Lune Villa, Skerton, was once a Georgian residence and surrounding estate that could be found over Torrisholme Road, opposite Ryelands House. It was demolished in the 1930s, making way for Ashton Drive and the surrounding streets. It was located where Peel Avenue is now, and some residents have found find clay pipes and parts of old toy cars in their garden soil.
A lodge for Lune Villa, originally built as a gardener’s cottage in 1860, still stands at 62 Torrisholme Road. Its deeds show piggeries and other farm buildings behind it. The nearby bus stop was once known as the “Lune Villa Corner”, although only older Skertonians will probably remember it as that. (Gradually, recalls former conductor and local councillor Charles Grattan, passengers began to request ”Torrisholme Road Corner”).
The house was built in the late 1700s built in sandstone, with hipped slate roofs, built in Neoclassical style, on the commission of Mr. John Cumpsty, of the old firm of Bradshaw and Cumpsty, drapers, Market Street. Mr. Cumpsty died on the 8th October 1815, aged 47. He was the son of William Cumpsty, who died 26th September 1803, aged 69.
The house was enlarged in 1883 by Paley and Austin. The practice specialised in work on churches; the design of new churches, restoring older churches, and making additions or alterations. They also designed country houses, and made alterations to existing houses.
Edward Graham Paley and his son, Henry Paley were also significant members of Lancaster’s Freemasonry, and Freemasons provided funding and support for their practice’s commissions, and the architects’ lodges were influential in the social and economic development of Lancaster.
The Red Rose Collection archive for the property note Lune Villa had an L-shaped plan over two storeys, with a three-storey tower at the north end of the wing. The entrance front of the main block was symmetrical with three bays, and a central Doric porch with four columns and a pediment. The south front had five bays, and most of the windows were sashes.
A Beatrix Potter Connection
Lune Villa was purchased by Abraham Wharton Crompton, a barrister, in 1815, who was Beatrix Potter‘s great grandfather. Crompton’s daughter, Jessy (Jessica) married Edmund Potter and their son, Rupert, was Beatrix’ father. Her great, grandfather reportedly searched the grounds for snails, which he enjoyed eating with parsley and butter. He is mentioned in the National Archives as living at Lune Villa.
The Lancaster Herald and Town and County Advertiser of Saturday 16th July 1831 notes the upcoming sale of Lune Villa at Lancaster’s Royal Oak Hotel (a subscription required to read this and other subsequent newspaper links), and the Preston Pilot of Saturday 6th August 1831 carried a report of the sale, both papers noting it followed the death of Abraham Crompton.
Robert Gawthorp became owner, mentioned in his will as “Robert Gawthorp of Lune Villa” in 1844.
The Kendal Mercury for Saturday 17th April 1852 carried a report that Lune Villa was advertised for sale following the his death, in an auction held at the King’s Arms Hotel on Tuesday 18th May 1852, describing the house as an “excellent freehold mansion estate”… “on an eminence commanding fine views of Lancaster Castle, the River Lune and the surrounding country.
“The House is Modern Built edifice, the article continues, comprising spacious Dining Room, Drawing and Breakfast Rooms, Entrance Hall, comfortable and extensive Bedrooms, with suitable and convenient Offices, including Hot-house, Coach-house, Stables, and other Outbuildings.
“The Gardens, Shrubberies, Plantations, and Pleasure Grounds, contain 13 acres of land statute measure and are tastefully laid out and well stocked with Fruit Trees in full bearing, luxuriant Forest Trees and choice Shrubs, in a high state of cultivation, the whole forming most compact and desirable situation for the Residence of a Genteel.”
The description was a near exact match for the sale details that must have attracted Mr Gawthorp to buy it in 1844, and the timeline of ownership suggests the Compton family repurchased the property,
Staff included Simeon Yewdall (1786-1859) a gardener, who lived in the still-standing Lodge in the grounds according to the 1851 census; and a coachman, Richard Smalley, who would, incredibly, go on to become its owner – and very wealthy to boot… but in later life, it seems, was not the happiest of men…
A Real Life Romance?
Richard Smalley was living at Lune Villa in 1886, mentioned in the National Archives and in local newspapers – but, initially, he only worked at the house.
