PRN 36580 West Willoughby Hall was a 19th century house built by William Watkins for the Allix family. The house which Watkins produced for Allix in 1873 was built of Ancaster stone - from the quarries close at hand. It was large and, like most of Watkins' work, ornate, elaborate and expensive. Jacobean in style with a Frenchified air - reminiscent of Dutch and French Renaissance styles. In 1912 the estate was sold off to several buyers, except for the house and park. The house was rented then bought by the Rev. H.W.Hitchcock, acting as agent for his eldest brother. The house was put up for sale in 1928, remained empty throughout the 1930s. During the war it was occupied by the army and ill treated. It was rumoured that parts of it were used as target practice. It lingered on in ruinous state until 1964 when it was blown up using dynamite. All that remains is a stable block with a datestone of 1876. {1} A commodious house built in about 1873 in a flamboyant French style by William Watkins but somehow unloved and unfortunate all its life. It was left to moulder for years on end; wrecked by airmen, then soldiers in the Second World War; used for bombing practice by Mosquito pilots and finally blown up in 1963. Built for the Allix family, the stables survive behind the house. {2} A park is recorded on the first edition c.1880 Ordnance Survey and c.1905 maps at West Willoughby Hall, Ancaster. {3}{4} The stable block has been renovated and is now (2010) converted to a family home. The extensive grounds have been incorporated as the lawns of the dwelling. The foundations of West Willoughby Hall have been observed by the current occupier (2010) of the stable block during landscaping work that has taken place over the past eleven years. The foundations lie approximately 50 metres to the south-east of the stables. Some former lodges to the hall remain but have been in private ownership for at least thirty years. The front (south) elevation has had an entrance door added beneath a new central Dutch gable which complements the original two. At the rear, large wooden entrance doors have been added to enclose what was previously an open arch, linking the front of the stable building with the rear. {5}