Damhouse
Encyclopedia
Damhouse or Astley Hall is a Grade II* Listed building located in Tyldesley
, Greater Manchester
, England. It has served as a manor house
, sanatorium
, and, since restoration in 2000, houses offices, a clinic, nursery and tearooms.
. Hugh Tyldesley was the first recorded occupant of the Damhouse in 1212. He was succeeded by his son Henry. The manors were separated after the death of Hugh's grandson, Henry, in 1301 and Damhouse became the manor house for Astley. In 1345 Richard Radcliff took possession of the hall and became lord of the manor in 1353. The Radcliffes remained in possession until the failure of the male line with William Radcliff's death in 1561 and his half sister Ann Radcliff inherited. Ann's husband, Gilbert Gerard, became lord of the manor. He was attorney general to Queen Elizabeth I and knighted in 1579. His son, Thomas inherited the house and mortgaged it to James Anderton of Lostock.
Adam Mort bought the hall and 60 acre estate in 1595 and bought the manorial rights in 1606. Mort was a wealthy man and built a new house. He built Astley Chapel
, the first chapel of ease to Leigh Parish Church and Morts Grammar School
, Astley's first school. Adam Mort died in 1631 and was succeeded by his son Thomas who lived at Peel Hall, Little Hulton
. Thomas's son, Adam, inherited Damhouse whilst a minor in 1638. The inscription over the lintel reads, "Erected by Adam Mort and Margret Mort 1650". Adam died in 1658 leaving the property to his son Thomas who was four years old. Thomas died unmarried in 1733. The property was bought by Thomas Sutton, a distant cousin in 1734. After Sutton's death in 1752 his cousin, Thomas Froggatt inherited the estate which was in turn left to his son, Thomas. After 1799 the house was occupied by tenants including George Ormerod
who had inherited the Banks Estate of his uncle Thomas Johnson in Tyldesley.
Thomas Froggat's granddaughter Sarah, married twice. By her first husband John Adam Durie, she had a daughter Katherine.
She married Malcolm Nugent Ross in 1844 and he leased the coal rights under the estate to Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
in 1857. Katherine Durie became lady of the manor on the death of her mother in 1860. By now the estate was in decline. Katharine married married Henry Davenport who died in 1845, and secondly Sir Edward Wetherall. In 1856 he was living at Dam House. Upon his death in 1869 he was succeeded by George Nugent Ross Wetherall and then by his brother Henry Augustus Wetherall who was in financial difficulty.
Dam House was sold in November 1889 and remained empty until 1893 when it was sold to the Leigh Council for use as a sanatorium for treating infectious diseases. Four isolation wards were built to house patients with scarlet
and typhoid fevers and the house was used as offices and a nurses' home.
An earlier building on the site was a stone and timber hall close to a large barn and cornmill powered by a water wheel. The house gets its name from the dam on the brook that was built to power the wheel.
The manor house Adam Mort built, dating from around 1600, is described in his will, He died in 1631. The house had a kitchen, parlour with a parlour chamber over it, bed chamber, little chamber, buttery, dairy, loft and clock loft with a bell. The house may have had a chapel. Outside there were stables, pig sties and a ruined stone and timber barn. The three storey building was built of handmade bricks with a timber frame. A timber lintel over an inglenook fireplace has been dated to before 1600.
Much of this building survives though Mort's grandson altered the front of the building in 1650 as evidenced by a plaque over the door. Considerable additions were made in the 18th and 19th centuries when the two-storey east wing was built for the Froggatts. It contains a large first floor billiard room with four decorative gothic roof trusses. A single-storey north wing with a two-storey coach house was added before 1845 and a single storey west wing added sometime after 1845 when the house was restored by Sarah and Malcolm Ross.
The house, built around a quadrangle, open at the south west corner is built of rendered brick with stone details and a slate roof. The three-storey frontage has five unequal bays with stone mullion
ed windows and crosswing gable
s. There are canted three-storey bay windows in two of the crosswings. The central three-storey porch bay has a studded oak door with Doric
columns, pediment
and a fanlight
. The frontage is largely as built but the plaque over the door is a 20th century replacement. The east wing dating from the early 19th century is of rendered brick and has four-bays which included a chapel on the first floor. The north and west extensions are built of brick.
After fundraising and acquiring grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund
, Rechar and other organisations the group
bought the house and surrounding woodland in order to preserve it. Damhouse was renovated by 2000 and space within the property rented to the local Clinic, a private nursery, and various businesses. On site is a tea room and a conference room and community room are available to hire.
The house is set in an area of woodland and there is a pond with accessible footpath.
Tyldesley
Tyldesley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies an area north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, east-southeast of Wigan and west-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. It has served as a manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
, sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
, and, since restoration in 2000, houses offices, a clinic, nursery and tearooms.
History
From medieval times Damhouse was the site of the manor house for the lords of the manors of Astley and Tyldesley and stands just within the Tyldesley boundary with AstleyAstley, Greater Manchester
Astley is a settlement within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, variously described as a suburb or a village. Astley lies on flat land to the northwest of the city of Manchester, and is crossed by the Bridgewater Canal and the A580 "East Lancashire Road"...
