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Eccles & District History Society
www.https://edhs.chessck.co.uk
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Worsley Old Hall
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Worsley Old Hall
The hall still lies between the A580 and Leigh Road, to the west of Walkden Road. Described in the Victoria County History as -
“A picturesque low two-storyed building, partly of wood and plaster and partly of brick, but has been so much altered that it has now little or no architectural interest. It makes a very charming picture, however, with its level lawns, ivy-covered walls, and contrasts of colour in black and white work, red brick chimneys and grey-slated roofs.”
The hall dates from the fifteenth century and was probably built by the Massey family, the then Lords of the Manor of Worsley. Worsley, and with it the hall, passed from the Masseys to the Breretons, and then in the seventeenth century to the Egertons.
John Gilbert lived at the hall from 1759, after he came to Worsley as the agent to Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, and it was in the hall that Gilbert, James Brindley and the Duke met to discuss their canal strategy. When the Brick Hall was completed John Gilbert took up residence there and the Old Hall was used as estate offices. It was then let to tenants until it was completely renovated and became, in 1855, the home of Algernon Egerton, son of the 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
Alterations and additions continued into the early 1900s. The hall continued to be occupied, residents included Walter Longley Bourke, Superintendent of the Bridgewater Trust, and Viscount Brackley, eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Ellesmere.
The Egerton family sold their Worsley estates in 1923 and the Old Hall along with everything else became the property of the Bridgewater Estates Limited. It became offices for Manchester Collieries and then the NCB, and for a time was used by W.S. Atkins, consultants for SELNEC Transport. In 1971 it became a restaurant specialising in Jacobean banquets, these continued until 1994. Peel Holdings plc and Whitbread Ltd redeveloped the hall and farm. The Old Hall farm became the basis for the Manchester Marriot Hotel and Country Club and the Old Hall a Brewers Fayre Restaurant, both opening in 1998.
This website was last updated in March 2024.
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