Oulton Hall, Leeds, England

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Land in the Oulton and Rothwell area was bought over a period of years in the late 18th century by a prominent Leeds banker, John Blayd, who used Oulton House, the precursor to the present building, as a country retreat. At that time the land between the house and Oulton village was open common land. Blayd died childless and left the house and the land he had acquired in the area to one of the partners in the bank, John Calverley, who changed his name to Blayd in 1807. The area of common land around Oulton Hall was enclosed through an Act of Parliament which was given Royal Assent in 1809, and Blayd invited Humphry Repton (1752-1818) to Oulton in the same year. Repton produced a Red Book in 1810. The site remained in private ownership until it was turned into a hospital, mid-20th century. It was acquired by West Yorkshire County Council in 1974 and bought by Leeds City Council in 1984. The Hall is currently (1998) in use as an hotel and the parkland as a municipal golf course which was opened in 1993.