Winstanley Hall is a late 16th-century house in Winstanley, in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Mak ...

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 ...

(). It is listed as 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 ...

and a Grade II* listed building. Originally built for the Winstanley family, the building is one of only three Tudor buildings in the

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

History

The hall was built in the 1560s for the Winstanley family of Winstanley; the Winstanley family were lords of the manor since at least 1252 and may have been responsible for building the

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 ...

on the site. The Winstanleys owned the hall until 1596, when the estate was sold to James Bankes, a London

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

and banker. Winstanley Hall has three storeys and has a date stone with a date of 1584, but this is not

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

so may not provide an accurate date for the construction of the house. Extra blocks were added in the 17th and 18th centuries. Further and extensive alterations were made in 1811-19 by

Lewis Wyatt Lewis William Wyatt (1777–1853) was a British architect, a nephew of both Samuel and James Wyatt of the Wyatt family of architects, who articled with each of his uncles and began practice on his own about 1805. Lewis Wyatt is known primarily ...

in a Jacobean style. He moved the entrance to the left flank of the hall and replacing the original entrance with a window. The final additions to the hall were made in 1843 when an extra wing was added. To the south, on lands belonging to the hall, is a small stone building which was used to house bears that provided entertainment for the hall's guests. The Winstanley Family also owned the

Braunstone Hall Winstanley House in Leicestershire previously called Braunstone Hall, is a building of historical significance and is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1775 by Clement Winstanley and remained in this family for the ...

estate in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. The Bankes family retained ownership of the hall until the 21st century when it was sold for private development. The hall had been kept in good condition until the 1960s when the family moved out; it was last occupied in the 1980s. As the building decayed and the cost of maintaining Winstanley Hall was too much for the family, and was sold on in 2000 with 10 acres of land. It has been reported that the new owner intended to develop the hall into private flats, and that refurbishment was held up due to problems with planning permission, although it has also been reported that no application for planning permission has been submitted. The interior is now in some disrepair. Historic England have the hall on the Heritage at Risk register listing it in 2019 as in very bad condition and in the highest category of risk of further deterioration. Exteriors were used for the 1992 film Sherlock Holmes and the Mster Blackmailer. Shots of the then intact and unscaffolded fountain wth its magnificent prancing horses and Poseidon can clearly be seen in happier times.

Access

The building is currently owned and controlled by Dorbcrest Homes.

References

External links

Winstanley Hall photos on Wigan World
an
single photo
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more photos and discussion
* {{EHbarName, Winstanley+Hall Grade II* listed buildings in Greater Manchester Country houses in Greater Manchester Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Tourist attractions in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Scheduled monuments in Greater Manchester

History

Access

See also

References

External links