Knowsley Hall

Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of parkland, Though the hall is still owned by the Stanley family, it is no longer a family home, Since 1953, it has been designated a Grade II* listed building.

Originally Knowsley was a medieval hunting lodge in the estate of Lathom House. It was inherited by the 10th Earl in 1702 who developed the lodge into a large house. A dairy (since demolished) was designed by Robert Adam, 1776–77. The house was given Gothic castellations and extended further about 1820 to designs by John Foster, William Burn (who provided a boathouse and bridges in the park) and other architects. In the early 20th century it was "tidied up" by W. H. Romaine Walker for the 17th Earl. After the Second World War, the buildings were considerably reduced by Claud Phillimore, and ceased to be lived in by the family. A smaller – but still substantial – family residence was built in the park. Thomas, the second Earl, fought with Henry VIII at the Battle of the Spurs in 1513. Ferdinando, the fifth Earl, was a poet and a patron of writers, including William Shakespeare. He held the position of Earl for only one year before dying from arsenic poisoning. The massive rebuilding of Knowsley in the early 18th century was carried out by James, the tenth Earl who had become wealthy through his marriage. Edward, the 13th Earl created a large library of works relating to natural history and was a champion of Edward Lear, whom he commissioned to paint animals from the menagerie. Edward, the 14th Earl was a politician who became Prime Minister three times. He was responsible for steering the Slavery Abolition Act through Parliament and in his third administration the Second Reform Bill was passed. Restoration of the hall has been continued by Edward Richard William, the 19th and current Earl and his wife, Caroline Emma Neville, daughter of the 10th Lord Braybrooke.

This section describes mainly the rooms which are normally open to the public. The Entrance Hall is panelled in carved oak and is hung with early 18th century paintings of the house and the park. The Grand Staircase has a collection of oil paintings on leather. The morning room is a light family room overlooking the gardens and parkland. The Breakfast Room has pale blue panels with paintings, one of which is a portrait of Charlotte, wife of the 7th Earl. The Walnut Drawing Room contains a number of portraits, including one of the second wife of the 12th Earl, the actress Elizabeth Farren. The library contains a collection of books on natural history brought together by the 13th Earl. The Stucco Room, decorated in Rococo style, was created in the 18th century to link the Royal Lodging with the rest of the house is now a ballroom with a sprung floor. The State Dining Room is hung with portraits of family members. The room was designed by Foster to look like a great hall with doors 30 feet (9 m) high and contains two Gothic fireplaces and an ormolu chandelier. It was reworked in 1890, adding a bay window, a carved dado and a roof consisting of a large rectangular lantern supported on brackets which is glazed round its sides. The hall now measures and is 50 feet (15 m) high. The park was landscaped in the 1770s by "Capability" Brown, who flooded a lake to feed the water gardens around the hall. The Octagon was built as a summer house in 1755 and designed by Robert Adam. The parkland also contains the highest point in Knowsley Unitary Authority, 100 metres above sea level, at SJ 456 943.

Apart from the Safari Park being a tourist attraction, the hall and its grounds are used for a number of purposes. The hall can be booked for conferences and corporate events, and for private events. It is licensed for weddings. Events are held in the grounds to raise money for local charities.