Reports on his death in 1901 in various newspapers, such as the Lancashire Evening Post, picked nationally by titles as far afield as the Dundee Telegraph and Yorkshire Post, noted his life read almost like a “real life romance”.
“Mr Smalley, in his younger days, was a rather handsome coachman in the employ of Miss Crompton of Lancaster,” the Evening Post reported. “He became a great favourite with his mistress, and, in due course, wooed and won her. He was educated, and after marriage he settled down to the quiet life of a country gentleman, looking after the estate, and paying particular attention to his greenhouses. He interested himself public affairs a little, and for 17 years – up to 20 years ago – represented Skerton on the Lancaster Board of Guardians.”
Living with Emma Crompton was Louisa Hutchison, a married, crippled sister, and when she died, on 10th January 1881, she left the bulk of her wealth to her sister’s husband and former coachman. Emma also settled all her money on her husband, that at her death he was left a very wealthy man. He then married Miss Peacock, “a lady of reputed wealth”.
The Lancaster Standard and County Advertiser of Friday 22nd November 1901, however, dismissed much of the romance that had been attached to his name as “pure fiction”, offering a more down to earth account of his life as a local politician, prominent Unitarian and bird fancier, “known throughout the length and breadth of England, in consequence of his frequent successes at the Crystal Palace shows.”
Noting his death of, primarily, bronchitis, the paper outlined the 71-year-old’s life, a former Pilling resident first brought to public notice his Marriage to Miss Thornborrow (confusingly, in this report, not Crompton, the marriage in 1860 reported here in the Preston Pilot), “the owner of Lune Villa, by whom he was employed as coachman. He was then a fair-haired, good-looking young man, and while in his capacity as servant he wooed and won his mistress, who was some years older than himself.
“Mr. Smalley was educated, and in due course he interested himself in the local government of Skerton… His quiet, unostentatious manner secured for him the respect and esteem of his colleagues, and the confidence of the electors of Skerton, whom he represented. For a period of seventeen years he was associated with the Guardians, retiring 20 years ago, namely. in April, 1881.
Meanwhile, his first wife had died, and he had also benefited by the will of Mrs. Hutchinson, sister of Mrs. Smalley, who lived for a number of years at Lune Villa. About a quarter of a century ago, he married Miss Cox, of Liverpool, daughter of Mr. Cox. who used to live at Slyne Lodge.
(Again, do note his wife’s name varies between contemporary reports. Further research may be required!)
“By her, he had two sons, the elder, christened Arthur, dying in infancy, and the second [Frederick William Smalley, born 18th May 1879] being the present heir to the estate, who is now at Oxford, and has just come of age.
“Mr Smalley, who was septuagenarian, owned considerable property Lancaster and Morecambe, most of the land now being converted into the Heysham Harbour being formerly owned by him,” various papers reported on his death.”
Mr Smalley was reputed to have inherited considerable wealth the deaths of his two wives, and was the owner of much of the land converted into the Heysham Harbour Works. Illness, however – some papers suggesting also, a broken heart – saw him becoming something of a recluse, unable to undergo the strain of public life.
The Ornithologist
Soon after his father’s death in 1901, Frederick William Smalley sold Lune Villa and moved to Challan Hall, Silverdale, now a guest house overlooking Gait Barrows Nature Reserve, until the advent of the First World War, when he went to serve with the Artists’ Rifles, the regiment that would, much later, become the Special Air Service Regiment. An Artists’ Rifles Association continues to this day.
“The First World War would see the regiment literally leading from the front as they become a training regiment for officers in this period,” notes Gary Haines in an article for ArtUK. “It is also for this reason that the Artists Rifles also had one of the highest casualty rates of any regiment.
After the war, Frederick bought an estate in Suffolk, and later lived in London, before purchasing Edenbreck, in Lancaster.
A very keen naturalist for most of his life, perhaps influenced by his father’s love of birds, he assisted in the preparation of several books such as British Birds, particularly in connection with bird life in Britain’s eastern counties, and Scotland, his work published in Annals of Scottish Natural History. Frederick was also a Fellow of the Zoological Society and a member of the British Ornithological Union, who specialised in British birds and mammals.
The Historical Rare Birds information site notes his work as a taxidermist, who recorded the Orkney King Eider in 1906, and other birds such as the Outer Hebrides Gyr Falcon and Norfolk Cattle Egret. (Back then, studying birds seemed to go hand in hand with shooting them, based on his notes on studying the Ferruginous Duck in 1906!).
