FORGOTTEN MANCHESTER: The history of Heaton Hall

While Manchester’s Heaton Park is known best these days for hosting the annual (and very rowdy) Park Life festival, it actually holds a rich and fascinating history thanks to the prestigious Heaton Hall.

Located in the centre of the 600 acre park, Heaton Hall has long been a popular attraction to visitors wanting to absorb themselves in Prestwich’s history, with architecture fans in particular flocking to see the the original Etruscan architecture of the building that has managed to stand the test of time.

The architect behind Heaton Hall was James Wyatt, a man known by many in his time as one of the country’s leading Gothic Revival architects.

He designed the hall for Sir Thomas Egerton, who recruited Wyatt in 1772 after deciding he needed a more ‘fashionable, tasteful and up-to-date’ place to live after inheriting a plain mid-C18 house made of brick, three storeys and seven bays.

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Manchester History

Heaton Hall was designed with a painstakingly close attention to detail, and came complete with a number of specific features, such as a smaller library area reserved for the ladies.

The completion of the hall took place at a very gradual pace, with the central block and West Wing being completed in 1778, and the East Wing nearly a decade later in 1789.

Cleverly, the colonnaded wings mean that all the rooms are connected, making it easy for guests to pass through (ideal for the many parties Sir Egerton was prone to throwing).

Read More: FORGOTTEN MANCHESTER: The city’s other abandoned Victorian swimming baths

And as well as containing some unique features for its time, Heaton Hall also hosted some famous faces over the years, too; during its time as a country home, especially under the Egerton family, prominent individuals were known to gather and be entertained, including the likes of Charles Hallé, from The Hallé Orchestra.

It also has a loose connection to the late Winston Churchill; in 1916, the then 6th Earl of Wilton, Seymour Edward Egerton proposed marriage to Churchill’s first cousin, Clare Sheridan.

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Clare, who was ten years his senior, later got cold feet however, and dumped him to marry another aristocrat. Like I said, a loose connection to Churchill, but a connection all the same.

By the late 19th century, the hall was no longer used as a family home after being sold off by the Egerton family and, in turn, faced an uncertain future.

But it was all thanks to the goodwill of the public that a pressure group was formed, including the antiquary – and namesake of Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury – Alderman Fletcher Moss—persuading Manchester City Council to purchase the Grade I listed building as a museum and parkland when it went up for sale in 1902.

And today, Heaton Hall stands tall and gives Mancunians a glimpse into life in the 18th and 19th centuries, with much of its original design and decor remaining to this very day.

Visitors can tour staterooms like the dining room, music room, library and an Etruscan room. For more information and directions to Heaton Hall, visit the Manchester City Council website.