall’s interior was converted into office space. A new 5500 sq metre car workshop was built, a new access road and a lake were made. It was completed in 2001 and officially opened by Prince Charles.
In December 2012, former staff and patients from the hospital created a book of memories to record its history, available on BBC news website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-20582119
The house came into the ownership of the Dykes family in about 1800. One of the rooms in the rear of the Hall is panelled with oak. This work was done during the Dykes’ occupation (1791 onwards) and their family motto is carved on the fireplace – Prius frangitur quam flectitur – meaning ‘You may sooner break than bend me’.
One of the Dykes was a great card player and he gambled the Estate on a single stake on a single card game. After a tense game of Putt, he eventually won on the very last deal and retained Dovenby Hall. In remembrance, he had sculptured the figure of a card deuce – part of which is on the north-facing wall at Dovenby. The house was remodelled for the Ballentine-Dykes family in the early 19th century.
Dovenby Hall has served as a private residence (1154 – 1930), a mental institution (1930–1997), and, since 1998, as the headquarters for M-Sport – Ford Motor Company’s World Rally Championship team.
The oldest part of the estate, the Peel Tower, dates from early Norman times and was built in the twelfth century from stones taken from the Roman road that ran through the village from Maryport to Papcastle. Peel towers were small fortified keeps that were built along the English and Scottish borders, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger.
The front arch of the main house dates to the 16th century and was built by the Lamplugh family, who first came to Dovenby in 1400. The extension at the rear of the Hall was built by Richard Lamplugh of Ribton after his marriage to Mary Molyne and is believed to date from the late seventeenth century. This part of the Hall contained the kitchen and staff quarters and a couple of living rooms for the family.
The Dovenby railway took the coal to Maryport and Workington; Dovenby Hall had its own private station, complete with tickets and a ticket master. Although the railway line is no longer there today, the old station building still remains. The mine and railway closed around 1930, but the course of the railway can be followed through the countryside near the Hall and so can the footpaths that the miners took.
After the estate was purchased by Malcolm Wilson (rally driver), an extension and restoration project which received a Civic Trust Award was carried out. Part of the hall’s interior was converted into office space. A new 5500 sq metre car workshop was built, a new access road and a lake were made. It was completed in 2001 and officially opened by Prince Charles.
In December 2012, former staff and patients from the hospital created a book of memories to record its history, available on BBC news website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-20582119
The house came into the ownership of the Dykes family in about 1800. One of the rooms in the rear of the Hall is panelled with oak. This work was done during the Dykes’ occupation (1791 onwards) and their family motto is carved on the fireplace – Prius frangitur quam flectitur – meaning ‘You may sooner break than bend me’.
One of the Dykes was a great card player and he gambled the Estate on a single stake on a single card game. After a tense game of Putt, he eventually won on the very last deal and retained Dovenby Hall. In remembrance, he had sculptured the figure of a card deuce – part of which is on the north-facing wall at Dovenby. The house was remodelled for the Ballentine-Dykes family in the early 19th century.
Dovenby Hall has served as a private residence (1154 – 1930), a mental institution (1930–1997), and, since 1998, as the headquarters for M-Sport – Ford Motor Company’s World Rally Championship team.
The oldest part of the estate, the Peel Tower, dates from early Norman times and was built in the twelfth century from stones taken from the Roman road that ran through the village from Maryport to Papcastle. Peel towers were small fortified keeps that were built along the English and Scottish borders, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by the garrison to warn of approaching danger.
The front arch of the main house dates to the 16th century and was built by the Lamplugh family, who first came to Dovenby in 1400. The extension at the rear of the Hall was built by Richard Lamplugh of Ribton after his marriage to Mary Molyne and is believed to date from the late seventeenth century. This part of the Hall contained the kitchen and staff quarters and a couple of living rooms for the family.
Maps of Dovenby 2022
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