Bramall Hall
Bramall Hall from the west. This is the main entrance side. The courtyard can be seen, as well as the north and south wings. In the centre is the Great Hall.
Shown within Greater Manchester
Building information
Town	Bramhall, Greater Manchester
Country	England
Coordinates	53°22′27″N 2°09′60″W / 53.374055, -2.16653Coordinates: 53°22′27″N 2°09′60″W / 53.374055, -2.16653
Construction start date	14th Century
Structural system	Timber framed
Style	Tudor

Bramall Hall (often misspelt as Bramhall Hall)^[1] is a Tudor mansion located in Bramhall, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Bramhall is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. Greater Manchester is a Metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Timber framing (Fachwerk or Half-timbering, is the method of creating framed structures of heavy timber jointed together with pegged Mortise and tenon joints The Tudor style in architecture is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period (1485&ndash1603 and even beyond for conservative college The Tudor style in architecture is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period (1485&ndash1603 and even beyond for conservative college A mansion is a large dwelling House. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus (the perfect passive participle Bramhall is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. Stockport ( is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the influx of the rivers Goyt Greater Manchester is a Metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2 England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is a timber framed manor house located in the middle of 70 acres (28 ha) of landscaped parkland featuring lakes, woodland walks and gardens. Timber framing (Fachwerk or Half-timbering, is the method of creating framed structures of heavy timber jointed together with pegged Mortise and tenon joints A manor house or fortified manor-house is a Country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor (see Manorialism The acre is a unit of Area in a number of different systems including the imperial and U Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture, ^[2] Dating back to Saxon times, the hall has passed through the hands of the families Massey, Davenport, Nevill and Davies. Today it is run by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, and the hall and grounds are open to the public. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the Local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.

The oldest parts of the hall date from the 14th century, and it is constructed of oak timber framing, which was originally infilled by wattle and daub. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Wattle and daub (or wattle-and-daub) is a Building material used for making walls in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed The building also has motifs from the Victorian era. In art a motif is a repeated idea pattern image or theme Paisley designs are referred to as motifs

Today the hall functions as a museum, and guided tours are available. Bramall also provides an extensive education service in conjunction with local schools, and there are regular special events that give visitors the chance to experience what Tudor life may have been like. ^[3]

History

Bramall Hall from a postcard in 1819. At this time, it had yet to get its current black and white appearance.

The manor of Bramall dates from the Saxon period, when it was held as two separate manors owned by two Saxon freemen, Brun and Hacun. The History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of Early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon In 1070, William the Conqueror subdued the north-west of England, and divided the land among his followers. William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages The manor of "Bramale" was given to Hamon de Massey, who eventually became the first Baron of Dunham Massey. The first Hamon de Massey was the owner of the manors of Agden, Baguley, Bowdon, Dunham, Hale and Little Bollington Dunham Massey is a Civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England ^[4] The earliest reference to Bramall was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bramale", a name derived from the Old English words brom meaning broom, both indigenous to the area, and halh meaning nook or secret place, probably by water. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey Brooms are a group of Evergreen, semi-evergreen and Deciduous Shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the Legume family Fabaceae De Masci received the manor as wasteland, since it had been devastated by William the Conqueror's subdual. By the time of the Domesday survey, the land was recovering and cultivated again. ^[5]

De Bromales

The founder of this family was probably a follower or relative of the first Hamon de Massey. About the time of Henry II the land passed from the second Baron of Dunham Massey to Matthew de Bromale, one of his kinsmen who took his name from the land he had received. Matthew's father is said to have been the kinsman of the first Hamon de Massey and may have held the land at some point. Matthew was succeeded by his grandson Richard, and then two subsequent Richards, the second dying without issue. The latter was succeeded by his younger brother Geoffrey, who had two daughters Alice and Ellen. Alice eventually inherited the land, and married John de Davenport of Wheltrough circa 1370–1380, thus changing the family name to Davenport. ^[5]

