Perhaps I am wrong but I have always known it as Allerton Hall, the one-time home of the Mowbrey and Stourton family, holders of the title reputed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Baronetcy in England.

Just after the last war, the then Lord Mowbrey was a bit of an eccentric, who also enjoyed a drink and would often drive his Rolls early morning into Knaresborough market to sell rabbits caught on the estate. As a dispatch rider for the Royal Signals in the mid 1940s, the old gentleman once nearly ran me off the road near Green Hammerton, driving the same Rolls. After recovering from the shock I assumed he had probably had
one too many or that he was just not a very good driver.

The old boy was also reputed to have had an eye for the ladies.

After the title passed to his heir, the hall was sold (no doubt as a result of death duties) or rented and used as a retreat by the Catholic Church. It was later bought by a wealthy American who sold the contents by auction. A magnificent chandelier and many other valuable items brought hundreds of visitors to a very successful sale in the Hall itself.

Now being used for weddings and other functions, the funds will be provided to preserve this magnificent stately home for many years to come.

But be it Hall or Castle, one might wonder what connection – if any – it and the title had with the Stourton in Hunslet, south Leeds. Perhaps none but there is reason enough for conjecture, as Allerton Castle and Sourton in Hunslet are as far apart socially as it is possible to be.

E A Lundy, Beeston