A peel tower was built on the site during the 14th century.[1] It passed into the hands of the Sandford family and in 1575 Thomas Sandford had it substantially enlarged.[2] In 1730, with the death of William Sandford without male issue, it was inherited by his grandson, William Tatham. Tatham died childless in 1775,[3] when the house was sold to Edward Bolton, a Preston lawyer. When he died childless in 1803, it was inherited by his great nephew, the infant Edward Bolton King,[4] whose trustees sold it to William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale in 1815.[5] It became a rectory in 1828 and then became a residence of the Lowther family in the 1830s.[6] The 7th Earl of Lonsdale used it as his home after Lowther Castle was dismantled and closed in 1937.[1] Askham Hall became a Grade I listed house in 1968.[7]
Following the death of the 7th Earl in May 2006 the house has been owned by Caroline, Countess of Lonsdale.[8] In 2012 the Countess of Lonsdale and her children, Charles Lowther and Marie-Louisa Raeburn, arranged the conversion of Askham Hall into a boutique hotel.[6]
