Wythenshawe Hall - History

History

The half-timbered Tudor 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, the hall was unsuccessfully defended by Robert Tatton against Cromwell's forces during the winter of 1643. After the war the Wythenshawe estate expanded to about 2,500 acres (10 km2).

In 1924 Robert Henry Grenville Tatton inherited the Wythenshawe estate and yielded to pressure from the then Manchester Corporation, who were in need of land for housing. The corporation bought 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) in 1926, and what used to be farmland became one of the largest housing estates in Europe. Wythenshawe Hall itself and 250 acres (100 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 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 estates 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, by Matthew Noble., stands about 328 feet (100 m) east of the hall, and was Grade II listed in 1994. It was originally sited at the junction of Deansgate 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.