The state of Frederick’s health would not permit him to live in the North, and he moved to Norfolk, living at North Cove Hall, in Beccles, and spent the last few years of his life living in Brighton. He died in December 1933, aged just 53.
A Family Tragedy
Tragedy was not done with the family; a report in the Lancashire Evening Post of Friday 20th September 1935 carried a report on a gruesome end to his wife, Florence A. Smalley: victim, it was believed, to a hit and run, the driver trying to hide their action by hiding her body in a secluded spot off Clark Street, Morecambe. Her handbag was placed next to her with its contents undisturbed and she was still wearing her jewellery. She was 56.
The driver was never caught, but a leading local businessman was rumoured to be one of the main suspects, according to one contributor to a 2019 thread on the Facebook Lancaster Past and Present Group.
Before that, Florence had already returned to Lancaster with her son, Richard, presumably after Frederick’s father, who was completing his articles as a surveyor, and would become a member of the Borough Surveyors staff at Lancaster, working on projects such as the Langthwaite reservoir scheme. He was also vice-captain of the Vale of Lune Rugby Football Club, and an officer in the Territorial Division of the Kings Own Royal Regiment.
“Mrs. Smalley who lived at Barnacre, Meadowside, was well-known in Lancaster and moved in the leading social circles of the town,’ the LEP report notes, describing her as “an Oxford woman” who had led a very quiet life since moving to Meadowside, after previously residing at Edenbreck, at the other end of the town.
“She was a very charming personality,” neighbours, shocked to learn of her death, told reporters.
The End of Lune Villa Estate
The 13-acre Lune Villa estate stretched from near Pinfold Lane (now Owen Road) up to Barley Cop and across to Torrisholme Road, and included nurseries and stables.
The land was later was owned by James Williamson, who also owned Ryelands House, Ashton Hall (later, Lancaster Golf Club), Ellel Hall in Galgate, Oakenclough Estate near Garstang, Alford House in Knightsbridge, London, and The Bungalow, St. Annes. He spent most of his time in Ryelands House and London, dying aged 87, in May 1930.
Over 2000 people attended his funeral, and the procession snaked for over a mile past the Priory up to Lancaster Cemetery, where he is buried.
There is a common misconception that Ryelands was left to the city. While, in life, Lord Ashton did bequeath Williamson Park, to Lancaster, this is not the case for his Skerton properties. However, the then Lancaster Corporation was keen to encourage public suggestions for the Park’s future, the city’s ratepayers then seen by at least some councillors as the true owners of the land.
Despite surviving family – a widow, daughter and grandson, – Lord Ashton left no will, and it took until March 1934 for his estate to be valued at over £10,500,000. Eventually, after auctions of property, the state took half this sum in death duties.
(In September 1932, Lady Ashton, widow Lord Ashton, of Ryelands, Lancaster, became an honorary freeman of Lancaster – the first woman to be admitted to the freedom).
A report in the Lancashire Evening Post for Wednesday 28th January 1931, noted that on the death of Lord Ashton, the Estate, including Lune Villa, “and all his lands beyond the railway on the Morecambe side of the estate and land bounded by Scale Hall Lane” were offered for sale to Lancaster Corporation– now Lancaster City Council.
“Ultimately certain alterations took place with regard to the property available for disposal, and Lune Villa was withdrawn from the proposed sale.”
On Thursday 29th January 1931, such was the continued interest in the late Lord Ashton’s affairs, that even national papers such as the Daily Herald noted the sale of Ryelands House and the surrounding land for £38,5000.
The negotiations for sale were conducted by the administrators of Ashton’s Estate, Lancaster-based auctioneers Procter and Birkbeck.
The whole sale, including Dacrelands House, now Dacrelands Clinic, cost £38,500, encompassing about 60 acres of land, the Council looking to develop some of it for housing.
In all, the Corporation took possession of over 110 acres of land together with the mansion which, according to a report the same day in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, for example, constituted “an island bounded four roads, the main road north, two roads to Morecambe, and a fourth road leading from one to the other of the Morecambe roads.