Davenports

The Davenport family's antecedents can be traced back to the time of the Norman conquest and one Orm de Davenport. The name "Davenport" name derives from the Norman French Dauen-port which translates as "the town on the trickling stream". Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. The northern Norman can be classified in the septentrional Oil languages with Picard and ^[6] By the early 13th century the family were large landowners during this period Vivian Davenport held the rank of Grand Sergeant of Macclesfield. Macclesfield is a market town in Cheshire, England with a population of about 50688 (2001 census for Macclesfield urban sub-area During the following century cadet lines of the Davenports acquired land throughout the area, being recorded at Wheltrough, Henbury, Woodford and lastly at Bramhall. There is also a Henbury crater in Australia There is also a Henbury in Cheshire near Macclesfield This article concerns Woodford a suburb of London For other places or people with the same name see Woodford (disambiguation. ^[7] Robert, the son of John and Alice was the first Davenport of Bramhall. His grandson, John succeeded him, and from 1436 -1478 held the manor. John was succeeded by five Williams, the first of whom was lord of the manor from 1478 to 1528, and was one the first recorded trustees of the Macclesfield Grammar School. ^[8] He was heavily involved in the final battle of the Wars of the Roses at Bosworth and was thus instrumental in gaining the crown for Henry VII. The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485 were a series of dynastic Civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of Lancaster and York The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( 22 August, 1485) was Lancastrian Henry Tudor's defeat of Yorkist Richard ^[9] A year later in 1486, William was rewarded with a pension of 20 marks a year payable for his lifetime^[10] A decade later, one of William's houses, possibly Bramall, was attacked by Randle Hassall. Hassal plundered the site and stole the timber, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest. ^[11] The theory that the house destroyed was Bramall gives credence to the idea that Bramall was rebuilt during the reign of Henry VII. The second William Davenport is more memorable for his death than his life. His will, dated 1 June 1541 provides the first known record of the chapel:

An inventory of William's belongings was made in 1541, and shows that he was a wealthy man. There is mention of a "yate house chamber", showing that at this date there was a fourth side to the hall, with an entrance by a gatehouse. There is also mention of a "chapell chamber", the room above the chapel, which may have been the priest's room. ^[13] The third William Davenport succeeded his father, and it was he who was the originator of the Bramhall heraldic tapestry. Shields depicting various marriages are commemorated on it, and its arrangement makes it appear as though it was intended to be a cover of some sort, possibly for the high table. ^[14] His son, another William, succeeded in 1576, and was lord for nine years. It would have been during his time that a priest's hide would have been built at Bramall, and it would have been done on this William Davenport's orders. He and his wife Margaret were both Catholic, so it seems fairly likely that this happened. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". ^[15] The fifth William Davenport inherited Bramall in 1585, and lived there with his wife Dorothy for nearly 55 years. The first marriage at Bramall was recorded at this time, and it was of William, the eldest son of William and Dorothy, and Frances Wilbraham. William was 15 and Frances was 11, and the entry of the marriage was made in the register of Stockport Parish Church. ^[16] On 22 April 1603 the fifth William Davenport was knighted by James I at Newark, where the king was staying on his six-week journey from Edinburgh to London. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James Newark-on-Trent (generally shortened to Newark) is a Market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. ^[17]

From 1869 to 1876, the hall was leased to Wakefield Christy, a member of the well-known Stockport hatting firm. ^[18] John William Handley Davenport became the legal owner in 1876, but on 24 January 1877 it was announced the estate had been arranged to be sold. Events 41 - Gaius Caesar (Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel Despotism, is Assassinated by his disgruntled Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[19] Much of the furniture was auctioned, and some of these pieces can be seen at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire. Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal Capesthorne Hall is a Stately home in the Borough of Macclesfield, in the county of Cheshire in north-west England. ^[20] The hall itself, and rest of the Bramall estate totalling 1,918 acres (7. 8 km²) was sold to Freeholders Company Limited, a Manchester property development firm, on 3 August 1877 for £200,000. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[21] It remained empty until 1882 when it was purchased by Thomas Nevill, a local industrialist whose wealth came from calico printing, as a wedding present for his son, Charles Nevill. Calico is a plain-woven Textile. In the United Kingdom, "calico" refers to fabric made from unbleached and often not fully processed Cotton ^[22][4] While living in the hall, Charles carried out substantial restoration and remodelling of the building as well as redesigning the landscaping of its grounds. Most notably, the interior was made more comfortable while retaining most of the building's external features, with the assistance of the architect George Faulkener Armitage. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction ^[23]

The hall remained in the Nevill family until 1925, when with changing fortunes after the first world war the family was forced to sell the estate to John Henry Davies. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All He lived in the hall until his death in 1927, and his widow Amy remained in the property until 1935 when she sold it to Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council with the intention that the hall and Park should be open to the public. Hazel Grove and Bramhall was a Civil parish and Urban district in north east Cheshire, England from 1900 to 1974 ^[23][4]

Following local government reorganisation, the estate became the property of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in 1974 and has remained so ever since. Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the Local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. ^[23]

Building

The east side of Bramall Hall. This side was the original entrance before the road through the park was rebuilt.

