Buckley Hall was a historic house in the hamlet of Buckley, in the Wardleworth township of the Parish of Rochdale, Lancashire - what is now a district of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England.
From 1888 to 1947, Buckley Hall was an orphanage for Catholic boys.[1]
Described in 1889 as a former mansion belonging to a family by the name of Buckley (and later Entwistle),[2] the hall has long been demolished. However it gives its name to the Buckley Hall Prison which now occupies the site.
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The name of Buckley in its various spellings was first recorded in the 12 century and was supposed to have descended from a supporter of William the Conqueror. The original Hall was in existence prior to 1626 and was demolished and followed by a new building in 1860.
After the death of the owner in 1882 the Hall remained unoccupied for five years. Then Herbert Vaughan, the then Bishop of Salford, enlisted the help of the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity, an organisation already active in the welfare and education of children in Belgium and France, to initiate a similar service in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford. This they agreed to do and eventually selected the Hall as a potential orphanage which was purchased in 1887. Following a year spent in alterations and adaptations to render the building fit for its intended use the orphanage was officially opened in 1888[3] with an influx of 28 boys. Six months later the diocese required that number to be increased to 80 and this called for an extension of the original building. Subsequent increases required further building until, finally, the Brother Superior decided on extensions on a much larger scale to provide accommodation for a total of 300. This also involved the provision of premises for the industrial training of the boys. All this work was finally completed by 1905.
The trades taught included plumbing, printing, bookbinding, joinery and woodcarving and boot and shoe repairs. The latter department also developed a manufacturing section which produced boots and shoes both for the boys and for the members of the staff. Master craftsmen were employed in each of these disciplines in order to ensure that the boys received expert tuition.
Extramural activities included the formation of a band and choir, both of which performed outside the confines of the orphanage, and the organisation of football and cricket teams.
Thousands of Catholic boys from across what became Greater Manchester lived there and many of them grew up, found jobs, got married and settled in Rochdale. Some, however, took ill and did not survive. They were buried in adjoining plots in the cemetery, along with some of Buckley Hall's teachers and servants. The last boy to die there was buried in 1941.[1]