“They purpose developing the 63 acres lying the west the L.M.S. main railway line for housing purposes in association with their five year scheme under which they are to erect a further eight hundred dwellings. The future of the mansion and park and grounds is a matter which will be decided in the near future. There is feeling in the town that the mansion should lie preserved as a memorial to Lord Ashton, and its environs and the park and grounds should be retained as an open space with playing fields.”
The following month, February 1931, the Corporation was ready to consult “the rate payers of Lancaster” on the future of Ryelands House when it took possession on 12th May. The Lancaster Guardian of 25th February 1931 reports the then Mayor, Councillor Hodgkinson, fully agreed with another councillor, Doctor Mannix “that the new owners of Ryelands, ratepayers of Lancaster, should be encouraged to take an interest in their new property”.
“I am sure there will be no lack of suggestions,” said the Mayor. “As for what Dr. Mannix has said I should think the sub-committee will deal with that. I can add that the public will not be debarred in any way from voicing its opinion as to the future of Ryelands.”
Tenders from builders to bid to build Ryelands Estate were published in regional newspapers in July 1932. Many were built cheaply, at a cost of £266 each.
By 1933, the Ryelands had become a public park. The House was used to provide meeting space for an “Aged Men’s Club”, the Skerton Women’s Institute, and other organisations.
By September 1938, during the run up to World War Two, the house was also utilised, among other things, as a storage facility for civilian gas respirators.
Alderman J.E. Oglethorpe was chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee and the Corporation sub-committee handling Ryelands related affairs, including the building of the Ryelands Estate. (His father, perhaps, is listed as one of those in attendance at the funeral of Richard Smalley in 1901). In newspaper reports, it’s noted he hoped that it was intended that some of the late Lord Ashton’s relatives would take up residence at Lune Villa.
In the event, Lune Villa was demolished, its demolition making way for Ashton Drive and the surrounding streets. Letters to Ashton Drive were once addressed to “Ashton Drive, Lune Villas”, recalls local resident Lynne Bean.
Lune Villa Estate
The development was the latest from Messrs J. Parkinson and Sons, Ltd., founded in 1881 by Mr. John Parkinson, the business continued by his sons, who had previously been the company behind the development of the Talbot Park estate in Bowerham, and were at work on the Parkfield Estate.
In a report in the Lancashire Evening Post for 15th March 1934, of the “Lune Villa Estate” it was noted “Messrs. Parkinson have planned to cater for the needs of that growing district by comprehensive scheme now being carried out by the building of houses fronting Torrisholme Road (which will ultimately be widened). In the near future a new bypass road to enable the operation of one-way traffic on the main north road parallel with Slyne Road will be the culmination of a building project which will involve two road junctions, and the provision of 194 houses, the bulk of which will be the popular type, with a living room, three bedrooms, scullery, and bathroom, and others of a larger style will have the additional convenience of drawing-room.”
Larger houses that were part of the planned development would, readers were told, cost some £680 and £880. “So keen has been the demand for houses on the Lune Villa Estate that already 90 have been sold.”
The history of Lune Villa itself may have long ended, but it left quite the legacy… if little known.
Further Reading…
• Links to newspapers throughout this feature are to the British Newspaper Archives, a subscription service that makes for fascinating reading
• The Influence Members of Freemasons’ Lodges in Lancaster had on its Social and Economic Development from 1848-98 by Christopher Martin Brown (PDF) – thanks to Charley Rattan for this link)
Some photos via the Red Rose Collection, as acknowledged; both were taken by by Sam Thompson, a Lancaster photographer whose work won acclaim and recognition, nationally and internationally, far beyond the confines of his native city
• There are copies of the 1883 Paley & Austin extension plans in the Lancater University Special Collections (Acc/2010/1/11)
Sources: Lancaster Museum, The Red Rose Collection | Maps previously posted by Steve Duckles and Jez Reay on the Facebook Lancaster Past and Present group | Previous posts on Lancaster Past and Present, with thanks in particular to Pat Jackson, and Jackie Parkinson-Winter Brown, for owner information
I’ve tried to acknowledge those in the Lancaster Past and Present group who previously contributed long items about Lune Villa to this group, sorry if I missed someone.
Comments and corrections welcomed!
This article was last updated on Thursday 25th September 2025, adding information on the death of Lord Ashton