Also called Sefton’s Hall
Sephton’s Hall was the home of Evan and Margaret Mawdsley at the time of the 1841 census along with a number of their children. Henry Mawdsley, age 35, was also enumerated here although we cannot yet be certain of his relationship to Evan and Margaret. We believe this Henry was the future husband of Ellen Barton, and probably the mother of her children Ann and John Barton. We base this largely on the proximity of Sephton’s Hall to Grimshaw where Ellen lived in 1841, which we deduce from both the census takers route and from the early maps of the area. We don’t know conclusively whether this same Evan Mawdsley and his family were living at Sephton’s Hall at the time of the 1851 census.
Sephton’s Hall is shown on both the Hennet 1829 map of Skelmersdale and on the circa 1850 ordinance survey. It was located in the area of Skelmersdale now called Tanhouse, perhaps 500m southeast of the modern town centre. What was a rural, agricultural area in the 1850s is now a town and the area of Tanhouse contains residential housing. No trace of the original buildings remains. Grimshaw Delph (quarry), where Ellen Barton’s father was almost certainly the delphmaster, was located about 100m south of Sephton’s Hall.