Lowesby Hall, Leicester, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

The manor of Lowesby was purchased in the mid-17th century by Richard Wollaston (died 1691), a gun founder. His heir was his son Josiah, whose son Isaac (died 1737) was succeeded by his younger son Isaac, who on the death of his uncle in 1749 succeeded to the title of baronet. He died in 1750 and his wife in 1753, leaving as heir an infant son Sir Isaac Lawrence Wollaston. On his death in 1756 his estates passed to his two sisters, Sarah, later wife of Taylor White, and Anne, who in 1772 married Thomas Fowke (knighted 1777, died 1786). The family estates were divided by Act in 1777, and Lowesby was apportioned to Lady Fowke. The Fowkes remained owners until well into the 20th century. In 1910 Captain Harold Brassey, their tenant at Lowesby, brought in Edwin Lutyens (1866-1944) to alter and extend the Hall and to improve the gardens. Lutyens had built a Cotswold house called Copse Hill at Upper Slaughter for Brassey six years before. Lowesby remains (1998) in private hands.