“The Oaks” Bromley Cross, Bolton

The first house on the site was built by the Quaker mill-owner John Ashworth senior in 1820. Set on a hill overlooking his New Eagley Mill, on an estate that, with the Great and Little Oaks Farms, extended to 102 acres. As shown on a lithograph of Eagley Mills in 1830, the house was of three bays with central porch and tripartite windows (possibly the ruins marked on the 1844 OS map). Henry Ashworth moved into the house following his marriage in 1823.

In 1838-1841 he built a new larger house on the site to the designs of Richard Lane. This new mansion was of five bays and twelve bedrooms. The new house a fairly plain entrance front with a Greek Doric porch on the landward side, and a more imposing front with a central three bay pediment supported on Ionic pilasters overlooking the valley. Henry Ashworth entertained extensively, attracting a range of discerning and intellectual guests. The Oaks estate offered walking, fishing, shooting and boating on the reservoir. In addition, the house offered a large wine cellar and extensive library which also appealed to the guests. Cobden stated that the billiard table “was the best piece of furniture in the house.” He remained at The Oaks until his death in 1880, his wife having died in 1868

Access to the Oaks was by private drive from Bradshaw Brow with a bridge over the railway. An existing stone-build lodge at the exit to Canon Slade School appears to date from the re-building and may thus have been designed by Richard Lane.

The house was demolished in 1956, the land now being part of the Cannon Slade School site. Plans in Bolton Library - Ashworth papers. From 1898 the Ashworth family was included in Burke’s Landed gentry.