There has been a settlement at Bramall since Saxon times. The hall was not always in the current location, the current one having been built around the fourteenth century. According to local legend, the original home of the Bromales is said to be Crow Holt Wood, where artificial ditches which remain today are thought to have come from a moat. ^[24] The current hall is a grade I listed building, and the oldest surviving parts date from the late 14th century, with extensive additions and alterations from the 16th and 19th centuries. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance ^[4][25] It is built with foundations of stone, but the main part is made of oak timbers, joined together using mortice and tenon joints, and held in place with oak pegs. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Simple and strong the mortise and tenon joint has been used for millennia by Woodworkers around the world to join pieces of Wood, usually when the pieces Joinery is that part of Woodworking that involves joining together pieces of wood to create furniture structures toys and other items Wattle and daub or lath and plaster are used to fill the spaces between the timbers. Wattle and daub (or wattle-and-daub) is a Building material used for making walls in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed A lath is a thin narrow strip of some straight-grained wood or other material including Metal or Gypsum. The term plaster can refer to plaster of Paris Lime plaster, or Cement plaster. The hall was originally approached on the east side; the drive followed the route of the Ladybrook stream, crossed the Carrbrook and went uphill towards the chapel on the south side, reaching the courtyard on the other side. Today the main entrance is on west, on the side of the courtyard. ^[26] The gables date from the 19th century, and are an imitation of nearby Little Moreton Hall. A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof Little Moreton Hall is a Moated 15th-century half-timbered Manor house southwest of Congleton, Cheshire. The current layout can clearly be seen from the west side of the building: the service wing is on the left, the Great Hall is in the centre, and the solar wing is on the right. ^[20] The service, or north wing contains the servants' hall and working quarters, with bedroom accommodation upstairs. The rooms are small, badly lit, and poorly arranged. ^[27] They have been remodelled so much over the years, little antiquity remains in this area. However, the roof timbers are still intact, and indicate this wing is as old as the rest of the hall. ^[28] There was a gatehouse on the west side, and it formed a courtyard in the centre. ^[29] It was built for defence purposes, but in the late 18th century it was no longer necessary or fashionable, and was thus removed. ^[30]

Ground floor

A plan of the ground floor.

The Great Hall is the central part of Bramall. In the Middle Ages, this is the place where the business of the house was conducted and a communal eating room for the household. Some of the servants would probably have slept there too. It was originally an open-roofed, single-storey building with two cross wings but was floored over in the 16th century. ^[31][20] The Hall was largely rebuilt and the Withdrawing Room constructed above it towards the end of the 16th century, a long gallery was later added as a third storey. Long gallery is an architectural term given to a long narrow room often with a high ceiling ^[32] The history of the gallery is uncertain; it was in existence in 1790 but was taken down before 1819^[33] because it was considered unsafe. ^[34]

There was once a belief that a right of way existed through the Hall, popularised by Harrison Ainsworth in the mid-19th century. William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 1805 &ndash 3 January 1882 was an English Historical novelist He was born in Manchester, the son of a He wrote that the road took the traveller through the Great Hall, where he was entertained, and sometimes refreshed. ^[35] Tradition also claims that food from the buttery hatch was handed out to the poor who had gathered in the front porch. There is however no evidence for any right of way through the Hall. ^[36] The Banqueting Hall, which leads off the Lesser Hall was built in the early 15th century, and in the 19th century it was used as a billiards room. ^[1] Its northern wall is possibly the oldest part of the present hall, having not been renovated like the rest of the courtyard walls. ^[36] The chapel, opposite the Banqueting Hall was the only place of public worship in Bramhall for many centuries. It was closed some time between 1869 and 1890, and later fell into disrepair. In 1938 it was restored, and religious services were resumed. On the north wall are unglazed windows which face the wall of the library. The origin of these is obscure, but they do provide evidence that the south wing was once separate from the Great Hall. On the west wall are written the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that according to Judeo-Christian tradition were authored by God and given Much of it has faded away now, and in doing so an older painting has been revealed. It is a pre-Reformation passion painting. The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope This article describes the Christian Passion For other meanings see Passion. These were outlawed following the Reformation, and whitewashed over. It was only in the 20th century that an effort was made to restore Passion paintings, but very little of this particular painting survives. ^[37]