. Hugh Tyldesley was the first recorded occupant of the Damhouse in 1212. He was succeeded by his son Henry. The manors were separated after the death of Hugh's grandson, Henry, in 1301 and Damhouse became the manor house for Astley. In 1345 Richard Radcliff took possession of the hall and became lord of the manor in 1353. The Radcliffes remained in possession until the failure of the male line with William Radcliff's death in 1561 and his half sister Ann Radcliff inherited. Ann's husband, Gilbert Gerard, became lord of the manor. He was attorney general to Queen Elizabeth I and knighted in 1579. His son, Thomas inherited the house and mortgaged it to James Anderton of Lostock.
Adam Mort bought the hall and 60 acre estate in 1595 and bought the manorial rights in 1606. Mort was a wealthy man and built a new house. He built Astley Chapel
St Stephen's Church, Astley
St Stephen's Church is a church in Astley, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican church built in 1968 and part of Leigh deanery in the archdeaconry of Salford, diocese of Manchester. The church, together with St George and St. John, is part of the united benefice of Astley,...
, the first chapel of ease to Leigh Parish Church and Morts Grammar School
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
, Astley's first school. Adam Mort died in 1631 and was succeeded by his son Thomas who lived at Peel Hall, Little Hulton
Little Hulton
Little Hulton is a village—effectively a suburb—within the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Bolton, west-northwest of Salford, and west-northwest of Manchester...
. Thomas's son, Adam, inherited Damhouse whilst a minor in 1638. The inscription over the lintel reads, "Erected by Adam Mort and Margret Mort 1650". Adam died in 1658 leaving the property to his son Thomas who was four years old. Thomas died unmarried in 1733. The property was bought by Thomas Sutton, a distant cousin in 1734. After Sutton's death in 1752 his cousin, Thomas Froggatt inherited the estate which was in turn left to his son, Thomas. After 1799 the house was occupied by tenants including George Ormerod
George Ormerod
George Ormerod was an English antiquary and historian. Amongst his writings was a major account of the history of Cheshire, a county in northwestern England.-Biography:...
who had inherited the Banks Estate of his uncle Thomas Johnson in Tyldesley.
Thomas Froggat's granddaughter Sarah, married twice. By her first husband John Adam Durie, she had a daughter Katherine.
She married Malcolm Nugent Ross in 1844 and he leased the coal rights under the estate to Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
The Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Company formed in 1900 owned coal mines on the Lancashire Coalfield south of the railway in Astley and Tyldesley, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England...
in 1857. Katherine Durie became lady of the manor on the death of her mother in 1860. By now the estate was in decline. Katharine married married Henry Davenport who died in 1845, and secondly Sir Edward Wetherall. In 1856 he was living at Dam House. Upon his death in 1869 he was succeeded by George Nugent Ross Wetherall and then by his brother Henry Augustus Wetherall who was in financial difficulty.
Dam House was sold in November 1889 and remained empty until 1893 when it was sold to the Leigh Council for use as a sanatorium for treating infectious diseases. Four isolation wards were built to house patients with scarlet
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
and typhoid fevers and the house was used as offices and a nurses' home.
House
The manor house Adam Mort built, dating from around 1600, is described in his will, He died in 1631. The house had a kitchen, parlour with a parlour chamber over it, bed chamber, little chamber, buttery, dairy, loft and clock loft with a bell. The house may have had a chapel. Outside there were stables, pig sties and a ruined stone and timber barn. The three storey building was built of handmade bricks with a timber frame. A timber lintel over an inglenook fireplace has been dated to before 1600.
Much of this building survives though Mort's grandson altered the front of the building in 1650 as evidenced by a plaque over the door. Considerable additions were made in the 18th and 19th centuries when the two-storey east wing was built for the Froggatts. It contains a large first floor billiard room with four decorative gothic roof trusses. A single-storey north wing with a two-storey coach house was added before 1845 and a single storey west wing added sometime after 1845 when the house was restored by Sarah and Malcolm Ross.
The house, built around a quadrangle, open at the south west corner is built of rendered brick with stone details and a slate roof. The three-storey frontage has five unequal bays with stone mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed windows and crosswing gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s. There are canted three-storey bay windows in two of the crosswings. The central three-storey porch bay has a studded oak door with Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns, pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
and a fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
. The frontage is largely as built but the plaque over the door is a 20th century replacement. The east wing dating from the early 19th century is of rendered brick and has four-bays which included a chapel on the first floor. The north and west extensions are built of brick.
Present day
Astley Hospital closed in 1994 and Morts Astley Heritage Group was founded with the aim of saving the listed building.After fundraising and acquiring grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, Rechar and other organisations the group
bought the house and surrounding woodland in order to preserve it. Damhouse was renovated by 2000 and space within the property rented to the local Clinic, a private nursery, and various businesses. On site is a tea room and a conference room and community room are available to hire.
The house is set in an area of woodland and there is a pond with accessible footpath.