Bramall Hall

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Bramall Hall

Part of the grounds and lakes

Bramall Hall near Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, England is one of the remaining Tudor halls, a timber framed manor house, with 66 acres of landscaped parkland featuring lakes, woodland walks and gardens.

The framework is constructed with oak timbers, joined together using mortice and tenon joints and held in place with oak pegs. Wattle and daub (interlaced twigs crudely coated with clay) or lath (thin narrow strops of wood) and plaster were used to fill the spaces between the timbers.^[1]

Bramall Hall continues to be one of the area's main attractions for tourists. Schools in the area often visit the hall as a way of educating their pupils. The education team who interpret the Hall to school parties recreate the daily life of life in Tudor England and the children visiting are encouraged to dress as and play the part of young residents of Tudor England. Bramall Hall continues to be popular with people in the area, despite its proximity to other attractions, (such as Lyme Park) due to Hall's magnificent grounds.

1 History
2 Attraction
3 External link
4 References

[edit] History

In the Domesday Book the manor of Bramall is called Bramale, a name which comes from the Old English words 'brom' meaning broom, and 'halh' meaning secret place, generally near water.^[1]

The oldest parts of the existing building probably date from the 14th century. However the Manor has been held in other forms since the time of the Saxons when, in the reign of King Edward the Confessor, two freemen Brun and Hacun held the Manor of Bramale as two separate manors.

Around 1070 the Bramale estates were given by William the Conqueror to Hamo de Masci, the first Baron of Dunham Massey.^[1]

In the 12th century it passed from the Masseys to Mathew de Bromale (believed to have been a relation). It remained in this family until the late 14th century when it passed to the Davenports through marriage. It remained within the Davenport family for a further 500 years.

On the death of William Davenport in 1869 the Hall passed to his son John William Handley Davenport. It was then leased to Wakefield Christy, a member of a well-known Stockport hatting firm. When the lease expired much of the furniture was auctioned and the Hall itself was sold to a Manchester property development firm and although, for at least some of the following years the Hall was occupied, it ceased to be a manor house and a family home until 1883 when it was purchased by Thomas Nevill, a local industrialist whose wealth came from calico printing, on behalf of his son, Charles Henry Nevill.

Charles Nevill and his wife Mary undertook extensive renovation of the Hall, uncovering aspects of its history which had lain hidden, in some cases for centuries, and about which they became great enthusiasts. They also adapted the house so that it could resume its rôle as a comfortable and elegant residence, adding attractive and original features in the Arts and Crafts style.

The Hall remained in the Nevill family until 1925 when the estate was sold to John Henry Davies. He lived in the house until his death and his widow remained in the property until 1935 when she sold it to Hazel Grove and Bramall Urban District Council with the intention that the Hall and Park should be open to the public.

The estate became the property of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in 1974 and, assisted by the Bramall Hall Restoration and Conservation Fund, has undertaken major schemes of restoration including the roof and external timbers. ^[2]