First floor

The ballroom, or upper banqueting hall dates from the late 15th century. This article is about the architectural element known as a ballroom ^[20] It contains rare 16th century wall paintings depicting various scenes, painted directly on to the wood. There is one depicting the nursery rhyme "Ride a cock horse", and along the east wall a lady in a long gown holds a long scroll of music from which a man with a mandoline plays music. A nursery rhyme is a traditional Song or Poem taught to young children originally in the nursery. A mandoline ( French; English doʊ 'lɪn}} is a Kitchen utensil used for slicing and cutting juliennes. There may have once been a musicians' gallery there. Above the Chapel is the Chapel Room, or Queen Anne Room. It was almost totally restored in the 19th century. In the time of the Davenports, the room was divided into an anteroom, and a state bedroom. Because the room was over the chapel, it is likely a priest would have used it, and the room earned the name of the Priest's Room. ^[38] The Plaster Room is named after what would have been the original flooring. The floor itself is lower than that of the Chapel Room and the Withdrawing Room. ^[38] The room contains the most important item in the hall, a large table carpet dating from the 1560s, depicting the coats of arms of Elizabeth I and the Davenports with their marriage alliances. ^[20] The Paradise Room is named after the bed hangings which contain embroidered images of Adam and Eve and their fall from paradise, as well as the fact paradise was a name used in the Middle Ages for a bedchamber or favourite room. Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living There is a cupboard on the right hand side of the fireplace, and on the other side there is a large cavity which was hidden by modern boarding until recently. A description from 1882 describes it as

This is the most likely place in Bramall a priest's hide could be found, in the thick wall of the chimney breast, close to the chapel and chapel room. This room had earned the alternative name "the ghost room" in the 19th century, due to the frequent stories of sightings coming from it. There have also been stories of a secret passage from the paradise room to the drive outside, or down to the chapel, but these passages do not exist. ^[40] The largest upstairs room is the Withdrawing Room, situated above the Great Hall. It was built for William Davenport, and dates from 1592. It contains Davenport family portraits and a plaster ceiling. ^[20] There is an overmantel bearing the arms of Elizabeth I above the fireplace, and tradition has it that the queen herself presented it as a thank you for hospitality received. However, as the queen only likely ever came as far north as Chester, this is unlikely. ^[41]

Name

The area around Bramall is Bramhall, but the correct name of the estate is without the "h". Bramhall is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. The Domesday book spells Bramall as "Bramale", and the current spelling was preferred by Charles Nevill, as well as Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council, so "Bramall" became the correct spelling. It is often still confused however. ^[1]

Grounds

Part of the grounds and lakes.

The hall is set in 70 acres of parkland, which have been landscaped in the style of Capability Brown. The park was originally an estate attached to the hall, and would have served as a deer park, stocked with deer and used as a hunting ground. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. From the seventeenth century, the park was gradually converted into agricultural land. In the 1880s Charles Nevill remodelled the park into what can be seen today, creating the lakes by altering the course of the Ladybrook. Ladybrook ( Sruthán na Bantiarna) is an electoral ward of West Belfast. ^[2] A new road through the park was built in the spring and summer of 1888, which was taken well away from the hall. The east entrance was turned into a private doorway leading into the garden, where Charles Nevill laid out terraces. ^[42]

There have been a number of archaeological finds in and around Bramall, including an early Bronze Age arrowhead and flints. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for The park contains substantial mature woodland and open grassland, which provide a natural boundary, as well as two lakes. ^[1][4]

Notes

References

• Ainsworth, Harrison (1834). William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 1805 &ndash 3 January 1882 was an English Historical novelist He was born in Manchester, the son of a Rookwood. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blanchard.  
• Campbell, W. (1873-1877). Materials for a History of the Reign of Henry VII.   (Roll series, no. 60)
• Dean, E. Barbara (1977). Bramall Hall: The Story of an Elizabethan Manor House. Stockport: Recreation & Culture Division, Metropolitan Borough Council of Stockport. ISBN 0905164067.  
• Earwaker, J. P. (1877). East Cheshire Past and Present.  
• Nichols, J. (1828). The Progresses of King James I.  
• Ormerod, George (1980). The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester. Manchester: E. J. Morten Publishers. ISBN 0859720454.  
• Piccope, G. J. (1855). Lancs. & Ches. Wills and Inventories. Chetham Society.  
• Watson, John. Survey of Bramhall.  

External links

• Bramall Hall