History of Lyme

The Library at Lyme Park, Cheshire. | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

Discover 600 years of history at Lyme. Unlike many great estates, Lyme was a much-loved home to generations of one family and their valued and loyal workers. Living through England's most troubled times, the Legh family hung on to their home and (mostly) their heads, and this impact can still be seen across the estate today.

The origins of Lyme – the making of a myth

The story of Lyme begins at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, during the Hundred Years War between England and France. Thomas Danyers helped to save Edward III’s son, the Black Prince, from attack and rescued the royal standard. As a reward, he was promised a piece of land. This was granted to his grand-daughter Margaret and her husband Piers Legh I in 1398. The first house that was built here was used for nearly 200 years as a secondary residence.

This founding story of Lyme was told and retold to assert the Leghs' aristocratic pedigree over the centuries. Peppered throughout the house are references to this tale such as a portrait of the Black Prince in the Entrance Hall and a heraldic distinction granted by Queen Elizabeth I, a severed arm holding the standard, which can be found in many of the rooms.

Development of the present house

Lyme has been designed on a grand scale, with changes and additions by successive generations.

In the Tudor times, it was Sir Piers Legh VII who decided to make Lyme his main family home. The Elizabethan house that forms the core of the present house was built for him in the late 1500s.

Peter Legh XII transformed the house into a Georgian mansion in the 1720s-30s. He commissioned the Italian architect Giacomo Leoni, who designed the courtyard and the iconic south front in the Italian Renaissance style (Well over 200 years later, the view of the south front became famous as the exterior of Pemberley, Mr Darcy’s home in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice.)

In the early 1800s Thomas Legh commissioned Lewis Wyatt to further overhaul the house. Wyatt was conscious of the ancient English origins of the house and family, and gave prominence to these in his interior decoration.

The last Leghs of Lyme

The first world war changed everything, not just because so few men returned from the trenches but because of the sweeping social changes it ushered in. During this period the landed gentry were faced with rising tax bills and declining farm rents and for the Leghs the nationalisation of mineral rights in 1939 stripped them of income from their collieries. In 1946, The 3rd Lord and Lady Newton, Thomas and Evelyn, left Lyme to the as we know it today to the National Trust for the health, education and delight of the people of Stockport.

Lyme family tree

From warrior knights and fearless explorers to lovable rogues discover some of the characters who shaped Lyme.

A large cream dog with a square head and drooping face. — Lyme mastiffs were part of the family until the early 1900s. | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

The Agincourt survivor

In the early 1400s Sir Peter Legh II’s marriage to Joan, daughter and heiress of Sir Gilbert de Haydock, brought the Leghs the lands in Lancashire where they later established their coalmines, the source of their fortunes. Sir Peter II’s mastiff was said to have guarded him when he was wounded at the Battle of Agincourt. Lyme mastiffs were part of the family until the early 1900s.

A portrait of a white older-aged man with white hair and a beard in a silver tunic — Sir Peter Legh IX as an old man (1563-1636) | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

The Elizabethan courtier

Sir Peter Legh IX entertained many important guests at Lyme. His first wife, Margaret, can be seen in a beautiful portrait in the Grand Stairs. She was the daughter of Sir Gilbert Gerard, Elizabeth I’s Attorney General and Master of the Rolls. Sir Peter IX was a harsh father though: he cut off his eldest son for marrying without his consent.

A white middle-aged man with long brown hair and billowing sleeves — Richard Legh (1634-1687) | © Lyme Park © National Trust / Robert Thrift

The lucky boy

Richard Legh fitted up apartments for the visit of the Duke of York (later King James II), who hunted the stag at Lyme in 1676. With his wife Elizabeth, Richard presided over a happy and bustling household of thirteen children. He commissioned the carvings now in the Saloon. Although family tradition attributes them to the master carver Grinling Gibbons, they may have been created by a local craftsman.

Thomas Legh in Turkish dress | © National Trust / Paul Harris

The explorer

Thomas Peter’s eldest son, Thomas, was a traveller and explorer. He recorded many adventures in his account of his travels in Greece and in Egypt. Some of the antiquities he acquired can be seen at Lyme and his portrait in eastern dress hangs in the Grand Stairs. Ellen, his first wife, sadly died in childbirth, aged only 19.

Thomas Wodehouse Legh, 2nd Baron Newton (1857-1942) as a boy with his Favourite Mastiff, 'Lady' | © National Trust / Robert Thrift

The political power couple

In the early 1900s Thomas Legh, 2nd Lord Newton, was a highly regarded politician, becoming the Paymaster General in 1915 and was admitted to the privy council. Thomas considered himself part of a pair, attributing his success to his wife Evelyn, an intelligent and sociable woman who presided over large parties attended by many important guests.

The Hon. Phyllis Elinor Legh, Mrs Henry Gerard Walter Sandeman (1895-1986) | © Lyme Park © National Trust / Robert Thrift

A treasure of Lyme

The youngest daughter of Thomas and Evelyn, Phyllis Legh, recorded her memories of Lyme in Treasure on Earth, a beautiful account of a Christmas here in 1906, where she also paid tribute to the many workers who helped to make Lyme what it was. Her painting of the annual Servants’ Ball can be seen displayed in the Oak and Acorn suite.

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History of Lyme

1465

The Founding of Lyme – The Forging of a Legend

At the Battle of Crécy on August 26, 1346, King Edward III scored a decisive victory against the French, and his then 16-year-old son Edward won his spurs (i.e., the mark of knighthood). It was at Crécy that Edward of Woodstock, also then known as the Prince of Wales, became widely known as the legendary Black Prince, a commander of military ability, charisma, and cruelty.
During the battle, a French nobleman seized hold of the Black Prince’s standard. Sir Thomas Danyers is said to have then rescued the standard from the hands of the enemy. As a reward for his loyalty to the crown, Danyers was given the lands of Lyme Handley.

Margaret Legh (née Dayners) later inherited the Lyme Handley from her father and in 1398, her marriage to Sir Piers Legh I forged Lyme into the Legh family history. Generations later, Sir Piers Legh VII, made Lyme a home, turning the humble hunting lodge into a grand country estate.