Stayley Hall, also known as Staley Hall, is a

Grade II* 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 ...

listed building in

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

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.

History

The structure dates back to at least the early 15th century. The first records of the ''de Stavelegh'' family as

Lords of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of Staley date from the early 13th century. Stayley Hall was their residence. The hall is referred to in the diaries of Sir Ralph Staley (Stavelegh) in the early 15th century. The hall was originally

timber framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

, but was stone-clad during the 17th century. It is situated on a

knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, ...

, making defence of the building a relatively easy affair. The external walls and the roofing slabs are made from locally quarried

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for ...

. The inside of the building has been altered as parts of it were let as cottage

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

s and the plaster has fallen off showing the original lattices of

wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

work and clay daub. Part of the staircase still remained in 1871, although the floor was dilapidated even then. Sir Ralph Staley had no male heirs and after his death his daughter, Elizabeth Staley, married Sir Thomas Assheton, uniting the manors of Ashton and Staley. Elizabeth and Thomas had no sons. Margaret, the eldest of their two daughters married Sir William Booth of

Dunham Massey Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouses and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Hall and Park, formerly th ...

. The younger daughter Elizabeth was widowed and without children. She continued to live at Stayley Hall until her death in 1553. In her will she left her share of the lordships of Ashton and Staley to the Booths. The hall remained in the possession of the Booth family until the death of

George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (2 May 1675 – 2 August 1758) was an English peer and landowner, who amassed a fine collection of silver. Life Born at Mere Hall, Cheshire, on 2 May 1675, the second son of Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warri ...

on 2 August 1758. Upon his death, the Earldom of Warrington became extinct. His only daughter, Lady Mary Booth, who was the wife of

Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford Harry Grey, 4th Earl of Stamford (18 June 1715 – 30 May 1768) was an English peer, styled Lord Grey from 1720 to 1739. Biography Harry Grey was born at Enville Hall, the eldest son of Henry Grey, 3rd Earl of Stamford. He was educated at R ...

, inherited all the Booth estates. The hall was then owned by the Grey family until the extinction of the

Earldom of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, ...

on the death of

Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford Roger Grey, 10th Earl of Stamford (27 October 1896 – 18 August 1976) was an English peer. He took his seat in the House of Lords on 19 March 1919, but he rarely sat in the House. Life and activities Born in London on 27 October 1896, he was ...

in 1976.

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

visited Stayley Hall in 1745 and a commemorative stone tablet was placed on the hall's wall around the time of the visit. In 2004 the

Metropolitan Borough Council A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropol ...

announced that they had granted permission to a developer to build 16 homes next to Stayley Hall. A condition of the planning consent was that the hall be restored. The developer converted the hall and outbuildings into houses and apartments, most of which are now occupied.

References

External links

Buildings at Risk registerFlickr 'buildings at risk' image gallery/group.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stayley Hall Country houses in Greater Manchester Structures on the Heritage at Risk register Buildings and structures in Tameside Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester Stalybridge

History

See also

References

External links