Buckley Hall was a

historic house A historic house generally meets several criteria before being listed by an official body as "historic." Generally the building is at least a certain age, depending on the rules for the individual list. A second factor is that the building be i ...

in Buckley near

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

which was the

family seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families t ...

of the Buckley family and later home of the Entwistle family. The building was a Catholic boys' orphanage from 1888 to 1947, when it was demolished; Buckley Hall Prison now occupies the site.

History

The surname Buckley in its various spellings was first recorded in the 12th century and was supposed to have descended from a supporter of

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

. The original Hall was in existence before 1626 and was demolished in 1860, and rebuilt to "the highest standards of opulence and comfort" by William Whitworth Schofield, a local mill owner.

Orphanage

After the death of the owner, William Schofield, in 1882, the Hall remained unoccupied for five years.

Herbert Vaughan Herbert Alfred Henry Joseph Thomas Vaughan (15 April 1832 – 19 June 1903) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death in 1903, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. ...

, the

Bishop of Salford The Bishop of Salford is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, Catholic Diocese of Salford in the Province of Liverpool, England. With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities o ...

, enlisted the help of the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity, an organisation already active in the welfare and education of children in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to initiate a similar service in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford The Diocese of Salford () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church centred on the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. The diocese was founded in 1852 as one of the first post-Reformation Catholic dioceses in Great Britain. Since 191 ...

. They agreed to do and eventually purchased the Hall as an orphanage in 1887. Following a year spent making alterations and adaptations to render the building fit for its intended use, the orphanage was officially opened in 1888 with 28 boys. Six months later, the number increased to 80 and the original building was extended. Subsequent increases required further building with extensions on a much larger scale to provide accommodation for a total of 300. This also involved the provision of premises for the industrial training of the boys, completed in 1905. The trades taught included plumbing, printing, bookbinding, joinery and woodcarving and boot and shoe repairs. The latter department also developed a manufacturing section which produced boots and shoes for the boys and members of the staff. Master craftsmen were employed in each of these disciplines in order to ensure that the boys received expert tuition. Extramural activities included the formation of a band and choir, both of which performed outside the orphanage, and the organisation of football and cricket teams. Thousands of Catholic boys lived there and many of them grew up, found jobs, got married and settled in

. Some, however, took ill and did not survive. They were buried in adjoining plots in the cemetery, along with some of Buckley Hall's teachers and servants. The last boy to die there was buried in 1941.

Prison

Although the orphanage ceased to exist in 1947? the buildings including Buckley Hall. Buckley Farm and Ball Barn Farm were later acquired by the Prison Service and operated as a senior detention centre for young men aged 18 to 21. Additional workshops and farm buildings were added in this period. The Hall and associated buildings remained intact until the site of the Hall and orphanage was redeveloped as a senior prison in the late 1980s /early 1990s. Member of staff 1968 -1979

References

{{coord, 53, 38, 6.9, N, 2, 8, 40.1, W, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Houses in Greater Manchester