Wythenshawe Hall is a 16th-century medieval timber-framed

Timber 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...

 historic house

Historic house

A historic house can be a stately home, the birthplace of a famous person, or a house with an interesting history or architecture.- Background :...

 and former stately home

Stately home

A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...

 in Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe

Wythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester, England.Formerly part of the administrative county of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the 1920s to resolve the problem of its inner...

, Manchester

Manchester

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...

, England. It is east of Altrincham

Altrincham

Altrincham is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Sale and east of Warrington...

 and south of Stretford

Stretford

Stretford is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham...

, five miles (8 km) south of Manchester

Manchester

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...

 city centre, in Wythenshawe Park.

History

The half-timbered Tudor

Tudor architecture

The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 house was the home of the Tatton family for almost 400& years. It was built in about 1540 by Robert Tatton of Chester. During the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, the hall was unsuccessfully defended by Robert Tatton

Robert Tatton

Robert Tatton was the High Sheriff of Chester between 1645 and 1646. A supporter of King Charles I in the English Civil War, Robert is perhaps best known for the ultimately unsuccessful defence of his family home, Wythenshawe Hall, during its three-month siege by a Parliamentary force in the...

 against Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

's forces during the winter of 1643. After the war the Wythenshawe estate expanded to about 2500 acre.

In 1924 Robert Henry Grenville Tatton

Robert Henry Grenville Tatton

Robert Henry Grenville Tatton was the High Sheriff of Chester from 1936 until 1937. He was the last member of his family to own Wythenshawe Hall and its estate, the ancestral home of the Tattons for 600 years, and the last male member of his line.After selling his Wythenshawe estate to...

 inherited the Wythenshawe estate and yielded to pressure from the then Manchester Corporation, who were in need of land for housing. The corporation bought 2500 acres (1,011.7 ha) in 1926, and what used to be farmland became one of the largest housing estates in Europe. Wythenshawe Hall itself and 250 acres (101.2 ha) of its surrounding parkland were sold to Ernest Simon, who donated them to Manchester Corporation "to be used solely for the public good". The hall has been used as a museum since 1930.

The park now houses, amongst other facilities, a community farm and a horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 centre, to the east of the hall. Every June there is a re-enactment of the 1643 siege of Wythenshawe Hall by Cromwell's troops.

Wythenshawe Hall's Home Farm was west of the hall. Some of its structures have survived as park maintenance buildings, but many were demolished when the housing estate

Housing estate

A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...

s were built. The gatehouse at the north side of the park still stands.

Wythenshawe Hall was listed as a Grade II* structure in 1952. Its former stable block, to the west of the hall, was Grade II listed in 1974. A statue of Oliver Cromwell, about 328 feet (100 m) east of the hall, was Grade II listed in 1994. It was originally sited at the junction of Deansgate

Deansgate

Deansgate is a main road through the city centre of Manchester, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile long....

 and Victoria Street in Manchester, where it stood from 1875 until the 1970s. After being in storage for a number of years it was installed at Wythenshawe. The sculptor is Matthew Noble

Matthew Noble

Matthew Noble was a British sculptor.-Life:Noble was born in Hackness, near Scarborough, as the son of a stonemason, and served his apprenticeship under his father. He left Yorkshire for London when quite young, there he studied under John Francis...

.

Closure

The Hall is currently closed to visitors from the public due to spending cuts. One proposition is that Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...

 could sell the building to the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

.

External links

• Wythenshawe Hall - official site at Manchester Art Gallery