Morleys Hall, a moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

ed hall converted to two houses, is situated at on Morleys Lane, on the edge of Astley Moss

Astley and Bedford Mosses

Astley and Bedford Mosses are areas of peat bog south of the Bridgewater Canal and north of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in Astley and Bedford, Greater Manchester, England. They are among the last remaining fragments of Chat Moss, the raised bog that once covered a large area of south...

 in Astley

Astley, Greater Manchester

Astley is a settlement within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, variously described as a suburb or a village. Astley lies on flat land to the northwest of the city of Manchester, and is crossed by the Bridgewater Canal and the A580 "East Lancashire Road"...

, Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, England. It was largely rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of a medieval timber house. The hall is a Grade II* listed building and the moat a scheduled ancient monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

. 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

Wardley Hall

Wardley Hall is an early medieval manor house and a Grade I listed building in the Wardley area of Worsley, in Greater Manchester . . There has been a moat on the site since at least 1292. The current hall dates from around 1500 but was extensively rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. The 1894...

 in 1550.

After the Reformation

Reformation

- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...

 the family of Sir Thomas Tyldesley

Thomas Tyldesley

Sir Thomas Tyldesley was a supporter of Charles I and a Royalist commander during the English Civil War.Thomas Tyldesley was born on 3 September 1612 at Woodplumpton, the eldest of the six children of Edward Tyldesley of Morleys Hall, Astley, in the parish of Leigh and his wife Elizabeth Preston...

 were recussants and allowed Ambrose Barlow

Ambrose Barlow

Ambrose Edward Barlow, O.S.B., was an English Benedictine monk who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is one of a group of saints canonized by Pope Paul VI who became known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales....

, a catholic priest who ministered to those who kept the old faith in the Leigh

Leigh, Greater Manchester

Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....

 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

Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle located in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of the River Lune. In 1164, the Honour of Lancaster, including the...

 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

Tyldesley Urban District

Tyldesley cum Shakerley Urban District and its successor Tyldesley Urban District was, from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in Lancashire, England.-History:...

 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. One house is built in Flemish bond brick and one in English garden wall bond.

The moat is medieval and crossed by a bridge constructed from sandstone and brick which replaced an earlier wooden drawbridge. The moat varies in width from 12 to 15 metres and is up to three metres deep. It is fed by a spring in its north west corner and there is an outlet at the south east corner where the moat widens.