Hathershaw Hall
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Hathershaw Hall is a 16th–17th-century
Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
building in
Hathershaw Hathershaw (or, archaically, Hathershaw Moor) is an urban area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside to the immediate south of Oldham town centre, and is bordered by the districts of Coppice and Fitton Hill to, respe ...
,
Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...
,
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
, England. The present structure is the single surviving range of a once considerably larger manor house. It is situated in what was the
historic History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
county of
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 ...
.


Description

Hathershaw Hall is a long, low, two-storey stone house standing back from Hollins Road; it faces south across an open space surrounded by a dry-stone wall. It comprises two distinct sections, the older is believed to date from the end of the 16th century, the more recently constructed eastern end the result of a rebuild a century later. The original section is of unremarkable
vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...
and difficult to date accurately. The site was occupied by a
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
in the 15th century, and part of the hall's structure may be from that building. Its older portion is about in length with a slightly projecting wing at the west end. The east end appears to have been rebuilt in 1694 in a more regular and grander manner. It is taller with
quoins Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...
at the angles and square-headed two-light windows, each with a centre
mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
and transoms. The floor-line is marked by a
string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...
, below which the walling is of large square blocks, and above it of narrower stones. This portion of the building is about long. The roofs of the two parts are at different levels, and covered with grey stone slates and stone ridge tiles. The
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
ends are surmounted by ball-shaped, ornamental stone
finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...
s retained from the original structure.


History

The present building is a fragment of a more extensive complex of buildings, most probably arranged around a central courtyard. Following abandonment by wealthy owners, much of the original hall was demolished and the remaining portion was divided into five cottages. When the hall was divided many traces of its original appearance were lost. It was in a decayed condition in 1826. By repute the hall was the home of a 17th-century
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
family who lost part of its possessions as a result of the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. For many generations it was the home of the Sandford, or Sandiford, family.''The Builder'' Vol. 59, 1890, p. 13 The Sandfords owned the house in the 17th century and were presumably Royalists. In the 18th century, it was acquired by the Sidebottoms and Alexander Radclyffe Sidebottom was the owner in 1856. In the 1970s, the building was extensively renovated and many of the changes that were made when the hall was divided into cottages were reversed. It now comprises a large house with the westernmost portion a separate cottage; the whole building is privately owned. Hathershaw Hall is one of very few buildings in Oldham built before the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
.


See also

*
Listed buildings in Oldham Oldham is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, and it is unparished. The town and the surrounding countryside contain 102 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of the ...
*
Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester There are 238 Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester, England. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural si ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


Description with a photograph of Hathershaw Hall
Houses in Greater Manchester Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester