Haslington Hall
Encyclopedia
Haslington Hall is a country house located in open countryside 1 km to the east of the village of Haslington
, Cheshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building.
. They were destroyed in 1940 during World War II bombing of Manchester.
The manor of Haslington was acquired by the Vernon family
as a consequence of the 14th-century marriage of Sir Thomas Vernon to Joan Lostock, heiress of Haslington. The house was built by Admiral Sir Francis Vernon in 1545, and contains parts of the original medieval manor house
, which are said to date back to 1480. Additions and alterations were made to it in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries. It is claimed that some of the timbers used in the early phase of construction were salvaged from ships of the Spanish Armada
in 1588. In the late 19th century it was a farmhouse. In 1931 extensive repairs, alterations and additions were made.
and partly in brick, with a slate
roof. It has two storeys and six bays. The timber framed areas are decorated with herringbone bracing, quatrefoil
s and cusped concave-sided lozenge
s. The rear elevation is mainly in brickwork.
After the first World War
Air Commodore Dame Felicity Peake
, the first director of the Women's Royal Air Force
, daughter of Colonel H Watts, spent much of her youth living in the house. The house was bought in 1970 by the millionaire Tony Vernon who established Murray Vernon, one of the largest independent dairy companies in the country. He restored the house over the next thirty years. Following his death in 2005 the house was sold for £3m to Isaq and Nina Raja. It is now part of TailorMade Venues, an exclusive collection of venues for weddings and private functions.
Haslington
Haslington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about 2 miles north-east of the much larger railway town of Crewe and approximately 4 miles south of Sandbach...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building.
Early history
It is difficult to trace the early history of the hall, because all early documents relating to the hall were kept in a bank vault in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. They were destroyed in 1940 during World War II bombing of Manchester.
The manor of Haslington was acquired by the Vernon family
Vernon family
The Vernon family was a wealthy, prolific and widespread English family with 11th century origins in Vernon, France.-Vernon of Shipbrook, Cheshire:...
as a consequence of the 14th-century marriage of Sir Thomas Vernon to Joan Lostock, heiress of Haslington. The house was built by Admiral Sir Francis Vernon in 1545, and contains parts of the original medieval manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
, which are said to date back to 1480. Additions and alterations were made to it in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries. It is claimed that some of the timbers used in the early phase of construction were salvaged from ships of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
in 1588. In the late 19th century it was a farmhouse. In 1931 extensive repairs, alterations and additions were made.
Architecture
The house is built partly in timber framingTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
and partly in brick, with a slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. It has two storeys and six bays. The timber framed areas are decorated with herringbone bracing, quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
s and cusped concave-sided lozenge
Lozenge
A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...
s. The rear elevation is mainly in brickwork.
Recent history
Previous residents include Colonel H Watts and Mrs Lillian Watts, Mrs Watts was the first president of the Haslington and Crewe Green branch of the Women’s Institute founded in 1944. Confusion has arisen in several publications with Mrs Madge Watt, a Canadian lady who founded the Women’s Institute in Britain in 1915; she returned to Canada in 1919 and is unlikely ever to have visited Haslington.After the first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Air Commodore Dame Felicity Peake
Felicity Peake
Air Commodore Dame Felicity Peake DBE was the founding director of the UK's Women's Royal Air Force ....
, the first director of the Women's Royal Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
, daughter of Colonel H Watts, spent much of her youth living in the house. The house was bought in 1970 by the millionaire Tony Vernon who established Murray Vernon, one of the largest independent dairy companies in the country. He restored the house over the next thirty years. Following his death in 2005 the house was sold for £3m to Isaq and Nina Raja. It is now part of TailorMade Venues, an exclusive collection of venues for weddings and private functions.