Orchardleigh Estate

19th and early 20th century: Duckworth family

William Duckworth bought the Orchardleigh estate in 1855 and built the house in 1856. He was born in 1795 in Manchester. His father was George Duckworth who was lord of the manor in Over Darwen in the parish of Blackburn.^[9] When his father died in 1815 William and his brother Samuel inherited his estates. Samuel died in 1847 and as he was unmarried he also left his fortune to William. When William bought the Orchardleigh estate in 1855 he was an extremely wealthy man and was therefore able to afford the costs of the house's construction.^{[citation needed]}

In 1825 he married Hester Emily Philips who was the daughter of Robert Philips who owned an estate in Prestwich called The Park. The couple had four sons and one daughter. Their youngest son was Herbert who in 1867 married Julia Prinsep Jackson. They are both shown in a photo shortly after their marriage. The photo was taken by Leslie Stephen^{[citation needed]} the author and historian who at this time was a friend of Herbert. They had become friends when students at Cambridge ten years before. Herbert died in 1870 from appendicitis and Julia was left a widow with three young children: George, later a senior civil servant, Stella and Gerald, founder of Duckworth Publishing. She married Leslie Stephen in 1878 after his wife died. They had four more children one of whom was Virginia Woolf.^{[citation needed]}

William died in 1876 and his son Reverend William Arthur Duckworth inherited the house. He was born in 1829 and was educated at Eton and then went to Cambridge University. In 1859 he married Edina Campbell who was the daughter of John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell.^[10] The couple had five daughters and two sons. The eldest son Major Arthur Campbell Duckworth inherited the house when his father died in 1917. He married in 1897 Viola Davies-Evans who was the daughter of Colonel Herbert Davies-Evans.^{[citation needed]}

The couple had three children one of whom was Sylvia Duckworth. In 1924 she married Major Horton Fawkes and the reception was held at Orchardleigh. The wedding which had over 600 guests was reported in numerous papers with photographs.^[11] When Arthur Campbell Duckworth died in 1948 his son Arthur Victor Duckworth inherited the property.^{[citation needed]}

Later 20th and 21st centuries

In 1986, Arthur Duckworth died, and Orchardleigh was sold. Work started on redevelopment, but in 1989 the developer's loans were called in by the bank and work ceased for 13 years. In 1998 the Vincent family bought the estate and operate it as an events venue, and have undertaken restoration.^[12]