Introduction
Worsley Park is an extensive area with long history incorporating one surviving medieval hall. There is also the site of a separate and later hall and numerous features and monuments.The site has an extensive park with Middle Wood within its boundaries and a walled kitchen garden. There is a nursery to the south bounded by the Bridgewater Canal, which runs through the park and links with the Moss Canal running south. There are two lakes to the south of the New Hall, partly within the boundary of Middle Wood.The grounds of Worsley Hall are now being developed as RHS Garden Bridgewater, which is due to open in 2019.
Worsley Old Hall, to the west of Swinehey Lane, has gardens and a large irregularly-shaped park. Features include a ha-ha, extending to the north and west at Lady Hill and along the road at the southern boundary. The site also includes Wrens Wood. The site has an extensive park with Middle Wood within its boundaries and a walled kitchen garden. There is a nursery to the south bounded by the Bridgewater Canal, which runs through the park and links with the Moss Canal running south. There are two lakes to the south of the New Hall, partly within the boundary of Middle Wood.
There was extensive landscaping in the second half of the 19th century. The lakes were joined and an island was created in the centre linked by two foot bridges to the surrounding areas. A boat house was created at the eastern end. Terraces and a parterre were designed by William Andrew Nesfield to the south of the New Hall. The land to the south of the Bridgewater Canal was connected by a series of wooded drives or rides and to a drawbridge which now gave access to the northern area of the park.
Lord Ellesmere's Memorial to the north of the Chaddock Road (later Leigh Road) was designed and built by the architects Driver and Webber of London. This was a result of a competition judged by Sir Charles Barry to commemorate Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
The Old Hall survives but the New Hall was demolished between 1945 and 1949.
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
Telephone
0845 260 5000Website
http://www.rhs.org.uk
- History
In the 1760s Francis, Duke of Bridgewater, built the Brick Hall. The Old Hall was then used entirely as an administrative centre. The Duke's great nephew and heir, Lord Francis Egerton, later the 1st Earl of Ellesmere, later took possession of the estate. At this point, a new hall, Worsley New Hall, was built on the south side of the Leigh Road.
The architect of the New Hall, built between 1840 and 1845, was Edward Blore (1787-1879). The New Hall was built in the Tudor style and the Brick Hall, together with the Bridgewater Hotel, was demolished to make way for an entrance to the grounds. Entrance gates were erected in cast and wrought iron, with ashlar walls to either side. There is also an 18th-century circular brick icehouse, about 4.5 metres in diameter.
Period
18th Century (1701 to 1800)
- Associated People
- Features & Designations
Features
- House (featured building)
- Description: Worsley Old Hall is a much-altered timber-framed building of mid-16th-century date. The hall was originally built on three sides of a square and may have been moated. There were brick additions in 1855, 1891 and 1906. The hall was the property of the Duke of Bridgewater and was used as an administrative base during the building of the Bridgewater Canal
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- Ha-ha
- Description: Features include a ha-ha, extending to the north and west at Lady Hill and along the road at the southern boundary.
- Kitchen Garden
- Description: Walled kitchen garden.
- Canal
- Description: The Bridgewater Canal runs through the park and links with the Moss Canal running south.
- Lake
- Description: There are two lakes to the south of the New Hall, partly within the boundary of Middle Wood. There was extensive landscaping in the second half of the 19th century. The lakes were joined and an island was created in the centre linked by two foot bridges to the surrounding areas.
- Boat House
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- Garden Terrace
- Description: Terraces and a parterre were designed by William Andrew Nesfield to the south of the New Hall.
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- Parterre
- Description: Terraces and a parterre were designed by William Andrew Nesfield to the south of the New Hall.
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- Drive
- Description: The land to the south of the Bridgewater Canal was connected by a series of wooded drives or rides and to a drawbridge which now gave access to the northern area of the park.
- Sculpture
- Description: Lord Ellesmere's Memorial to the north of the Chaddock Road (later Leigh Road) was designed and built by the architects Driver and Webber of London. This was a result of a competition judged by Sir Charles Barry to commemorate Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere.
- Key Information
Type
Park
Purpose
Ornamental
Principal Building
Domestic / Residential
Period
18th Century (1701 to 1800)
Survival
Extant
Hectares
117
Electoral Ward
Worsley
- References
References
- University of Manchester and University of York, {A Survey of Historic Parks and Gardens in Greater Manchester}, York, 1994 A Survey of Historic Parks and Gardens in Greater Manchester