| Clayton Hall | |
|---|---|
 Clayton Hall in 2023 | |
  Location within Greater Manchester | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Clayton,Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°29′01″N2°10′46″W / 53.483513°N 2.17945°W /53.483513; -2.17945 |
| Completed | 15th century |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Clayton Hall |
| Designated | 25 February 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1197795 |
Clayton Hall is a 15th-centurymanor house on Ashton New Road inClayton,Manchester, England, hidden behind trees in a small park.[1] The hall is a Grade II*listed building,[2] the mound on which it is built is ascheduled ancient monument, and a rare example of a medievalmoated site (grid referenceSJ88099857).[3] The hall is surrounded by a moat, making an island 66 by 74 metres (217 by 243 ft).[3] Alterations were made to the hall in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it was enlarged in the 18th century.[2]
The building hasGeorgian andTudor sections which form the remaining western wing of a once larger complex. The hall is reached across the moat over a listed stone bridge, thought to be dated around the late 17th century.
The oldest section of the remaining wing of Clayton Hall was built in the 15th century on the site of a 12th-century house built for the Clayton family. When Cecilia Clayton married Robert de Byron in 1194 it passed to the Byron family, of which poetLord Byron was a later member. The Byrons lived there for more than 400 years until they sold it for £4,700 in 1620 to London merchants, George andHumphrey Chetham, who originated fromManchester. George Chetham died in 1625, leaving his share to his brother Humphrey Chetham, who later died at the hall in 1653. Ownership then passed to his nephew, George Chetham, son of his brother James and part of Humphrey's legacy was used by his family to foundChetham's School and Library in the centre of Manchester, close to thecathedral. This had long been a dream of Humphrey's, as depicted in one of artist,Ford Madox Brown's,Manchester Murals which are held in the Great Hall ofManchester Town Hall.
George Chetham was High Sheriff in 1660 and died in 1664. In 1666 James Chetham had 18 hearths liable forhearth tax, making it the largest house in the area. Clayton Hall then passed to Edward Chetham, and from him to his sister Alice, who had married Adam Bland. Their daughter Mary married Mordecai Greene, a Spanish merchant and their only son James was MP forArundel in 1796 and died in 1814. Clayton Hall then passed withTurton Tower, the other Chetham seat, to one of James' five daughters Arabella Penelope Eliza Greene, who had married banker Peter Richard Hoare.[4]
From 1863 to 1897, the hall was the rented to Lomax (1863–1867), W. H. Burns (1872–1890) and John White (1890–1897), clergy of St Cross Church. In 1897 the hall was sold by Charles A. R. Hoare to Manchester City Corporation and it was restored in 1900. The 16th-century part of the hall was rented to tenants. The 18th-century part contained the dining room, kitchen, larder,scullery and pantry. The oldest structure on the site is the sandstone bridge crossing the now empty moat. Dating from the late medieval era, it was built to replace the original wooden drawbridge.
During theCivil War, Parliamentary cavalry were stationed there, before the attack on Manchester. Afterwards, according to legend,Oliver Cromwell was said to have spent three nights there.[citation needed]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The left-hand section of the hall was converted into a hands-onliving history museum by five members of the Friends of Clayton Park volunteer group, in 2009. They eventually created six rooms, dressed in lateVictorian style, to depict the latest historical period in which the hall was privately owned. There is also a textiles room devoted to vintage garments and sewing techniques, with several antique hand- andtreadle-operated sewing machines. A memories room houses a large collection of local and British history materials.
The museum is currently open to the public, with free admission, on the first and third Saturday of months February though November. This includes free history talks about the hall and its owners at 12noon and 2pm.
School and group visits can be arranged, and family events take place several times a year. There is usually a small charge on these occasions, to cover costs, although some activities are free of charge.
The profits from the group's activities are used to help to preserve the hall for the future, and to enhance the visitor offer. The work of the Friends group is supported byManchester City Council, who still own the hall and grounds, and have granted a Licence for Use to the group and continue to be responsible for the fabric of the building, with some financial input from the Charitable Trust and its donors.
The co-founders of the museum formed The Clayton Hall Living History Museum Charitable Incorporated Organisation and gained registered charity status in 2014 - Registered Charity Number 1155379.
The older, 15th-century section was incorporated into the museum in 2017 and includes a first-floor room which is dedicated to the memory of Humphrey Chetham, as was originally stipulated when the hall was sold to Manchester Corporation, and a Clayton Hall history room. There is a ground-floorTudor tea room, also run by the Friends group, which is open on open days and other occasions throughout the year. The upper floor is reached by a spiral staircase which is housed in the belltower.
Clayton Hall was rebuilt in the 15th century with either aquadrangular plan or one with three wings. It was mostly demolished when a new house was built in the 17th century. Additions were made in the 18th century and the hall was restored in 1900.[5] Thegrade II* listed hall is constructed in red brick with some timber framing and stone slate roofs.[2]
The older single-depth portion has two bays on the ground floor and a front corridor, a plain doorway and two-lightcasement window. Its first floor has square-panelled timber-framing which may originally have beenjettied over the ground floor which is now rebuilt in brick. The upper storey has three woodenmullion windows withleaded glazing. Over the central window is a jettied gable with aking post and raked struts and on theridge is abellcote. The wing has agabled stair-turret and there is a large sandstone chimney stack with a brick top on the gable wall.[2]
The newer double-depth portion is constructed of hand-made bricks set inEnglish garden wall bond with stonequoins. It has a doorway with a segmental quoin stone surround and either side are pairs of diamond-paned casement windows. There are three similar windows of different sizes on the first floor. The rainwater heads are dated 1900.[2]
Thescheduled monument is the rectangular island measuring about 66 by 74 metres (217 by 243 ft) forming the moated site of the original hall. The monument includes the site of a late-14th/early-15th century chapel in the north-west corner that was demolished in the early 18th century. The island is accessed by a stone twin-arched bridge that replaced an earlier wooden structure. The hall and its associated buildings and infrastructure, fences and gateposts on the north-east of the island are not scheduled, nor is the moat which has been lined with concrete.[5]
