Morleys Hall, a moated hall converted to two houses, is situated at on Morleys Lane, on the edge of Astley Moss in Astley in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, England. It was largely rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

timber house. The hall is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and the moat a

scheduled ancient monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Morleys is a private residence.

History

The ''More-Leghe'' mentioned in documents in the early 13th century gave its name to the family who lived there until about 1381 when it passed to the Leylands. The Leylands remained at Morleys until the male line failed and passed to the Tyldesleys through Ann Leyland who married Edward, second son of Thurstan Tyldesley of Wardley Hall in 1550. Ann, daughter of Thomas Leyland, and Edward Tyldesley of Wardley Hall eloped from Morleys in 1547. Her father was not in favour of the romance as Edward was a second son with no prospects of an inheritance. Anne was locked in her room but escaped through the window with an improvised rope and joined Edward who pulled her across the moat and went to Wardley Hall and were married. The elopement became the subject of an unfinished poem by

Branwell Brontë Patrick Branwell Brontë (, commonly ; 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848) was an English painter and writer. He was the only son of the Brontë family, and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Brontë was rigorously tutored at ...

. Edward Tyldesley inherited Morleys in 1564. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the family of Sir Thomas Tyldesley were

recussant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

s and allowed Ambrose Barlow, a Catholic priest who ministered to those who kept the old faith in the Leigh parish, to say mass at Morleys. He was taken prisoner at Morleys on Easter Sunday 1641 by the Vicar of Leigh and a large mob and taken to

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...

where he was martyred. The Tyldesleys sold the hall to the Leghs of Chorley in 1755. The old hall and some land was bought by Josiah Wilkinson, who left it to his son John, the rest was purchased by Thomas Lyon. The Morleys estate was bought by Tyldesley Urban District Council in the early 20th century to build a sewage works.

Structure

John Leland visited Morleys in 1540 and referred to the house as "an all timber building on stone foundations which rises six feet above the water of a great moat". The hall was extended and rebuilt at various times during the 16th and 17th centuries. The houses, in a U-shaped plan, were rebuilt in brick in the early 19th century retaining parts of the earlier

timber frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) 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 ...

. One house is built in

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...

brick and one in English garden wall bond.

Moat

The moated site is scheduled monument which includes a slightly raised rectangular island measuring 46 metres by 34 metres. The waterlogged moat is between 12 and 15 metres wide and 3 metres deep fed by a spring from an inlet at the north-eastern corner and has an outlet at the south-eastern corner where it widens into a "Cheshire Bulge" probably a watering place for cattle. The island was originally accessed by a timber drawbridge replaced in late-medieval times by a brick and sandstone bridge. It is considered that archaeological evidence of earlier buildings will exist beneath the present house built in 1804 on the island.

References

{{coord, 53.4892, -2.4693, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester Houses in Greater Manchester Scheduled monuments in Greater Manchester Grade II* listed houses