FAMOUS MANOR HOUSE

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 May 1934, Page 9

FAMOUS MANOR HOUSE

HOUGH END HALL. MANCHESTER, March 25. Hough End Hall, one of Manchester's most cherished inheritances from the Elizabethan period, and Ute homo of one of England's earliest merchant princes, may shortly he scheduled as an ancient monument. For some, time negotiations have been proceeding between the present owner, Loid Egerton ol Talton, and the local officials of the Ancient Monuments Society, and I am informed to-day that an announcement on the subject may be expected very shortly. This is a matter of more than usual interest to Manchester, for Hough End Hall, the ancient manor house and the home of the Mosley family, is regarded with much pride.

This was demonstrated two .or three years ago when it was planned for a new by-pass road to run right through the hall, involving its demolition. Public opinion expressed itself so strongly that the plans,,were altered, and the road’ diverted to leave the ancient building unharmed. The hall was built in Js9(i by Mr Nicholas Mosley, who, like Dick Whittington, later became Lord Mayor of London. It was built on the site of a thirteenth century house at Chorlton, and among its earliest treasures was a carved oak bedstead and other furnishings which Queen Elizabeth bestowed on the builder. Sir Nicholas received his title for his services in raising men and equipping ships to meet the threatened Spanish invasion, but his chief claim to distinction lay in commerce rather than arms. HE BROUGHT COTTON. He is said to have been the first Manchester merchant to introduce into the city “cotton fustian of a kind of bombast or down, being the fruit of the earth growing on little shrubs or bushes, brought into this country from the Levant, and commonly called ‘cotton-wool.’ ”

He prospered from his enterprise, for on returning from the capital following the defeat of the Admada, he became High Sheriff of Lancashire, and the owner of nearly all the land to the south and south-west of Manchester. Externally, the hall still retains its old-world charm. Its chimneys are examples of a lost, art, the work, perhaps, of one. of those famous Shropshire craftsmen who have left us many examples of their skill. It was a builder of such chimneys as these who .although sentenced to hang, was temporarily reprieved in order that he might build the chimneys on his judge’s now mansion, being led off afterwards to execution. The fine old staircase and other work in old oak. were long since removed by the owners, but may still be seen at Tatton Hall.