The Parker family have lived at Browsholme (pronounced 'Brusom') since the 14C, and are thus one of the longest-established gentry families in the north of England. Browsholme, as it stands today, is a 16C house with certain 18C and early 19C alterations, in wooded countryside above the beautiful Hodder valley. Until 1975 it was in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The Parkers trace their descent from Peter de Alcancotes, who lived at Alkincoats near Colne in the mid 13C. His great-grandson, Edmund Parker, became park-keeper of Radholme Laund, one of the two great deer-parks in the Forest of Bowland. From 1380, Edmund's sons Richard and John leased land at Browsholme, and Richard Parker built a house not far from the present one. From then on, succeeding generations of Parkers lived here, through many vicissitudes, marrying into other landed families and holding the office of Bowbearer of the Forest of Bowland. In 1507 Edmund Parker built a new H-shaped house, the basis of the present building. His grandson Thomas purchased the freehold of the estate at last in 1603, and embellished the house, adding the columned frontispiece, and an extra storey with little gables. Edward Parker (d 1721) added the east wing, and carried out other internal modifications. His great-grandson Thomas Lister Parker (1779-1858) was the most original and interesting of the family. A friend of Turner, and many other artists, he spent money lavishly on paintings. At Browsholme he planted trees, landscaped the grounds, and rebuilt the west wing to designs by Jeffrey Wyatt (later Wyattville). Not satisfied with provincial life, he had a household in London, mixing in court society. All of this was beyond the means of a northern squire, and in 1824 he was obliged to sell the estate to his cousin and heir, Thomas Parker of Alkincoats. The present owner, who inherited in 1975, is descended from another line of the Alincoats branch of the family.
Browsholme is a tall house, facing south over lands and fields, built in red sandstone. What one sees is essentially of 1507, although much modified. The attic storey, was removed in the 18C so the house is three storeys high. In the middle, around and above the front door, is a frontispiece with superimposed columns of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, a provincial interpretation of Renaissance design, probably derived from the bigger gatehouse at nearby Stonyhurst.
Inside, the Hall is long, with a heavily beamed ceiling. It used to run the full length of the main wing, until the west part was divided off to form the Library in 1754. There is a great wealth of old English furniture, arms and armour, still largely as arranged by Thomas Lister Parker c 1807, as part of a conscious attempt to furnish and arrange his house in a historic, antiquarian manner. He adopted the same approach to the Library; a friend presented him with the fine panelling, dated c 1620, with its very unusual diagonal pattern, and here again he aimed to create a dark, romantically antiquarian atmosphere. The pictures include portraits by Arthur Devis, and the room has more of Browsholme's tremendous accumulation of historic objects, including Jacobite relics, a variety of archaeological finds, and elephant tusks. The Drawing Room is markedly different; this was formed in 1805 when Jeffrey Wyatt rebuilt the west wing. The shape of the room with its broad arches, is Regency, but the decoration is a very early example of Elizabethan revivalism. It is lined with paintings, mostly bought by its builder, a good illustration of Regency taste, including works by Northcote, Romney, Batoni, and Angelica Kauffmann. The Dining Room, next, was added as a new wing by T.L. Parker in 1807 to house his collection of paintings. Most of these had to be sold, but most of the original decoration survives, and the furniture is mostly of c 1810. The room is still lined with family portraits, including several by Sir James Northcote.
The Ante-Room has dark panelling, a carved overmantel, and more old English furniture. The watercolour view of the house before its Regency alterations is by Turner. At some point, corridors were built behind the long Hall range, doubtless to make a more convenient circulation plan; the ground corridor has armorial stained gIass, tapestry, and a variety of furniture. The main staircase is lit by a great window, filled with a jigsaw of medieval stained glass, said to be from Whalley Abbey, and there is more of the house's large collection of 17C furniture. The Yellow Room has 17C-style panelling, actually made by Richard Alston, the estate carpenter early this century, who also made the four-poster bed. The Velvet Room has another bed, reconstructed from 16C pieces by Alston, who also carved the fine chimneypiece. The Oak Drawing Room, also facing south, has fine bolection panelling with vigorous carving, in a provincial version of Grinling Gibbons' style; there are small 16C and 17C portraits, and a variety of furniture. The Oak Bedroom, also shown, also has panelling and a four-post bed restored by Richard Alston. The Back Staircase is of c 1711, contemporary with the east Wing. The house contains large collections of textiles, costume and ceramics, and it is to be hoped that it might be possible to display more of these at some point.
-- scanned from tear-sheets from an unidentified source. Proper credit is desired.
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