Morleys Hall

The moat at Morley's Hall

Morleys Hall, a moated hall converted to two houses, is situated at grid reference SJ 689 992 on Morleys Lane, on the edge of Astley Moss in Astley, Greater Manchester, England. It was largely rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of a medieval timber house. The hall is a Grade II* listed building and the moat a scheduled ancient monument.^[1][2] Morleys is a private residence.

History

The More-Leghe mentioned in documents in the early 13th century gave its name to the family who lived there until about 1381 when it passed to the Leylands. The Leylands remained at Morleys until the male line failed and passed to the Tyldesleys through Ann Leyland who married Edward, second son of Thurstan Tyldesley of Wardley Hall in 1550.^[3]

After the Reformation the family of Sir Thomas Tyldesley were recussants and allowed Ambrose Barlow, a catholic priest who ministered to those who kept the old faith in the Leigh parish, to say mass at Morleys. He was taken prisoner at Morleys on Easter Sunday 1641 by the Vicar of Leigh and a large mob and taken to Lancaster Castle where he was martyred.^[4][5]

The Tyldesleys sold the hall to the Leghs of Chorley in 1755. The old hall and some land was bought by Josiah Wilkinson, who left it to his son John, the rest was purchased by Thomas Lyon. The Morleys estate was bought by Tyldesley Urban District Council in the early 20th century to build a sewage works.^[3]

Structure

John Leland visited Morleys in 1540 and referred to the house as "an all timber building on stone foundations which rises six feet above the water of a great moat".^[2] The hall was extended and rebuilt at various times during the 16th and 17th centuries. The houses, in a U-shaped plan, were rebuilt in brick in the early 19th century retaining parts of the earlier timber frame. One house is built in Flemish bond brick and one in English garden wall bond.^[2]

The moat is medieval and crossed by a bridge constructed from sandstone and brick which replaced an earlier wooden drawbridge. The moat varies in width from 12 to 15 metres and is up to three metres deep. It is fed by a spring in its north west corner and there is an outlet at the south east corner where the moat widens.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Morleys Hall, Pastscape.org.uk, http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=73466, retrieved 2011-02-07 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Morley's Hall, Images of England, http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=213522, retrieved 2011-02-07 
3. ^ ^{a b} William Farrer and J Brownbill (editors) (1907), "Astley", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, Victoria County History (British History Online): pp. 445–449, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41365, retrieved 2011-02-078 
4. ^ Sir Thomas Tyldesley 1612–1651, Peter J. Tyldesley, http://www.peterjtyldesley.com/tyldesley/index.html, retrieved 30 June 2010 
5. ^ St Ambrose Barlow, The Salford Diocese, http://www.salforddiocese.org.uk/martyrs-of-the-diocese/st-ambrose-barlow, retrieved 2010-02-10 

Coordinates: 53°29′21″N 2°28′09″W / 53.4892°N 2.4693°W / 53.4892; -2.4693