Smithills Hall The Great Hall (19216408118)

Smithills Hall Withdrawing Room (113838925)

Smithills Hall is a Grade I listed

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 held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, and a

scheduled 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 ...

Smithills Smithills is a mainly residential suburb of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is northwest of Bolton, south of Blackburn and northwest of Manchester. Smithills lies on the lower south facing slopes of the West Pennine Moors. Toponymy T ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England. It stands on the slopes of the

West Pennine Moors The West Pennine Moors is an area of the Pennines covering approximately of moorland and Reservoir (water), reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The West Pennine Moors are separat ...

above Bolton at a height of 500 feet, three miles north west of the town centre. It occupies a defensive site near the Astley and Raveden Brooks. One of the oldest manor houses in the north west of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, its oldest parts, including the great hall, date from the 15th century and it has been since been altered and extended particularly the west part. Parts of it were

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

ed. The property is owned by

Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Bolton Council, also called Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. It is a Metropolitan Borough Council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in t ...

and open to the public.

History

The name Smithills derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''smeþe'' meaning smooth and ''hyll'', a hill and was recorded as Smythell in 1322. Early

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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

records about the hall began in 1335 when William Radcliffe acquired the manor from the Hultons who held it from the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

. On Radcliffe's death in 1369 it passed to his son and heir Sir Ralph Radcliffe,

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanc ...

for 1384–1387 and twice MP for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. The Radciffes lived there until 1485, when the male line failed and Smithills Hall passed to the Bartons, wealthy sheep farmers who lived there for nearly 200 years. In 1659 the hall and estate passed by marriage to the Belasyse family. In 1722 the Byroms of Manchester bought the manor and kept it until 1801 when the hall and estate were acquired by the Ainsworths, who made their fortune as the owners of bleachworks at

Barrow Bridge Barrow rail bridge, (or the Barrow viaduct), is a pratt truss type of railway bridge that spans the river Barrow between County Kilkenny and County Wexford in the south east of Ireland. This rural landmark with a length of is the longest ...

. Around 1875 Richard Henry Ainsworth employed architect

George Devey George Devey (1820, London – 1886, Hastings, Sussex) was an English architect notable for his work on country houses and their estates, especially those belonging to the Rothschild family. The second son of Frederick and Ann Devey, he was bo ...

to extend and modernise the hall. In 1938 the Ainsworths sold the hall to Bolton Corporation. Parts of it became a residential home and day centre that closed in the 1990s. The oldest parts of the hall opened as a museum in 1963, and in the 1990s, the museum was extended into some of the Victorian extensions. The west wing was restored by the council in 1999, and is currently being restored to its former Victorian grandeur. The Devey Room was fully refurbished in 2018. Since 2017, the ground floor now also houses ''Poppins At Smithills'', a

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

themed

tea room A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

In 1554 George Marsh a preacher from Deane near Bolton was 'examined' at Smithills Hall, before being sent to Chester to be tried for heresy. He was found guilty and executed at Boughton in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. A footprint, supposedly left by Marsh, is said to bleed every year on the anniversary of his death (24 April). File:Georgemarsh Footprint1.jpg, Sign claiming the footprint of George Marsh File:Georgemarsh Footprint2.jpg, The supposed footprint

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

visited and described the hall when he was United States

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1855.

Architecture

Smithills Hall is built on a formal terrace, surrounded on all sides by parkland on the south side of a steep-sided valley formed a tributary of the Raveden Brook. The hall has three ranges around an open court. The oldest part of the structure is the great hall in the north range which was probably built in the early-14th century and once was surrounded by a moat. It has been altered but retains its original plan and medieval features. The oldest parts were built with timber frames and the oldest stonework is roughly coursed rubblestone. The 19th-century west wing is built in coursed, squared stone and has decorative timber framing. All the roofs are covered in stone flags.

Park and gardens

The gardens and pleasure grounds are on south facing sloping land on the edge of moorland with a steep wooded valley and lake to the north and formal gardens around the hall.

Television

Smithills Hall has appeared in several British television series: * 2005 -

Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. Following complaints, the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, ruled that it was an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and "should not be taken ser ...

, episode #85. * 2012 -

Great British Ghosts ''Great British Ghosts'' is a paranormal series that recounts stories of reported ghost sightings from some of the "most haunted" locations in the United Kingdom. It is presented by Michaela Strachan and was first aired on 18 August 2011. The firs ...

, series 2, episode 8. * 2015 - Mr Bloom: Here and There, Series 1, episode 7: Smithills Hall.

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links